How To Write a Better Response to an RFP for a Virtual Assistant

How do you find your clients?

If your number one answer is not ‘networking’, then you are probably a VA who seeks online opportunities in groups and on job boards – and responding to RFPs that are posted in various places online.

First let me say that there is nothing wrong with that (some VAs like to say there is!).

I got my very first official VA client by answering an RFP (and we still work together!).

I remember it being so exciting when she replied and said yes!

I didn’t know what I was doing. I saw her job listing and I put together what I thought was a good response and I sent it off to her.

We booked a consultation call after that and then she responded with a simple, ‘Okay Tracey let’s do this.’

I couldn’t believe it.

But after that, I had trouble finding other clients the same way.

The problem with waiting on RFPs is that you are constantly in a reactive state. You log in, you check, if there is nothing, you log out.

There is nothing proactive about RFPs. It’s hard to build and grow a business using that as your sole means of finding clients.

AND when something does come up that you are qualified for (and want to do), there are often many other responses that are also being sent to the client, slimming down your chances of winning the job or signing the client.

So why am I being so doom and gloom about this? Because I want to teach you how to stand out from the crowd.

It takes effort. Maybe it takes a bit of training. But when you know how to present yourself with a high level of professionalism, you WILL get clients asking you to work with them.

Like anything in business – if you don’t know how to do it well, LEARN!

When a potential customer gets a bunch of proposals from people that he/she has never met, the ones that get the follow up calls are the ones that present the best proposals.

You have to showcase yourself for them.

You have to put your personality into it.

You have to make them excited to learn more about you, and how you can help them with their business.

Stand out from the crowd, and you’ll get a callback every time.

Here is my list of things you need to do to write a better response to an RFP than some of your VA colleagues.

1. Prepare a cover letter. Not an email. A proper cover letter, that is personal and detailed. Most of us come from admin assistant backgrounds. Use your business correspondence expertise here to make yourself look as professional as possible. Keep the letter concise but bring your personality into it so they can sense your confidence in your own ability to do their work.

2. Include an actual proposal. A document that details the scope of work the client requires, and details how your experience and training qualifies you to apply. Also include your payment rate and terms, your availability and other information that is relevant to the RFP.  Put the cover letter as the first page of your proposal so there is only one document for them to reference. Dropping this information into the body of an email makes the client feel that you just cut and pasted the response to them. Take the time to prepare an actual DOC or PDF that looks nice, and that is personalized for them and their business.

3. Do the work for them. Look at what the client is asking for and do the potential research about you for them. Do not send someone a link to your website or to your social media profiles and tell them to ‘learn more about me’. I see this time and time again. If they are asking for website design, show them some samples of your work. Explain to them what your training is and the systems that you are comfortable using. Respond to the specifics of what their listing in your proposal. Show them in the two documents you send them why you are the best candidate for the job.

4. Be confident. If you are qualified to do their work, then make sure that comes through in your language, and in your presentation. This can take some practice, but if you develop a solid proposal that you can tailor to each client’s specific task requests, that comes through when they read it.

5. Invite them to schedule a follow up call with you to discuss any questions they have, or speak further about the opportunity. If you use a scheduling software it makes it super easy for the client to click and book a time with you. Making things easy for them often shows them that you will do the same for their business.

6. Thank them for the opportunity to submit a bid. Professionalism begins and ends with proper manners. Use your email as the stepping stone for the thanks.

Hi Joe,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit a proposal for your XYZ position that you posted on XYZ site.

Attached you will find my proposal for your project/job/etc.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this fabulous opportunity.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. If you would like to speak further, I invite you to schedule a suitable time in my calendar here XXX.

Thank you again for the opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

SIG

Something as simple as that goes a long way in terms of how you are viewed. Remember this potential client is often seeing you for the first time. Be sure to set a good impression.

7. Make sure they got what you sent.  Don’t just send a proposal and then wait endlessly for a response. If they don’t respond that they received it, send a quick email to be sure. Do this one to two days after sending yours. Being proactive will give you a second touch point with them right away. Be confident with this.

8. Follow up with them. Let them know that you will be following up with them. If they don’t state when their contest closes, ask them. And then follow up with them regularly (weekly is good) to see if they have selected someone yet. If they do state when they are closing their submissions, wait until after that date.

9. Be confident and curious. If you don’t get the position, don’t be afraid to ask why they chose someone else over you.

10. And always remember: it’s not personal, it’s business.

Don’t get down if someone doesn’t choose you. Simply find out what went wrong and fix it. If the client doesn’t tell you, consider asking other VAs to look at what you sent to get their input.

Hopefully the client will tell you what helped them make their decision, and then you can use that to hone your future proposals. But they won’t always tell you the truth. So ask someone else if you aren’t sure what the problem is.

Don’t be shy. It’s not personal, it’s business.

It’s all about making sure that what you are sending clients is going to wow them!

Like I did, you have to start somewhere – and if you are currently just sending a quick email that is telling people to go and visit your website, then you are probably not getting very much work through RFPs at all.

Take the time to learn how to develop a solid proposal and you will be well on your way to getting more clients!

For more tips on how to respond to an RFP, check out my blog post here.