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Awesome proposal writing may be the very thing that lands you a dream job. But what makes a proposal awesome and more importantly what makes for an awesome Virtual Assistant proposal? Here are some tips that will get you started on creating a proposal to land the VA job you want.
#1 – Know What It Takes to Have What It Takes
Standout proposal writing calls for a true understanding of the client or company’s specific needs. The difficult part for a VA is the range of tasks can be vast. It is important that you tailor your proposal to the client/company needs instead of creating a blanket proposal to send to the masses. This may mean additional and extensive work on your part. But, the reward is setting yourself miles in front of the competition.
Research the company and the tasks that are needed for their VA work. Know what they value and how you can make them successful. Your potential client will be impressed with your knowledge and when you present an understanding of what means the most to your client you make yourself the obvious choice. If you are interested in using a template or outline for your proposal you can absolutely do so. Just makes sure that you are able to customize it to fit the client. You can have a strong structure or outline without having to lose the customization and personal touch.
#2 – Accentuate Your Strengths Conservatively
Don’t be afraid to reach outside the bullet points. You’ll need a successful sales pitch to really have a proposal that gets the job. What are you selling? Your skills. Be honest in your abilities, promote your accomplishments and present the strengths and skills that you possess that you believe the client will appreciate most. This is another place where all that research comes into play. You want to be conservative and not add in a lot of fluff. Be direct, however, don’t overdo it.
The more concise your proposal is, the more likely it is to be read in its entirety. If your proposal is extremely long with no breaks your most desired qualities will get lost and your proposal will be overwhelming. Be confident and make sure it shows. Once you’ve completed your proposal, go back to your research and make sure that you are in line with the company’s needs. The idea is you are the missing piece and this proposal will show them that you are.
#3 – Be Bold in Proposal Writing
We’ve talked about being direct and keeping it simple. Even if your proposal is visually overwhelming you may not be able to hold your audience’s attention if your beginning is underwhelming. Therefore, a solid approach is to attempt to reel them in within the first few seconds of reading your proposal. Be bold, be humorous, be assertive. Make sure your potential client is smiling, laughing or knows why they should hire you within the first few sentences. If they are getting a huge response, your best bet is to get noticed and not fade into the stack of other potential VAs.
#4 – Don’t Forget the Tried and True
Always be professional and never forget to include your experience, endorsements and even samples of your work. If you are confident in your work and ability, let it speak for itself. Finally, be willing to provide additional information, links, references, and documents that support your capability.
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