When you decide to partner with a VA, it can be overwhelming. It’s a very big decision because you will be working very closely with this person and you want to make sure you choose the best VA for you that you possibly can.
I’d like to address a couple things you should keep in mind after you have submitted an RFP (Request for Proposal).
If you submit an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a virtual assistant at a place like VAnetworking.com, you will probably get dozens of responses. How do you even begin to weed through them?
First of all, check out the overall professionalism of each proposal. Keep an eye out for glaring typos. This might not be as important to you if you want someone to help you with desktop publishing and graphic design, but if you’re searching for someone that can proofread and edit documents ignore any proposals with multipal grammatikle errors and spelling misteaks! 😉
Many people that submit RFPs for VA services choose the lowest ‘bidder’ but that doesn’t mean they’re getting a deal. Rates will vary from country to country where the cost of living differs, but within North America the lower end rates will start around $25/hour and can go up to $100/hour depending on the services you require.
If you decide to go with the lowest rate just because it’s so low, you might end up regretting that decision. If the least expensive VA who responded to your RFP and they also have the skills and experience you require that’s one thing. But if you choose someone solely because they’re ‘cheap’ and without taking anything else into consideration, it could cost you in the long run if you end up turning to a higher priced VA to fix mistakes that were made the first time around.
The bottom line, and biggest thing to consider is the overall impression you get based upon the proposals you receive. A VA should pull out all the stops when they respond to your RFP. A proposal should be an example of some of their best, most professional work.
Remember that as you review the proposals sent in response to your RFP.
Jaime has given some great things to look for when you are reading responses to your RFPs. As a VA who has answered many and received clients from them, it is important for you to week through them with a careful eye. When you submit a proposal, try to put some instructions in there and you can narrow down the responses to only those who follow instructions. This will give you a first impression on whether s/he can follow a task you put out.
Other things to look for are how quickly they responded and responded correctly to the RFP. Then when you respond to them with your interest in talking with them pay attention to how quickly they get back to you. If you’ve sent 3 emails to them or voicemails in a week and never heard back then move on. If you have to jump through hoops to contact them for an initial call or the call keeps getting cancelled or worse yet…the VA misses the call, move on to your next choice.
As Jaime mentions, don’t make price your only factor. It will cost you more to hire someone to fix mistakes from the lower cost VA you originally chose. Or worse yet, you waste 2 weeks chasing down the lower cost one when work could already be started and on the way to reaching your goals!
I like Jaime’s point about going with your overall impression when hiring a VA. Just as in any relationship, all future aspects cannot be foreseen so it is very important to base your decision on a broader, yet solid scale. Can you communicate with this person, are they reasonable, can they follow instructions, do they respond promptly, is their personality open or closed, friendly or reserved and do you feel comfortable with that? these are som basic relational questions to ask. If you can be comfortable in a broad sense then likely you will be on good grounds working with this person and be more able to work out any differences that arise.