- Today you're gonna learn
how not to waste your Upwork credits
and how to write that proposal that gets you the gig.
I have hired all of my team members through Upwork
at this point,
from my personal assistant and my HR manager,
to my video editor
and the entire development team.
So at this point, I probably have seen
at least a few 100 proposals
as part of my business.
And today, I want to share
with you not only my step-by-step strategy
on how to write the best proposal
but also, I'm gonna show you mistakes
from some of the proposals
that I have received in my business.
Comment below Boss if you want
to land more gigs and be your own boss in 2020.
(upbeat music)
Hey, welcome back to SuperHumans,
the place to be if you're looking
to create a fabulous career and master your life.
If you're new around here,
hi, my name is Laura.
Very nice to meet you.
I'm the founder of SuperHumans.
If you'd like to be part of our community,
then you know the drill.
Just click the button down below
and subscribe and you'll be notified (bell ringing)
every time we upload a new video,
which is every Sunday.
Now let's get straight into the video.
Only a couple of weeks ago
when I posted this video talking
about the seven legit websites
where you can find remote working opportunities,
James left this comment down at the bottom
of that video asking me
if I could make another video talking
about how to write the best proposal
and how to make sure that you land those gigs
that you apply for.
So here I am today doing exactly that.
If you want a shout out in one of my next videos,
then make sure you leave a comment down below
and you either leave me a question
or you give me an idea or a suggestion for a topic
that you would like me to cover in one of my next videos.
All right, let's start with number one,
which is pick your bids.
Really, I beg you, do me a favor
and do not apply to everything
because not only are you simply wasting your credits
with no result, but you are very likely not
to land any of those jobs.
And stop trying to position yourself
as somebody who is great at everything
because we both know we're not.
We're very good at some of the things
and average on some other
and probably below average on some of the other ones.
So stop positioning yourself
as being great at everything
and niche down and select one thing
and one thing only that you are very good at
and that you want to make your career.
And if you want to know more about how to do this
and what are some of the frameworks
that you can use to figure out your why
and your dream career,
then maybe you wanna watch this video here
where I talk about the five steps that you need
to follow in order to get that great online opportunity
that you are probably looking for.
So let's take an example, shall we? (chuckling)
I want to give you an example
from a proposal that I received
when I first posted the opportunity
to hire for my personal assistant.
That was months and months and months back
and I received a bunch of proposals
but this one in particular,
it was really interesting
because even though in my job posting
I was stating very clearly
that I was looking for somebody
who was specialized in being a personal assistant,
who knew how to manage my schedule,
who was organized, who was a great communicator
and who was proactive.
However, I received this proposal
where this individual was positioning himself
or herself as not only an experienced virtual assistant
but also a data entry specialist
and a bunch of other things.
Needless to say, I did not choose
to go forward with them,
not only because I was not sure
if their skills matched the ones
that I was looking for,
regarding my personal assistant
but also, I was not sure
if my job would be good enough for them
if my job was in line with what they were looking
to be doing long term.
Because you know what?
When we hire, we wanna make sure
that what we offer you is going to help you
in moving forward in your career as well.
And if we don't feel that our job opportunity
is suitable to what you're looking to be doing,
which we usually tell based on your experience
and a bunch of other things,
then we don't go ahead with you.
So just to wrap this up,
choose your bids, niche down
and be very surgical about the job opportunities
that you choose to apply to.
All right, let's get to step number two,
which is do your research.
I know, I know, we are still in the preparation phase.
And the reason for that is you need
to think and research and prepare 10 times more
than it takes you to write the application itself.
Really, you need to figure out,
and it is your responsibility really,
to figure out where the need is coming from
as far as your customer is concerned.
Why are they posting that job opportunity?
What need are they trying to solve?
And in order to get all of that information,
say thank you to the world wide web
because you can probably figure that out quite easily
with a few searches online
but it is your job to go and do that research.
Check out their website,
check out their online store, if they have one.
Check out any type of social media presence
that this company probably has,
be that YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram,
TikTok, Twitter, anything,
you need to go and see all of that
because before you're able to put all the pieces
of the puzzle together,
you will not understand what their need is.
Once you figure that one out,
then you need to figure out
what is it that you can do,
and only you, in order to help them solve that need.
How can you bring value?
What is your unique selling point,
your unique value proposition
that only you can offer to your future customer?
Before you do all of this,
you should not try to go fearlessly
at your keyboard and write a proposal
as if that job opportunity is gonna be gone
in the next 30 seconds because trust me,
it will not.
All right, we've come to point number three
and that is start by talking about them.
Yes, you heard me right.
You do not start by talking about yourself.
I have seen dozens of proposals
that just say hi, so and so, I am
and here's what I do and here's what I know
and here's what I've done.
No, I can read that myself
on your profile page.
What I need to know
is that number one, you understand my requirements.
Number two that you are able to solve the need.
So what you wanna do is rephrase the requirements
to show that you have a really deep understanding
of what they're looking for
and number two, provide value, all right?
So you need to be able,
based on all the research
that we've done on step number two,
you need to be able to provide value
even before they will have hired you.
Let me explain.
You want to be able to either provide examples,
provide suggestions, give them a few ideas
on how they could solve the problem
that they are looking to solve.
Not only will that position you as an expert,
and you basically don't even need to say you are an expert,
you are showing it,
but also, it increases the chances of them willing
to reciprocate because they will have received something
from you so basic human principles say
that they will want to offer something back,
which is the gig.
Also, unless you provide that value,
they will not buy from you
because nowadays, the options are so, so broad
that unless they are very sure
that you can provide that value,
they will not hire you.
So trust me on this one.
And let's take an example to show what I mean.
This is coming from a proposal
that was summited to me
for a job posting I had for a Flutter developer a while ago.
And as you can see, this individual did not talk
about what an expert they are
when it comes to Flutter
but they started providing value from the get-go.
Not only did they mention a bunch of reasons
why choosing Flutter was a great choice on our site
but also, they shared a bunch of resources
that addressed some of the questions
that we asked in the job posting.
All right, number four, let your credits talk about you.
Don't brag but show your best work.
Share any links, testimonials,
any work that you'll have done previously
and that is very relevant
to this type of work or this job posting
that you are applying for.
Let's take an example.
This here is an application
that I received for a social media manager job posting
that I had a while back
and as you can see, this individual here submitted
over 20 different links
of work that she or he had done in the past.
Not only were some of them mediocre
but they were not even relevant to my business.
Not only that, but sharing all of those kinda showed
that their time was more important
and valuable than mine because they didn't want
to spend the time selecting the right links
to send me and I was supposed to do that instead.
So please, do me a favor
and don't repeat this mistake.
Select really the work that best represents you
that shows the highest quality of work
that you can do and only share those
that are relevant to the job posting
that you are applying for.
Also, if you're new to Upwork,
or you're new to freelancing
and you don't have a bunch of testimonials
or other type of work that you can share,
let me know in the comments below
and I can make a dedicated video talking
about how you can still go about this
if you are new to this world.
All right, number five
and that is show your commitment.
Nobody wants to work with people
who are not committed.
Personally, when I look to hire somebody,
I want to make sure that they are just as motivated
as I am to get the job done
as best as they possibly can.
I'm looking for people
who want to give their best
and over deliver on my expectations.
And a good way that you can do that
is obviously by stating it in the proposal
that you are submitting.
An amazing way to do that though
is taking your time
and recording a one to two-minute video
or audio message that is specifically dedicated
to that customer
or client that has posted the job opportunity.
Not only does this make it very personal to them
but also, it shows your commitment
because you'll have taken the time
and you will have gone the extra mile
to show your interest.
And in that memo, you can once again,
rephrase and highlight how interested you are
in the opportunity that they're offering
and also, you can show your commitment to over deliver.
This is an underrated practice in my opinion
and I have only see a few people do this.
However, I think it's incredibly effective
and I have seen some that are able
to do this in a very non-intrusive way.
For example, let's take this person
who answered one of my application questions
by saying you can see that or you can find that out
in the voice memo that I have submitted,
which obviously, led me to listen
to the voice memo that they will have left
and not only find the answer to my question
but also listen to everything else
that they have to say.
Brilliant, isn't it?
All right.
Step number six,
and this is get them on a call.
If you do nothing else,
then this should be your main goal
when writing the proposal.
You wanna be specific and propose not longer
than a five to 10-minute Zoom or Skype
or any type of call
where you can answer their questions
or follow up on some of the proposals
and suggestions that you will have mentioned
at the beginning of your proposal,
if you remember what we've talked about a few steps before.
This is a fantastic opportunity
for you to engage and interact
with the hiring customer.
Not only will you be able to see if you're a good fit
but you'll have five to 10 minutes
to show them how amazing you are
and what a great fit you are for this job.
So you wanna be specific, as I said,
and only propose five to 10 minute,
ideally, also propose the date when you want to talk
so you make it very easy for them to choose.
(message pinging)
Let's take an example,
which is actually the same person we talked about
in the previous step.
If I haven't mentioned,
this is a proposal that I received for a copywriting job
that I posted a while ago
and as you can see,
this person suggested the five-minute Skype call
to see whether we are a good fit
and then further to this call,
they were going to go back
and come up with a plan on how we could work together.
What do you think happened next?
Of course, we had the call.
So if you do nothing else,
make sure you get them on that call.
All right, I was going to finish the video here
but before I do that,
I want to remind you
that my foolproof freelancer success formula
and checklist are available to you today for free.
They are the framework that I use myself
to coach customers that are interested
in freelancing careers
but also, I've used the same framework to design
and prepare the content for this video today.
So if you are interested in a freelancing career
or if you simply want to check out my success formula
that I use in many different aspects of my life
and in my coaching business,
then that is available to you as well.
You only need to go and find the link down below
in the description box
and when you click it, it'll take you to our website
and you can download it today for free.
Also, if you want to be part
of our secret society on Facebook,
where I share all of the great stuff that I'm working on
before I share to the rest of the public on our website
or here on YouTube,
then make sure you join us over there as well.
The link is also down below.
I hope this video gave you a better idea
on how to write a foolproof Upwork proposal
and if it did and you liked it,
please like it as well.
That helps me a lot.
Also, share it with a friend
who might find it helpful as well
if they're interested in a freelancing career as well.
Also, don't forget to subscribe
if you wanna be part of our community.
Come on, do it. (chuckling)
Do it right now, wait, no worries.
All right, great.
I hope this video was helpful.
I hope you create everyday magic.
I wish you a lovely day
and a lovely week and I'll see you next time.
Bye.