Using Local Help To Get Local Leads

10 replies
Hey Guys,
I know it's fashionable to employ marketing and production assistance overseas.

Outsourcing in these countries is usually cheap and sometimes good.

While the prices can be excellent, I've found a lot of communication issues and there never seems to be any relationship developed....maybe some marketers are better at this 'long distance' email/Skype only method, but I've been doing something different..

One year ago I placed a simple flyer in two local colleges. The flyer announced I was looking for a part-time work-at-home assistant, someone with a computer/internet experience and maturity...why maturity?...because it might weed out the kids and I knew there were plenty of adults in college today.

Result: I ended up getting a mom who only lives a few blocks from me!..that part was unexpected. Yes, I pay her more than what I'd probably be paying someone in Thailand etc....but there are advantages I didn't expect.

Communication is easy compared to folks from different cultures. Her writing is recognizable as American-style English, and (this is big)....she has helped me get new local clients!...

She travels in different circles than me, but in the same geography. She's given me leads, businesses she knows and/or has relationships with, keeps me abreast of new store openings. In general she acts as another set of eyes and ears. That's proving to be very valuable.

As an aside, I'll add that some areas are still hurting from this economic downturn. ...it just seems to me that anything we can do to support local folks and local businesses, is good business, too.
_____
Bruce
#leads #local
  • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
    Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

    ...As an aside, I'll add that some areas are still hurting from this economic downturn. ...it just seems to me that anything we can do to support local folks and local businesses, is good business, too.
    _____
    Bruce
    I couldn't agree more. Most of your offline clients are going to be the small, "Mom & Pop" variety of businesses. In other words, we're not providing our services to Home Depot, we're providing them to Dave's Hardware. One of the biggest upsides to this is that Dave is going to sing your praises to every business owner he knows.

    Will
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937456].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jrobconsult
    Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

    Hey Guys,
    I know it's fashionable to employ marketing and production assistance overseas.

    Outsourcing in these countries is usually cheap and sometimes good.

    While the prices can be excellent, I've found a lot of communication issues and there never seems to be any relationship developed....maybe some marketers are better at this 'long distance' email/Skype only method, but I've been doing something different..

    One year ago I placed a simple flyer in two local colleges. The flyer announced I was looking for a part-time work-at-home assistant, someone with a computer/internet experience and maturity...why maturity?...because it might weed out the kids and I knew there were plenty of adults in college today.

    Result: I ended up getting a mom who only lives a few blocks from me!..that part was unexpected. Yes, I pay her more than what I'd probably be paying someone in Thailand etc....but there are advantages I didn't expect.

    Communication is easy compared to folks from different cultures. Her writing is recognizable as American-style English, and (this is big)....she has helped me get new local clients!...

    She travels in different circles than me, but in the same geography. She's given me leads, businesses she knows and/or has relationships with, keeps me abreast of new store openings. In general she acts as another set of eyes and ears. That's proving to be very valuable.

    As an aside, I'll add that some areas are still hurting from this economic downturn. ...it just seems to me that anything we can do to support local folks and local businesses, is good business, too.
    _____
    Bruce
    Excellent tip. What does she do for your business and how many hours a week is she working for your business?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937702].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
      Sounds great, but I have two VA's in the Philippines who work for me full time (40 hours week). I pay them less than $500 month, each. No way I'll find someone in the US to work for anywhere close to these wages. My VA's have excellent English, very punctual, great work, and they always call me Sir.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937770].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
        Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

        Sounds great, but I have two VA's in the Philippines who work for me full time (40 hours week). I pay them less than $500 month, each. No way I'll find someone in the US to work for anywhere close to these wages. My VA's have excellent English, very punctual, great work, and they always call me Sir.
        I fully acknowledge the vast difference in pay scales...I've read the average income in the Philippines, for example, is around $400 a month. I pay my local assistant $500 plus a month also, but for obviously less hours ..
        She does just about everything I don't like to do, or can't do. Record keeping (something I would never outsource overseas), pay bills, invoice clients, handle customer service, follow up with existing local clients, prepare mailings, run to printer, post office, bank, and the like.

        And since she has become a friend, she calls me "Bruce". :-)
        _____
        Bruce
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937958].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author jrobconsult
        Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

        Sounds great, but I have two VA's in the Philippines who work for me full time (40 hours week). I pay them less than $500 month, each. No way I'll find someone in the US to work for anywhere close to these wages. My VA's have excellent English, very punctual, great work, and they always call me Sir.
        I see mixed comments about hiring from the Philippines. I have a few questions for you:
        1. How did you find them?
        2. What are there duties?
        3. Do you ever offer them bonuses?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3938154].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
      Originally Posted by jrobconsult View Post

      Excellent tip. What does she do for your business and how many hours a week is she working for your business?
      She does just about everything I don't like to do, or can't do. Record keeping (something I would never outsource overseas), pay bills, invoice clients, handle customer service, follow up with existing local clients, prepare mailings, run to printer, post office, bank, and the like.

      ...about 15 hours a week, give or take. She values the home-based nature of it and the flexible work.
      _____
      Bruce
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937977].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author musicaltouch
    I am investing in my local market too. I do not employ and overseas staff.

    I do outsource through Fiverr, but I believe in rebuilding locally and have been building my business successfully by using US residents and investing in people!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3937800].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author musicaltouch
    To answer the question from jrobconsult.
    Originally Posted by jrobconsult

    What are some of the things you outsource locally? If you don't mind give me a range of what you pay? I am looking into outsourcing locally also.
    I outsource as much as I can. I have been training two people on doing exactly what I do, for security reasons I use two people.

    They create social networks, Set up new accounts, publish content and private and personal sites, local directory submissions, write videos, etc....

    I basically make a procedure for what I do, train them and then revise the procedure as we discover better ways and WHAT REALLY WORKS...

    I will pay a trainee anywhere from $8- $10 and hour based on their skills and experience on a PC.

    After they complete training I move their pay to a per job rate and pay what the job is worth. We focus our energy on building quality content and getting powerful backlinks.

    For instance to run a weekly or monthly SEO process for one client that is paying me $1,000 - $2,500 A month, I will pay $50-100 for that process per week. It is up to them to deliver what I have already trained them to do.

    Everything is based on time and money. If they help imporve the process I also spiff them extra money.

    The downside to this is protecting yourself from theft and intellectual property, which is why I sue two people versus 1.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3938019].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jrobconsult
    One of my concerns about hiring local workers is trying to sell to your clients at a cheaper price. What safeguards do you have to minimize this, such as them signing a non compete?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3938135].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    If you mean trying to find local providers for certain things then I have not had a ton of success for two main reasons
    1. The pricing tended to be higher than what I prefer to pay, even when I got good deals from talented providers who charged less than market and I always want to support local when possible BUT

    2. The biggest problem was the overall laziness and lack of work ethics I ran into. Its like as soon as these folks make the money they needed for the week, they took their sweet time on stuff. Not getting my stuff on time and having to keep calling about missed deadlines became too much., thats why I learned about outsourcing through odesk, elance and others.

    Since that time, I have had more success finding people who want to serve and appreciate the opportunity and I pay less. Cant complain for the most part as at least 90% of my experiences are 4-5 star rated.
    Signature
    Promise Big.
    Deliver Bigger.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3938350].message }}

Trending Topics