Outsourcing should be easy. After all, that’s the whole point of getting another company to do work for you. It should be like being a consumer and just ordering what you want off the shelf.
But, of course, businesses aren’t always known for doing things the easy way. A lot of owners aren’t even sure what to outsource or whether any of it is worth their time.
That’s where this post comes in handy. It shows how easy outsourcing can be once you adopt the right approach. By the end of this post, you should have a much better understanding of what you need to do to succeed and how you can make it work for you.
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Define What You Need
The first step is to define what you need. You should know which tasks aren’t serving you in your company.
If you’re going to make a list of tasks to outsource, start with your priorities. Begin with tasks that are taking up the most of your in-house time and resources but that aren’t core to your offering. Then, expand from there.
For example, let’s say that you’re spending 90% of your time trying to master marketing but aren’t getting anywhere. Try outsourcing this to a third-party that really understands ads.
Likewise, if you’re having trouble with your logistics, then find a 3PL provider. These can be a great way to cut down on your expenses.
Alternatively, if you need to compute something, or don’t want to host your IT system in-house, try TRG’s colocation services. Don’t pay extra just to keep something in your building if you don’t have to.
Choose Platforms
Next, you’ll want to start looking at your platforms. These can be handy if you need the odd service here and there. Most of these platforms allow you to buy services ad hoc, meaning that you only pay for what you need. You’re not being locked into contracts, unless you agree to one with the contractor.
Upwork and Fiverr are probably the most famous examples. However, there are plenty of others around these days. These offer different types of staff designed to meet your requirements, depending on what you want them to do.
If you’re not sure about using these platforms, trial them to see how you get on. Often, you can pay as little as $20 to see what happens. That’s low risk, and if you find someone good, you can continue to use them long-term.
Screen Like Mad
Another pro tip is to ensure that you’re screening like mad. While outsourcing can be highly effective, you can also wind up with duds.
One of the best ways to do this is via Loom video intros. These are handy when you want to introduce yourself to someone and check they meet your requirements. Often, you’ll want to ensure that their past work is in your precise niche.
Also, you want people who are actually in your timezone for a lot of jobs. If you’re working at opposite ends of the clock, it can be hard to collaborate.
Set Up Proper Communication Rules
Working with outsourcing companies? Then, you’ll want to set up proper communication standards from day one. These determine how you interact with each other, and what happens during those conversations.
How you do this depends significantly on the types of services you’re using. For most businesses, a weekly 15-minute Zoom call is usually enough. This provides time for review and enables progress to occur if something isn’t quite working how you’d hoped.
The other option is to check in daily. This can be beneficial if you’re overseeing something complicated and you don’t want the provider to run for several days in a row where they might veer off course.
If you can do it all on Trello or Notion, then that’s okay, too. After a couple of months, you’ll quickly find out whether this is enough.
Document Everything
During your relationship with the outsourcing company, make sure you document everything. Don’t leave any stone unturned.
You want to do this because it gives you an edge if a dispute arises. Usually, B2B relationships are civil, but they can sometimes go wrong. When they do, you want to ensure that you have all the backup you need.
We suggest using the cloud to backup all your documents and emails. If you have any paper documents or receipts, make sure you scan them first.
Use Milestone Payments
Another good practice is to pay outsourcing companies by “milestones.” This approach is effective because it encourages progress. The companies and individuals you use know that if they perform and just get the job done, they’ll get paid sooner.
For example, a lot of brands pay 33% upfront, 33% across all the various milestones, and then the remainder at the end. If you’re using one of the online platforms, you may also be able to use the escrow function. This feature holds money with the third-party before job completion, adding a layer of trust to the process.
Start Tiny And Scale
Next, you’ll want to think about how you can start small and then scale. You’ll want to outsource your first $100 and then build from there. Don’t be one of these businesses that spends tens of thousands of dollars upfront without really testing the water.
Automate Onboarding
One of the things you want to avoid is inefficiency due to onboarding when outsourcing. While the practice can be highly effective, it can also slow you down in some respects, which is the opposite of what you want.
Therefore, look for ways to speed things up. For example, you could provide your outsourced parties with standard operating procedures. These help them know what to do next and how you need them to perform.
You could also give them brand guidelines. Again, these are handy because they enable everyone to work from the same basic, underlying document.
Finally, give them the logins for all your tools. Don’t leave them hanging.
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