Monthly Archives: March 2013

How to acquire clients for call centers — Presentation!

March 29, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

I wrote a bunch of very similar sounding blog entries about how to acquire clients for call centers. The titles are all a little different. However, the content is very unique and helpful for each entry. Presentation is a very important topic that most outsourcing companies just don’t understand. Many companies just don’t understand how to have qualified people answer the phone and introduce their company. There are certain types of information that your phone answering staff need to know to make a good presentation so that you can have the best call center in town.

(1) What makes your company better than others of its kind?
Most people who answer the phone wouldn’t have a clue of how to answer that question. But, if you don’t know why someone should hire your company — then, they probably won’t — and probably shouldn’t. If you ask me what is better about my company, I can give you ten compelling reasons right off the top of my head — can you do that about your company? Think about it! You need to know why you are better. On the other hand, maybe your company is NOT better — and maybe that is why you can’t think of any reasons. Either you have better staff members, better flexibility, lower prices, or better something. If nothing else, perhaps you are better at being AVERAGE! Humor sells!

Here is a mock presentation:
Hello, this is Sam from YXV company. We sell widgets. Our widgets are no better and no worse than anyone else’s widgets. Additionally, our sales staff is no better or worse trained than the average widget selling company. Our delivery times and reliability are also pathetically average. Why should you hire us? I have absolutely no idea — other than the fact that if you want to hire someone average — that’s us. When it comes to being average, we shine above (or beside) the rest. We excel at being mediocre. Hire us today– and be happy knowing that you hired someone average – -with a smile!

This presentation is actually very well structured and comedic. Believe it or not, it would sell well, especially with a TV commercial. You could show average Sam wearing an off white work outfit and a silly looking off white painter’s hat. You would remember Sam’s funny and artificial smile, how average or under average he looks, and how he made you laugh by trying to smile. The name YXV would stick in people’s heads, and next time they are browsing the phone book, or looking for widgets, they will remember you for being funny, and having brand recognition.

Here is how companies in India present themselves

Staff: Hi, this is Surendra from YXV company. We are a call center.

Prospect: Could you tell us about your workers?

Staff: Oh, well that is personal and I can not talk about that

Prospect: Could you tell us about your company’s history?
Staff: No, sorry, that also is personal. We don’t discuss that with strangers. All of our information is on the website.

Prospect: We just checked your website and it has absolutely no information about your company history or staff. It just mentions that you have 40 workers and do certain types of services. It quotes some very technical statistics about your company without giving me any idea of who you are and what the personality of your company is like.

Staff: Once again, sorry, but I am not at liberty to discuss that. We have an 87% success rate with our clients (whatever that means), and have a 93.3% rate of something else.

Prospect: These numbers are very dry and unhelpful. They mean nothing to me. Sure it is nice to have statistics about your company the same way that big companies do. But, understanding the people who I will be dealing with means a lot more to me — but, I think that your evasiveness and vacuous responses have given me all the information that I need to know about your company — which basically is — to never call your company again even if my life depends on it.

Here is a better presentation

Staff: Hi this is Vivek from YXV company. We are a call center that has been in business for 12 long years.

Prospect: That sounds wonderful to know that you have longevity. How are your years longer than regular years?
Staff: Each of the 12 years, actually only had 12 months… perhaps 12.5 lunar months if you go by that. But, we accomplished so much in each year, that I personally feel, that they qualify to be categorized as long years — just like a New York minute really is shorter than a regular minute.

Prospect: Interesting answer. By the way, I like that you answered your phone.

Staff: I beg your pardon?
Prospect: Most companies don’t answer their phone.

Staff: Well, how can they acquire clients for their call center if they don’t?
Prospect: Maybe they don’t want clients. But, your company seems to want to acquire clients for their call center! And, you are very interesting to talk to.

Staff: Oh, well thank you! Would you like to know about our company history?
Prospect: Usually it is like pulling teeth trying to get a company to properly introduce themselves, and here you are actually VOLUNTEERING valuable information to me. You guys REALLY do want to acquire more call center clients!

Staff: Well, back 12 years ago, our founder Mr. Reddi wanted to try a new business. He came from a business family, but they were all in old fashioned businesses, and he wanted to keep up with the changing economic times…..
…………. etc…

Prospect: Wow, that was a great story, after hearing that story, I feel as if I know Mr. Reddi personally. How about your staff members?
Staff: Yes, well, we have 30 total staff members. We have 20 full timers, and a handful of part timers. Our senior manager is Jeff, and ….etc.

As you can see, this salesperson is informative, personable, and funny. Those are characteristics that sell. Additionally, he answered his phone which is more than I can say for 70% of Indian companies. Do you answer your phone? I suggest you at least think about it!

You might also like:

Most BPO blogs use cheap looking pics
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/11/most-bpo-blogs-use-cheap-looking-pics/

Indian companies who answer the phone professionally are even worse!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/23/the-indian-companies-who-answer-professionally-are-even-worse/

Is it better to have a woman do your phone calls?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/04/is-it-better-to-have-a-woman-do-your-phone-calls/

How to create a company culture like Google’s and have fun doing it!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/03/14/how-to-create-a-company-culture-like-googles-have-fun-while-doing-it/

18 ways to boost your social media marketing in 10 minutes a day!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/05/18-ways-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing-in-10-minutes-day/

Steve Jobs principle: The more people you network w/outside your field
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/08/28/outsource-steve-jobs-principle-the-more-people-you-network-w-outside-your-field/

Is it better to hire your own top-notch employee or outsource your task?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/04/13/is-it-better-to-hire-your-own-top-notch-employee-or-outsource-your-task/

Half a million Filipino call center workers are on American time
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/29/half-a-million-filipino-call-center-workers-are-on-american-time/

What is better about your BPO company?

March 26, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: BPO | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do you run a call center, BPO, KPO, software or IT outsourcing company? Do clients ever ask you what is better about your company? I think they should — and you should know how to answer them as well. Most companies that our staff talk to have no idea what is better about their company. Perhaps nothing is better about their company, and that is why they don’t know how to answer us. But, there SHOULD be something better about your company, otherwise how are you in business? Here are some ways to be the best BPO company possible.

(1) You could be faster at doing the same work or processes others do. I knew a pianist who could play the minute waltz in less than 33 seconds. We clocked him. It didn’t sound great being played that fast, but if you are in a hurry waiting for a train that is about to arrive, and want to hear the minute waltz, that particular pianist is the one to hire.

(2) You could have nicer staff than other BPO companies. These days, I am rarely happy about anyone’s staff. Every company seems to have one shining employee who brightens up my day, and the rest — well — the rest are the rest! Let’s put it that way.

(3) You could be cheaper. Some companies are cheaper, but don’t get the job done right. Are they really cheaper after the hassle? But, what if you really do get jobs done correctly and STILL are cheaper? Well, then you really are cheaper.

(4) You could have a nicer looking office. For outsourcing, nobody is coming to your office, so it doesn’t matter.

(5) Your receptionist could have a nicer sounding voice. A nice voice makes an impression

(6) You could have more flexible terms. Many companies are rigid these days. Having terms that benefit the client might bring you more clients. HAVING TERMS THAT BENEFIT YOU, MIGHT BRING YOU MORE YOU’S (if that is possible or desireable).

(7) You might do a better job and follow directions more.

(8) You might train your staff better.

(9) You could hire a fancier salesperson who is great at getting you new clients who you might be equally good at keeping (or losing).

(10) You might offer more related services. ONE STOP SHOPPING. If you do web design, you could also offer programming, social media, blog installation, and more. If you do call center work, you could offer data entry, surveys, statistical analysis, and virtual private assistants.

But, the bottom line is — no matter what is better about your company, if you can’t express that to the world, then it will take them a lot longer to find out what is good about you!

Fear is an emotion that can cripple you

March 24, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

I learned about fear in 2009. Sure, I had been fearful before, but this was different. My guru had removed many things from within me from past lives that caused me to lose my mind for a week. I guess he didn’t realize how severe the effects of his work were. Fortunately, with a few months of counseling and cabernet sauvignon, I got better. I think the angels helped too. But, I felt terror. My mind was not working normally. I had horrible dreams and visions all the time. Recurring terrifying thoughts that just wouldn’t stop. I don’t know other people who went through that, so it is hard to say if that is normal. What does normal mean anyway — at least what does it normally mean?

People get up and make speeches about how fear can cripple you. One of our former presidents had a speech where he claimed that the only thing to fear is fear itself. God created an ability to have fear within us to protect us. Without fear, we will die out. But, fear can cripple you as well.

During my week of paranoia, I came to a realization. I saw that the fear went straight to my body, and paralyzed my ability to think straight as well. I realized that I would have to not entertain fearful thoughts, or I might have to be hospitalized. It was no laughing matter. Thoughts rushed through my head. What if I can no longer function, what if I lose my business, what if I lose my sanity altogether? I have nobody to take care of me. I would lose everything. I learned that fearing doesn’t help anything, but just makes things worse. It causes chemical reactions to happen in your mind and body. At any rate, I became calmer and calmer. I had to stop meditating for a few months to recover from the mental trauma. Some of my neurons were indeed damaged for years which accounted for bizarre mental images that were recurring. They stopped, and some of them came back periodically over the years. In any case, I got used to it. After a few months, I started meditating again, and gained a very deep sense of calm. I guess whatever my guru removed was really hampering my spiritual development. I am happy to have the bad things removed from my soul, although I wish it could have been done in a way that was safer.

In any case, I lived the reality that I had to discipline my mind to deal with fear effectively.

As business people, we need to make decisions daily. We need to deal with difficult and sometimes scary situations. The tax collecters can be corrupt, dangerous and downright malicious. I had a horrible run in with those people. At first I panicked. But, then, I remembered my horrible experienced from 2009. I decided that I will fight a disciplined fight. In the long run I will be okay no matter what and that God would protect me. I controlled my fear, got an attorney, and took care of business.

You can also have bad situations with critical employees who you can not replace easily. It is scary. Do you have the capacity to consdition yourself to get really calm, and make a calculated decision? As a business owner you absolutely have to have this ability to control your emotions — otherwise you will break when you have a sudden problem.

Your heart already knows what you want to become in business

March 23, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

Do you listen to your heart? I talked to a man who believed that your heart and intestines had ganglia and intelligence. Personally, I believe that all parts of our body have consciousness. I believe that rocks have consciousness — not a very evolved consciousness, although I’m sure that some rocks are more evolved than other rocks.

Many of us are just so caught up in our daily work, that we don’t listen to our true self. We don’t listen to our intuition. We don’t do what we really should be doing, or at least not for long after it is due. As business owners, we need to really listen to ourselves for once. Maybe we need to meditate once a week on what we need to do, and what is important. I was doing this before and it worked well. Now, I am not so regular on this.

As business people, I feel that many of us are simply out of touch with watching our business. There is too much to watch and we are too busy. In 2013 life is busy. Everyone is busy whether they have a business or not. You need to free yourself up a bit. Hire some new assistants. Train some new people. Free yourself up so that you can watch and listen. Watch what is going on externally, and then watch what your intuition is trying to tell you.

It is like being two people. You have a higher self which knows the answers. Then, you have our mundane self which is really busy and is lost in a sea of distractions. The one self needs to listen to the other self. Connect yourselves. Then you will be on the right track: the both of you(s). The answers are all there — inside you. Wow, I sound like a guru. Maybe I should go to one of those schools of guruology and become a real guru. I am already saying guru type lines — and I meditate regularly — I am part of the way there already!

But you should listen to your gut too. Americans are better at listening to their gut than their heart in my experience. Listen to both. Your heart will help you more with aspiring to dreams. Your gut will be better at keeping you out of trouble. If your gut doesn’t like an idea, it will probably turn out to have serious issues. So, listen to your heart, gut, and maybe your liver and kidneys too — why not. Why should you leave out any vital organs, right?

How call centers find clients

March 20, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Call centers find clients in all types of ways. Some cold call companies around the world asking for business. Others get business by referral only. Imagine the profit margin of a company that doesn’t need a marketing budget? Many companies advertise on websites, directories, or through agents. There are so many ways for how call centers find clients.

But, the bigger issue is: Is your call center good enough to get serious clients? Many call centers are not that great at what they do. The bottom line is that you can spend a mint on marketing, but if you don’t have the service offering to back up your sales and marketing venture, you will end up with a loss.

So, my advice is to first think about how to have the best call center in the world. I would have at least seven years of experience working for someone else’s call center in a management position before attempting your own. If you think you can do a better job running your own call center, then good luck. If you offer a superior service, then IF you get clients, you will probably keep them, and maybe get a few referrals as well!

.

You might also like:

Compilation: How to get more clients for your BPO or Call Center
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/20/how-to-get-more-clients-for-your-bpo-or-call-center-compilation/

How to get clients for call centers using CONTRACTS
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/04/05/how-to-get-clients-for-call-centers-contracts/

How to write a resume for an outsourcing job
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/01/01/how-to-write-a-resume-for-an-outsourcing-job-2016/

Business quotes that will inspire you
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/10/04/business-quotes-that-will-inspire-you/

How do you inspire people who do boring BPO jobs?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/20/how-do-you-inspire-people-who-do-boring-bpo-jobs/

Best motivational quotes
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/09/10/best-motivational-quotes/

Are you a thinker or a doer?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/18/are-you-a-thinker-or-a-doer/

The rupee mentality
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/07/07/the-rupee-mentality-2/

Is it time to Uber-size your outsourcing business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/05/10/is-it-time-to-uber-size-your-outsourcing-business/

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How to get more clients for your call center

March 17, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

We wrote dozens of articles for how call centers can market themselves and get more clients. Please click on the call center link on the right of our blog to see all of the other articles. This article will be unique.

Get more clients for your call center
There are numerous traditional marketing techniques. Having a great website makes a huge difference. Having great sales staff is also irreplaceable. But, what about networking?

Marketing doesn’t always have to cost
I know of companies who network with other companies to get business. They don’t pay for advertising — not that there is anything wrong with paying for effective advertising. If you are a little call center, what if you take the jobs that a bigger call center rejected for one reason or the next.

Get more clients for your call center by networking
Picture the reality of a big call center. They have 200 seats to fill, and they want big clients only — ones that will sign big contracts and long contracts. What if little clients approach these giants? What will happen? Imagine that they could refer those little clients to your call center. They might want to know if you are any good before ruining their reputation referring clients to you. But, what if your call center service IS good? Or, perhaps they might want a finders fee if they get you a client. It is worth it to pay a small up front fee and residuals for good clients.

You could network with call centers around the world. Trying to get end users to hiring you by calling them is one way of marketing. But, OTHER call centers already have those end users, but might not want them. Perhaps those clients won’t pay enough, or won’t agree to rigid terms. That is perfect for you, because you have liberal terms, so you can get your business moving, right?

I’ll assume that you said, “Right”.

Tweets:
(1) Big call centers eat little call centers
BUT, little call centers can eat the left overs the big #callcenters didn’t eat
(2) 1 big #callcenter has 250 branches in 57 countries.
You’d better be very professional to compete with them for business!

You might also like:

Call centers who don’t answer their phone!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/08/call-centers-who-dont-answer-their-phone/

How to get more clients for your call center — better training!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/05/how-to-get-more-business-for-your-call-center-better-training/

Being the best version of YOU

March 16, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | 1 Comment

Many of us are very competitive. A few of us want to “crush” our competition. The competitor who is really dangerous does not want to crush you. He simply works daily on making his business the best that it can be, and always strives to be the best that he can be (scary). If your competitors were all trying to be the best that they could be — I assure you that you would be out of business tomorrow.

In some ways, we will never be able to compete with others. If someone is a master musician, and we are tone deaf, we can not compete. We can study music and perhaps improve, but we will never be Horowitz no matter what. So, rather than being disappointed, we should work hard at what we do in a way that has potential to achieve greatness. And we can also work on skills that we have which we will never reach greatness in. The main point is to try to be the best that you are, and not to be disappointed or happy when you measure yourself up to others. Remember — attachment to where you stand relative to others is a sure recipe for misery: The Taiwanese prove this point perfectly.

The Taiwan paradox: No matter how many millions they have, they always mention some other guy — also generally named Mr. Lin (30% of Taiwanese are named Lin) who has more money than they do. If Mr. Li has 2 million, then he looks to Mr. Lin who has 3 million and feels jealousy. Then after more hard work Mr. Li has 3 million, but then Mr. Wang has 4 million — and Mr. Li just can not be happy.

Toyota corporation has the concept of “Kai-Zen”. A Japanese term for constant improvement. Every day, they find something that they can do better. Exciting if you ask me. Many others are constantly trying to find new ways to refine every aspect of what they do every day. You know you are dead when you give up trying to evolve. The cave men stopped evolving and they died off which is proof that you must always try to evolve and always try to be the best version of you that you can be.

On a more satirical note — if you don’t like yourself — then you can try to be the best “aversion” of you that you can be!

Personally for me, I strive to be the “Jeremy P360L 2014 model with extra RAM” — that is the best version of me that I can think of at this point in my evolution.

To sum it up: Don’t be a cave man — EVOLVE!

How to start an IT outsourcing company

March 14, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Software Development | Tagged , | Leave a comment

There are so many different IT outsourcing companies in India, it makes my head spin — and so does the long flight to India!

But, how do people get these operations off the ground? (no, not the flight… the companies). It is hard to start an IT company. There are many types of skill sets that you need to run one, and you are lucky to have even one of the 20+ skill sets. You need great business skills, great people skills, sales skills, organizational skills, scheduling skills, hiring skills, analytical skills, investment skills, and also technical skills. So, where do you start?

My recommendation is to start an IT outsourcing company in one of two ways.

(1) Work for someone else and get to a management position for many years. Then, you will have technical and management skills. Those are critical for having your own business, although you will need a lot more skills than what you learn on the job. At least you will have some foundation for starting an IT outsourcing company.

(2) Work as a freelancer. Freelancers learn a lot about business skills. You will learn your skill, what to charge, how to organize your time, and maybe even how to hire others to help you when you have an overflow of work. If you hire the wrong person, your reputation will be ruined — so be careful!

What specialty should you choose if you are going to be starting an IT outsourcing company?

If you are smart, you will specialize in whatever you know most about. If you are excellent with databases, then stick to that. If you are an ASP whiz, then specialize in ASP. If you are great with Java script, then specialize in that. If your clients need other languages as well, you might hire additional help with related services so that you can offer one-stop shopping. But, try to offer a more economical deal for your main specialty, so that you can attract and keep more business.

Where should you get an office?
When starting off, there will be many challenges and hurdles. I suggest starting with a low budget. Get a cheaper office and keep your expenses low. To attract good workers, you might keep the office very comfortable and be nice to them. If the office is too horrible, and you treat your workers too horribly, then you will lose them and be out of business!

How many people do I hire when starting out?

Stick to hiring yourself, and use freelancers or on call help until you have enough business to justify hiring the 2nd person. Sure, that is not glamorous advice for someone to hear, but that is the truth, and you can not afford to pay 20 salaries when you have zero clients, right?

Good luck starting your IT outsourcing company.

Be an expert at this field BEFORE even thinking about starting up…

Getting the feeling of success in your bones

March 12, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

I talked to a new programmer who I hired. He and I were doing some similar feng-shui experiments. He wanted to be successful, so he went and spent time in some very wealthy neighborhoods to get success in his bones. He is now successful, and hires 10 people. I’m sure that his visits to poshe areas helped. I am very inspired by this new programming boss because he thinks like I do. He takes analytics on everything, and belives in the power of feng-shui.

I have been visiting Bel-Air regularly. One of the most wealthy neighborhoods in the world. House values in Southern Bel-Air range from 3 million to 30 million. Rent can be $300,000 per month in some homes. What do you pay for rent per month? $300,000 is pretty expensive, especially when you don’t have roommates to split the rent and utilities!

The first time I visited Bel-Air as an adult, my business started to flourish. Keep in mind that I used to visit Bel-Air, CA regularly as a courier. I had daily deliveries there and went all around that neighborhood. But, that was 17 years ago, and I was in a different business then. I don’t think the neighborhood had much of an effect on me at that point. So, since the area had such a positive effect on me, I thought I would take my friends there. One friend came with me, and his business benefitted after the visit. But, my other friend said she didn’t benefit at all. So, I believe that the mystical energies in certain areas only benefit those who are in particular types of businesses, or are in some way tuned in to the energies.

But, there is more. Besides my income going up, the way I think changed too. A few months ago, I wanted my business to grow, but it was hard for me to picture it happening. Now, I am feeling my business expand under my very feet. I am picturing where it is going to be in a few months, and a few years. I am making my plans for what I should do today, because I see how it will effect me once I have evolved a little more in the next year. I am seeing the new types of staff members I will need, what their roles will be, and how nit-picky I will be about all procedures. I will have all of my procedures streamlined and semi-automated as well. I have also predicted the next type of business that I will go into on the side.

The bottom line is that you really need to picture your success unfolding and live it in your waking dreams to get that feeling into your bones. Live it like a virtual reality game. Keep picturing yourself living the type of life you want and doing the type of business you love. Plus get a lucky feng-shui spot that works for you. Maybe there is a part of the city that gives you good luck. Experiment a little and find that lucky spot. You won’t regret it. Remember — one spot that is lucky for you might not be lucky for someone else — it is very personalized!

How to start an outsourcing company part 2

March 11, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsource Marketing | Tagged | Leave a comment

If you want to start an outsourcing company, and start with a bang, consider this.

(1) First, read our article about how to start an outsourcing company (the prequel)

(2) Then, read this article which is the sequel. This article basically consists of additional tips.

Be amazing
Most clients have a lousy experience with whomever they hire. Do you want your company to grow? Do you want to maintain your client base? What if you got work done for your clients better and faster than anyone else did? You will inspire loyalty on their part. If you are new in business, you might have extra time, since you have less clients. So, with the clients that you do have, you can afford to do an amazing job.

Have a web site that says it all
I am tired of visiting websites that have very little to say about the company. There are others with spelling mistakes, and useless content. Can you become an expert in having meaningful content that others want to read? Do you have a lengthy FAQ page as well as a Q&A page?

Have the best sales staff
A company that always answers its phone, and always answers questions with great answers fast will be popular with everyone — especially me. Also, great follow up througout the business relationship makes all the difference. We have written many other articles about outsource marketing that go over how to answer your phone, and how to train your sales staff. Please consider reading those articles.

How to attract more software business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/12/10/how-to-attract-more-software-business/

Improving your credibility at a call center
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/07/28/improving-your-credibility-at-a-call-center/

Getting call center work – making your list
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/27/getting-call-center-work-making-your-list/

The back burner strategy for outsourcing

March 8, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I don’t see BPO companies who think like this. Most BPO companies have really obtuse pricing strategies. It is too bad, because they would be able to grow more, and pinpoint what their clients want with a bit more innovation in their pricing strategy.

Imagine that you are an outsourcing company. Imagine that you have four employees that do a type of task. Perhaps they are call center workers, or perhaps programmers. Programmers are a better example since they often do a few hours a week for one client and a few hours for another client. But, the type of work they do is immaterial. The point is that in any given type of shop environment, you might have certain workers who are just busy all the time, and others who might have free time. Or, you might want to hire someone new, but don’t have enough work to keep them busy full time. So, what do you do?

My suggestion is NOT to have a flat labor rate. The rate for labor should depend on:

(1) Which employee is assigned to a particular account

(2) How busy that employee has been during the previous quarter.

If they were really busy, then you raise their hourly rate by several percent each quarter they were booked up, until you reach an equilibrium.

(3) Charge based on the time sensitivity of the job.

Front Burner Jobs
Let’s say that you have three rates for each employee. Let’s say that Mary’s time will be billed at $100 per hour. However, if you have a rush job, Mary will put you first — no matter what. Since other people will be delayed, it is only natural that you would have to bill more for the rush job. “Front Burner” or rush jobs might be billed at $130 per hour for example. In real life, perhaps only $115 or $120. You should taylor your rate so that 15-25% of any employees monthly labor consists of “Front Burner” jobs.

Back Burner Jobs
On the other hand, what if a client wants you to work for cheap, but doesn’t care when you get the project done. In such a case, you could charge them $60 per hour for Mary’s work. However, Mary would only work on your job when she has no more medium burner or front burner jobs to do. You might be waiting for months to get even one hour of Mary’s time. The problem is that your client might LEAVE if nothing gets done on their project for months.

A Back Burner Contract Idea
So, you need a CONTRACT where you guarantee the client a certain amount of work that you will get done. In exchange for offering a low price, you need to get flexibility from the client in exchange. I feel this is fair. After all, if the client needs your company to be flexible by doing a rush job, you charge them more, right? Let’s say that the client has a job that is 200 hours of labor to complete. Let’s say that the client is willing to give you up to a year to accomplish this task, but you can go as fast as you want. However, the client wants to make sure that you are not completely slacking off, otherwise there is no point in assigning this project to you. So, you can have a contract that states that you will do at least 15 hours of work per month on their contract, but you can do as much as 100 hours per work on the job too if you like.

The Next Issue – WHO will be working on the Back Burner Job?
Back Burner jobs are perfect if you have an employee who is no longer in demand. If your previous star employee only has an average of 20 hours per week of billable work, and you don’t want to fire them, then a back burner job would cover your costs to keep that employee around. On the other hand, what if you never know which of your employees will have time to work on a project? Whichever has extra time on their hands would be perfect for that back burner project. On a brigher note, if your company is growing, your new employee might have very few paying jobs to keep him busy, so a back burner job would be great for the first few months until you can dump some high paying work on him. The problem is, that your client might like Mary to be doing the work, and if Mary gets busy, the client might not like it if John (the new guy) starts picking up where Mary left off. After all John is new and might not be any good. If you write a contract, you have to specify WHO is authorized to do the work on a particular project, or at least what skill level of people. Certain BPO jobs require a specific skill level after all.

It is complicated having different employees all with differing hourly rates, and then to add the complexity of billing based on time sensitivity. However, this way you can deliver optimal results to your clients and be more popular. To me, it makes sense if a company aims for having 10-20% of their total work being back burner work. Why? This way you have plenty of time to accept rush jobs, so you don’t keep your paying customers waiting… Think about it.

Many BPO companies will take on a new client and promise to get their project done fast. Then, they will get a much bigger client, and put the smaller client on the back burner without consent. This is a dirty business technique used by so many programming houses. They basically ruin the schedule of the smaller company, and lose them as a client. Then, the big client might dump the BPO company as well, leaving them with NO clients. It is much better to just keep time commitments by charging people enough to warrant overtime pay, and the hassle of an uneven schedule.

The end!

Are you tired of outsourcing to India?

March 5, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Are you tired of the nonsense?
Anyone who has outsourced to India knows of what I speak… the little tricks, the negligence, the hour padding, the stubbornness, the poor communication habits, and the disinclination to plan for the future and not having any concept of timeliness whatsoever? Me too. India is the king of BPO outsourcing, at least for small and medium companies. So, what are your other more favorable options for fulfilling your outsourcing needs.

You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.
If you deal with Indian BPO outsourcing companies, you will find many distinct cultural behavioral patterns that repeat themselves. Some of these behaviors are very pleasant while others will drive you crazy! If you are lucky, you will link up with one of India’s many responsible people. The problem is that there are also many negligent and crooked people mixed in with the great people that doing business with new companies (or existing companies who hire new staff regularly) can be very unpredictable. Each country has their own unique cultural makeup. Some are more concerned with accuracy, and others stress social skills. If you are tired of doing business with India — try some other countries and compare. But, remember, no matter WHERE you do business, make sure you are working with good people.

Where is the back office?
For programming, there are many outsourcing arrangements between Western countries and popular outsourcing destinations (India, Russia, Belarus, Romania, China, the Philippines, etc.) Finding these companies is no easy task. Looking around on the internet, it is not always easy to see where people are REALLY doing business. Their mailing address on their contact us page and their evasive back office’s location are typically two completely different things. The only real way to make heads or tails of the marketplace is to call local programming companies and ask where their network is (and hope you get a straight answer). However time-consuming, you can learn a lot. Visiting a company in person will tell you if there is a company to begin with (or if you are hiring someone who works out of their bedroom and uses irresponsible freelancers he barely knows).

Even if you bombed in Bombay, you can manage in Manila!
For call center work, there are zillions of call centers in the Philippines. But, finding them is no walk in the park. There are call centers you can find on the internet in the Philippines. However, those are not always the highest end companies that exist. You would have an easier time reaching the DMV by phone than being able to talk to an actual manager at some of these call centers. Most successful offshore companies have a sister company in America, England, or some other Western country. You might have better luck scouring the American market to see who is networking with the Philippines.

East meets West: Goals versus Family
American culture is more goal-oriented while Indian culture is more family-oriented. Americans are often very picky about deadlines. Indians are used to routine and unpredictable electrical outages, floods, riots, strikes, and other types of delays and seem immune to missing deadlines. On a brighter note, Indian companies are generally better staffed, and can give you more hours of work per week, even if their work is not quite as efficient as you hope. Additionally, if you visit India, you will find that although their phone etiquette is atrocious, they are very gracious and hospitable in person.

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