ServiceNow’s annual Partner Awards offer an outstanding opportunity to celebrate and recognize partners worldwide for their innovation, dedication, and impact.

By participating, your company gains visibility, credibility, and access to new business opportunities.

All the award details can be found here. But for a summary of what you need to know to put your best foot forward and increase your chances of standing out, read on.

Why compete in the Partner Awards?

Winning a Partner Award elevates your company’s profile, with ServiceNow promoting awardees through its website, social media, Partner Finder, and at major events like Knowledge.

As a winner, you'll receive a promotional kit complete with award-specific badging and social media assets to help you share your success story widely.

This enhanced visibility can accelerate your sales cycles, setting you apart as a trusted and high-impact partner.

Award categories: Data-Driven and Self-Nomination

The Partner Awards feature two types of recognition:

1. Data-Driven Awards – Based on objective metrics like revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and adoption rates, data-driven awards highlight measurable success. ServiceNow uses its internal data to identify top performers, ensuring an objective assessment that reflects tangible business impact.
   
   
2. Self-Nomination Awards – Here, partners are invited to submit their own stories, highlighting unique contributions, solutions, and transformative achievements. Self-nomination awards recognize qualities that may not be directly measurable yet are invaluable for their creative and technical merit. These are ideal for partners who excel in adding value beyond numbers.

Entry into the data-driven categories (which make up the majority of the awards) is automatic. So, to maximize your chances for recognition, it’s vital to be proactive and put your organization forward for the self-nomination awards. You have to be in to win!

Understanding the Self-Nomination categories

ServiceNow introduced two self-nomination categories in 2023, enabling partners to share their unique stories and achievements. This year it has extended the number of categories to three, and with regional and global awards on offer, there are now 11 separate self-nominated awards up for grabs.

Each self-nomination award category has specific criteria that judges will use to evaluate submissions. Here’s a breakdown of what they’re looking for in each one:

• GenAI Customer Value Partner of the Year – This category honors partners who leverage ServiceNow’s AI capabilities to deliver meaningful, AI-driven solutions for clients. Successful applicants will demonstrate how they used Now Assist products to achieve measurable customer outcomes that wouldn’t have been possible without AI.
  
  
• Transformation Partner of the Year – This award celebrates partners who drive significant business transformation through ServiceNow’s platform. Entrants should focus on a single customer story, showcasing how their solution overcame a complex, large-scale, or novel challenge, yielding measurable benefits like increased efficiency or enhanced customer loyalty.
  
  
• Innovation Partner of the Year – Reserved for partners in the Build program, this award recognizes groundbreaking solutions on the Now Platform. Special attention will be given to applications that address large-scale market needs or social challenges, demonstrating how the partner’s solution differs from competitors and provides new market opportunities for ServiceNow.

Crafting a strong submission

For the self-nomination awards, a well-crafted narrative that clearly and concisely conveys your story, supported by data, is essential.

At the heart of the submission process, there are three main questions, totaling about 800-900 words. The ServiceNow judges are looking for a compelling narrative that tells the story of the challenges your customer faced, the unique nuances of your solution, and the broad impact and value of your accomplishment.

For your entry to be successful, you need to invest time and effort into detailing your achievements, quantifying your impact, and crafting a success story that resonates with the judges.

Need Assistance?

If writing a compelling awards submission feels like a time-consuming task, consider reaching out for support.

With my experience working with a range of ServiceNow partners, deep knowledge of the platform, and a strong background in technology marketing, I can help you prepare a winning submission that highlights your achievements and strengthens your standing in the ServiceNow ecosystem.

I’ll take care of the award entry while you stay focused on running the business and keeping your customers happy.

For more information on this offer, check out my Upwork project page.