How Does Our Process Work? The Nuts & Bolts

by | Sep 11, 2020

Potential clients are often uncertain about our process and the order in which we do things. Well, it’s no secret – here are the steps

The Planning Phase

  1. After placing the order, you will receive confirmation that the payment has been received (thank you!) with a link to a questionnaire.
  2. Complete our online questionnaire with a few details about the nominee. Some of these details are needed now at this early stage (eg confirming email address etc). Others are for foundational work (eg CV or profile). Some are for the online submission at the end of the process (eg date of birth, address etc.) You submit the questionnaire to us and we…
  3. Use your profile documents and start to do online research. Using that plus the documents you have given us, we put together a framework of the application. More specifically, what are the significant planks of your story around which we are going to build the nomination?
  4. Once we have a clear framework in mind, we will share that with you to get your agreement and then start the longest and most complex part of the process.

The Creation Phase

  1. Gathering supporting letters. Firstly, we will ask you for 2 or 3 names for each “plank” of the story to ensure we have good coverage and depth across the entire nomination.
  2. We approach the potential supporters gently, via email (phones make people suspicious) explaining who we are and that we are working for a client to nominate person X. Then we ask would they be willing to write a letter of support and if so, would they appreciate some guidance from us about how best to write it.
  3. On average, in a list of 10 supporters, 7 will agree, 2 don’t reply (maybe didn’t see the message, or maybe don’t want to support) and 1 will decline. (There can be several reasons for this – sometimes people don’t approve of the process, sometimes people have been declined themselves & sometimes, people just don’t think that you deserve an Honour).
  4. For those that agree, we send them some guidelines to help them write effective letters.
  5. Then we wait. And remind. And chase…and then wait some more. Finally, the letters arrive back and we check, suggest edits, and wait again.
  6. Once we have enough letters of high enough quality, we pass the letters, background information you have sent us, and online research to the writer from our team that we have selected for you. (Our writers are all broadsheet trained journalists and writers. We match your story with the writer with the experience to write your story in a compelling way.)
  7. Then – we write. The Bayleaf way. We base our writing on the planks we discuss in #5 above with the key aim of demonstrating your contribution and results you achieved. We are NOT writing or rewriting your CV. Instead, we are writing a story to show you to your best advantage.

The Review Phase

  1. And then – we send it to you. The two main sections of the nomination form plus all the supporters’ letters. (Most of our clients tell us that this is the best part of the process – reading the letters from friends and colleagues and seeing their accomplishments in black and white.) Then, we discuss, edit, review, discuss etc etc – until we are happy.

And that’s it – our twelve stages which help us build a great nomination for you to win an MBE or other Honour. It’s all targeted to create something compelling, memorable that hits the Government’s priorities.

If you want to discuss how we can help your case, you can contact us.

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