OutSourcing.. The Bells and Whistles?

5 replies
Frustration 101.. with something that's supposed to be easy.

Well if honest I guess I probably haven't got this one figured to the tee and am having serious problems even getting my applicants to fill out a short word document I made to learn more about them so I could store it on file...

Though I really don't blame the freelancers.. I blame me for creating the document myself while also having absolutely no idea how it would benifit me..

Anyhow, I'm not bruning any more rubber on this one..

I need recommendations for a product with all the bells and whistles.. Documents for interviewing etc.. I hope such a product exists.

Thank You All.
#bells #outsourcing #whistles
  • Profile picture of the author Profit-smart
    Outsourcing 101:

    I poured 8 months and a ton of capital into (negative ROI) outsourcing before I figured this out.

    Do NOT "Out-Source"

    I "Local-Source"

    I find colleges bulletin boards are a fantastic resource, as is craigslist. But dont try to go out of country; for what you save on hourly rates you will PAY in time.

    For example, I once had a team in Malyasia doing PPC research for me (Compiling reports on all the competition in a given niche, etc)

    I spent a solid 9 hours a week giving them instructions. It never, EVER stopped. Any problem they had, was my problem. Their computers are messed up? Its my tech supports problem. Their browsers are acting up? I had to write a tutorial on reinstalling firefox.

    Stick to people who speak your language. In a highly technical environment, even the slightest language barrier can be a NIGHTMARE for management.

    I now stick to people I know, or have at least spent some time with. I've gotten a few good guys from college bulletin boards, and through craigslist. Just look for a one off freelancer, and put him to work. If his work is STELLAR, offer him a recurring position. Part time if you have a high demand for his services, or just keep him in your contacts if its sporadic.

    As far as writers go, unless you know just what your doing; the easiest solution is to find a team in the Phillipines (I find they speak and write english more fluently than workers out of India). Make sure there quality writers!

    Then take on an editor, using my Local sourcing method. Have all their work ran through him, so any grammatical errors and so forth can be corrected.

    Its not exactly practical to take on a team of US writers for example; The rates are much higher and its hard to recoup your investment. But by sticking one very skilled US writer in an editor position, you can use those outsourced writers and still produce quality content.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1307162].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    I probably shouldn't say this, but I started on "such a project". Who knows, maybe I
    am just to busy with other things, etc... I just haven't bothered to finish it like I would like. ONE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!

    It is NOT written to tell people EXACTLY what to ask. Besides, there can be several correct answers, and several ways of saying the SAME thing. There are actually people that try to bluff PROFESSIONALS, like you would NOT believe. It is like interviewing cavemen to be taxi cab drivers, and they tell you how they put petrol in the airfilter every day, and flew it between maine and california every morning to commute, and got their license from GUAM! There are others that try to read "brain dumps", etc... In short, you don't want to ask questions of them if you don't know the subject.

    Steve
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1307470].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TommyBussey
    I don't know if this will help you out or not, but there's a fantastic website called Odesk.com. They make all their outsourcing workers log in when they are working, and you can check on them in real time. It's pretty cool, you only pay for the hours the work when they're logged in.

    I don't know, if you wanna check it out (I use it) go here: Outsource to Freelancers, IT Companies, Programmers, Web Designers from India, Russia, USA, and more - oDesk

    Originally Posted by Intrepreneur View Post

    Frustration 101.. with something that's supposed to be easy.

    Well if honest I guess I probably haven't got this one figured to the tee and am having serious problems even getting my applicants to fill out a short word document I made to learn more about them so I could store it on file...

    Though I really don't blame the freelancers.. I blame me for creating the document myself while also having absolutely no idea how it would benifit me..

    Anyhow, I'm not bruning any more rubber on this one..

    I need recommendations for a product with all the bells and whistles.. Documents for interviewing etc.. I hope such a product exists.

    Thank You All.
    Signature

    - Meet Tommy Bussey -

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1307527].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RMC
      I have a full time assistant overseas and I have done SEO stuff mostly, and list building things. So far it's at break even in directly generated sales after only a few weeks, not even counting all the new subscribers that could turn into rev. later.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1307603].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Curleyjohn
    Here is a link to John Jonas' audio about outsourcing. He swears by it.
    Replace Myself | Outsourcing Training Phone Call MP3 (No Affiliate)

    Or if you don't have time for it just take a look at replacemyself.com for training videos, staffing, ect, ect.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1307621].message }}

Trending Topics