Internet Marketing:
Outsourcing:
Outsourcing has changed how call centers work and how large businesses in North America provide their phone and computer service. English speaking people answer your questions and help solve problems for multi-national corporations. They do it all from third world countries where labor is cheap and plentiful.
The reason these companies use this service is because the cost is very low compare to hiring people in North America. They may lose some quality in the level of service due to translation and difficulty to understand, but the cost savings more than makes up for it. At least this is what the corporate stuffed shirts think and the shareholders desire.
How can Outsourcing help your small business?
Just about any task you can think of can be outsourced. Outsourcing is just hiring others to do your tasks or jobs. The catch with outsourcing is that you are hiring your staff in another country where the cost is substantially less. This is not always the case. You can hire folks from your own city or country. The third world suppliers tend to have lower cost people for you to hire.
You contact an available contractor, interview them, and get references. Than negotiate a price and time for delivery of the service or product you need.
You arrange for payment and the service is completed. Once completed you allow payment for the completed project. You review the work and how everything went and decide on future outsource projects.
Payment is normally done over a few steps
I normally suggest arranging to pay for a job over a few different time periods as the work is completed.
First Payment is done at the completion of the negotiations and with a certain percentage of the work done. Normally 25% or less. The second payment can be done at 50%. The third can be done at completion and the final payment done after the troubleshooting period or final adjustments are done.
You can arrange whatever payment program you want but I suggest you do it over a period of time and never make full payment until you have the final project and have had some time to review to make sure it was done as promised. This is very true when dealing with web design services and software or application design and writing.
There are a number of firms that work as agents for outsourcing employers and employees. They can help with the payment of the services in either a full payment agreement or using a staged payment program.
Test and thoroughly review the final project results
When you hire an Outsourcer, you need to inspect carefully all the work they do. Make the outsourcer do all corrections and additions to make the final project result as close to your original design as possible.
An issue I have experienced is to hire an outsourcer and then as soon as the final payment is made they disappear. No more contact is available and your choice of recourse to get additional help disappears instantly.
I learned the hard way that being nice and completing the final payment early before the final review can be costly. My project needed revisions and corrections and the designer disappeared never to be heard from again.
I needed to hire another designer to complete the project at almost the same cost as the original project. Double the original cost of the project. Do not learn the hard way, learn from my experience and many others I would suspect.
Your only recourse is to write a bad review and hope the outsourcer will contact you to fix the issue and get you to update the review once they correct the issues.
Where can you find Outsourcers?
There are many websites that offer help in finding outsourcers. You can find thousands of folks by simply typing in what service you need and then the word outsource behind it on Google. This simple step will give you lots of places to start your search.
Other websites such as:
There are also many companies that help find you contractors or staff overseas.
Please note things change fast in on the Internet and companies can be bought and can join together to make stronger and more reliable firms. Searching for outsourcing firms is easy.
The trick is to get samples and or references before hiring
Just like hiring a staff member, hiring a outsourcer must be done with some caution. You need to check out the firm offering the referral and find out if they have honored the commitment to match you op to a reliable outsourcer.
Can you get a guarantee of satisfaction? Do they provide a way to check past work? Do they have a complaint and resolution service in place? Can they handle the payment program you want to use?
Just like hiring a staff member you need to do your research and don’t just jump in to the pool. Take your time to find the right person and you can have a staff member that can work with you for years to come.
Outsourcing can save you a lot of money when done right
Take time to investigate your potential contractor and the service that recommends them. Research the person or firm as much as you can. Get some references and take the step and time to call or email those references.
Get samples and proof of what they can do. If possible, break the job into sections and have them complete one section to your satisfaction. If that works you have a very good chance of making a great relationship for years to come.
Outsourcing is a great way to hire staff, investigate it and you will understand what I am talking about