The next most commonly asked question about outsourcing after “How much is it going to cost me” is “Where can I find someone who is qualified to help me?”Word of Mouth: It can be that simple. In fact, that’s how I found my first outsource writer for a project I had…word of mouth. This is one of the best ways of finding qualified help. If someone has had a bad experience with a company or individual, most likely they will talk about their experience and the same thing goes for positive experiences. Pay attention to what those in your line of business are saying. Learn from the experiences of those who have used the providers you are interested in.
Additionally, ask your partners, mentors and others in your line of work who they would recommend.
Freelance Directories: Several websites list service providers via directories or forums. Search places like Shelancers.com to find the perfect person for the jobs that you need done.
Bidding sites: Elance, Rentacoder and Guru.com are all sites where you post your projects and have freelancers bid on the jobs.
Be careful not to outsource jobs just for the sake of outsourcing. A common mistake that is often made by people learning the outsourcing ropes is they outsource tasks that could be automated instead. An example would be article marketing. For a small monthly fee, there are services that will submit your articles for you Once you have filled out the proper forms, you plug in your article and Submit Your Article takes care of all the article submissions for you. Additionally, there are software programs that you can buy with a one time payment such as Mass Article Control. Once you have this software set up it will automate the process of submitting your articles to the directories.
Let’s review some of the most popular tasks that you can easily outsource:
- article writing, book writing and blog posts and any tasks associated with it such as audio and video. You can even outsource the writing of your blog posts if you have done your homework well and found a competent writer.
- posting on forums, commenting on blogs, social bookmarking…these can all be outsourced
- any and all of your traffic generation methods (remember there are companies that specialize in knowing the ins and outs of the search engines and their requirements…take advantage of their knowledge)
- customer service requires diligent, consistent attention. Making sure your customers are well taken care of will give you much peace of mind.
Use your logic as well as your intuition when you start negotiations. Make sure to ask for samples of their work and references. If they are new in the field and don’t have samples or references, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them (you could be passing up on a hidden jewel) just be more cautious and play by a tighter set of rules. Don’t pay them in advance…after all, you are taking a risk so they should not expect payment up front. You just might get lucky and their work will be exceptional.
Remember, outsourcing is the key to growing your business while keeping it enjoyable and manageable for you. If you treat your assistants with common courtesy and professionalism they will more readily produce great work for you not only now, but for years into the future. They are professionals, treat them with the respect they have earned.
I hope this little mini-series on outsourcing has helped you to understand the many benefits to be gained by learning the outsourcing ropes.
Till next time…
enJOY,
Kathy
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