Let’s be honest: you can discover these reasons the easy way or the hard way, but you’ll find that sooner or later you understand why outsourcing is so widespread among busy people.
Most small businesses do things the hard way. They make mistakes, lose time and/or money, and then learn from those mistakes.
I propose we skip all of that faffing about and I just tell you what you need to know right now.
Right?
As soon as it’s feasible, outsource customer service
Why? Because if you don’t, you’ll be wasting half your day answering support requests, updating email addresses (you wouldn’t believe how often people change their email address!), providing refunds, answering enquiries, and so on.
That’s time you could spend doing something else, like… let’s see… wait, I know… MAKING MONEY.
Your priority should be to grow your business, not to respond to support tickets.
Another reason: Your virtual assistant who handles your support can protect you from those customers who are always going to find something to complain about.
Simply instruct your V.A. to manage it for you without ever informing you. (In this scenario, simply refunding the person and deleting them from all lists is sufficient.)
And, by the way, if you think your items will be so fantastic that everyone will love them, I know you haven’t made any sales yet.
Nobody cares if you develop a way to turn pixels into gold; someone will pour scorn on it. And that’s fine if you don’t have to hear about it
Outsource the tasks that bring you the most money first
Say you’ve decided to outsource your web development, content and product development, copywriting, and email funnels etc.
Ask yourself, “What’s going to bring in the most profit?”
That is the first project to outsource.
Perhaps you pay someone to manufacture a widget for you, then sell that widget to hundreds of purchasers. BOOM! You’ve just repaid your investment and more.
But what if you don’t yet have any clients? And there’s no list? Then perhaps you could outsource the creation of your squeeze page so you can begin list building and selling to your list.
Whatever would provide you the most profit should be outsourced first. This way, you won’t be out of money without seeing any results.
Pay outsourcers by the JOB, not by the hour
You want to know ahead of time how much it will cost to do a given task. And a true expert will be able to tell you exactly how much it will cost.
Many small businesses owners make the mistake of paying for services by the hour. This leaves you not knowing how much it will cost and how long it will take.
What is the one exception to the non-hourly rule?
Your personal virtual assistant or customer service representative. Because of the nature of their labour, paying them by the hour is preferable.
Delegate tasks that you’ve been putting off
Have you written a book, an article, or a blog post but haven’t yet given it the editing you know it needs? Perhaps it mentions a landing page you haven’t created yet.
All the time you spent writing has gone to waste. Outsource what you haven’t done so that you can get it out there, making sales as soon as possible.
Outsource what you’re not excellent at or don’t enjoy doing.
Do you enjoy creating websites, but your web design skills haven’t been updated in a decade? Or, you know how to write but hate writing sales copy.
Those are the tasks you should delegate. By focusing on your abilities, strategically organising your business, and delegating the rest of the work, you will generate money faster than if you tried to do everything yourself.
Have someone else play the instruments while you’re conducting the orchestra
Many of us are multipotentialites*. We can create a product in our niche, write multiple pieces of content preparing our audience for its release, make several videos building up to the debut, and then publish.
All of this, though, is a lot of work. You have sales copy to write, collaborators to contact, swipe emails to write, and so on.
If you can afford it, outsource whatever you can so you can focus on working ON your business rather than IN it.
People who work on their business while outsourcing the majority of the work make 5 to 10 times as much as those who work in it.
What are you waiting for if you haven’t yet outsourced something?
If you already have an internet business or are starting one and haven’t yet outsourced something, it’s likely that fear is holding you back.
Outsource a little job at first to see how it works.
I guarantee you’ll be hooked, and your company will expand twice as quickly.
There isn’t a single seven-figure online entrepreneur who doesn’t outsource. Isn’t it about time you started?
* A multipotentialite is someone with many interests and creative pursuits
What a great blog! It took me years before I had the confidence to outsource. I didn’t trust people to help me with my business but also didn’t think I could afford to outsource. Now I’ve realised that by outsourcing I actually earn more and get to do the job I love all the time!
Thanks Kirsty. Isn’t it mad that we, who do this for other people, should feel like this? I was exactly the same. Now, I understand the value of outsourcing and am much more confident about helping other businesses.