Monthly Archives: January 2014

I fantasized about having my own nation. But, without land?

January 29, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I always dream about having my own dictatorship. I have neither the money, nor the skill to create or run such a place. Maybe I need to visit Arabia and befriend a bored Sheikh who wants to be my partner. But, then it would be THEIR dictatorship which would ruin all the fun. They would get to say, “Off with his head”, but I wouldn’t… damn-it… Not to mention Islamic law which prohibits Cabernet Sauvignon which is another deal breaker. Hmmm.

But, what about starting a country without GPS coordinates. That solves more problems than you think. Most countries have to own and occupy land. You have to either buy it, inherit it, or steal it. Land doesn’t come cheap these days. The only way to get cheap land is to have a boat and hope that Atlantis resurfaces after 12,000 years under water. Think positively — it could happen. The only realistic way to get land these days is to spend a few million or billion and buy it in the Caribbean, or South Pacific.

The next consideration is securing your land. If you have a country, you need a population, assets, and a way to protect that population and those assets. You need a military. You have to have military equipment, soldiers, training, and someone to lead the forces. Hmm, that is not exactly my forte. I would prefer to be a music critic.

Having a country that doesn’t exist solves all of these problems with one fell swoop. No land means no financial expenditure to purchase the land, and no military expenses either to secure the land. It is like a Seinfeldian dream — a country with no land! Of course with global warming and ocean levels rising, it might become a reality for Bangladesh and Louisiana.

I had this joke about the Mediterranean rising to the point where Israel was 90% under water. They had so many people that they had to build really tall buildings on the land, and the rest of the population had to live in boats on the water. So, they created a floating partition wall to separate the Jews from the Palestinians. The Jews yelled, “The water belongs to Israel!”, while the Palestinians yelled back, “No, the water belongs to Palestine!” The irony is that during the night, the partition and the boats all floated into Egyptian waters. After a long night of Debke dancing, a Palestinian boat drifted on the far side of the floating wall to the Israeli side of the wall and they got into a big argument which was settled by the Egyptian military who said, “No, you are both wrong — THIS water belongs to Egypt!”

But, getting back to the point here — a country without land would be inexpensive and fun. You could have imaginary currency, create your own passport for “Wahoogistan”, and even create your own flag! Have fun getting your passport stamped, and don’t give up your US citizenship either. The problem is getting your nation recognized. What other country wants to recognize a nobody of a country? What would you use for currency? And who would protect you if you were invaded. You need allies. For small time fries, starting your own country is not realistic, but if you ran a huge corporation, the corporation would have the funds to create a country. A corporation and a country are very similar in nature. They both have people, assets, and are a legal entity that has income and pays bills. Think about it…

Tweets:
(1) I want to have my own dictatorship, but without land for my country?
(2) I have neither the money, nor the skill to be a quality dictator. “Off with his head!”
(3) What about starting a country without GPS coordinates?
(4) If you started your own country, what would you use for currency?

You might also like:

A stand up comedian at a stand up restaurant in India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/05/stand-up-comedian-at-a-stand-up-restaurant-in-india/

What if classically trained musicians ran IT companies in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/01/what-if-classically-trained-musicians-ran-it-companies-in-india/

Do you invest in the customer experience?

January 27, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Marketing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

There are certain companies out there that are “feel good” companies. Their employees happily work as a team. Their customers are enthusiastic about their product. Cliff Bar, Starbucks and Google seem to meet this description. Customers will want to come to you and refer their friends if you offer a good customer experience.

I have noticed that plumbers, electricians, and outsourcing companies tend to not invest much (understatement of the year) in the customer experience. What if you molded your BPO company so that your customer’s experience from the first email or phone call they made to you until their 143rd project with you was seamless and a wonderful, pleasant experience that they would fondly tell their grandchildren about. In my experience, I have never seen an outsourcing company do anything like this.

The reason that BPO companies don’t invest in customer experience is that they are not even aware that it matters and they don’t think about it. All actions start with thoughts. Remember the big bang 16.4 billion years ago. That started with a divine thought. An awakening of divine consciousness. You need to have your own big bang!

What are some things you can do to enhance the customer experience.
(1) Hire people who are nice and well trained to answer phone calls and emails. That way people will get pleasant and informative answers to their questions.
(2) Give prompt quotes when price queries are made
(3) Give regular feedback to clients whether they want it or not.
(4) Call them just to show your appreciation. Maybe a small gift if they are a valued client.
(5) Get your work done on time or early, every time. Nobody will complain about that.
(6) Give helpful suggestions with or without being asked that are in the best interest of your client, and not necessarily in the best interests of your sales quotas.

Good luck. If you can become the master of customer experience, you could conceivably become the biggest outsourcer in the world due to the fact that nobody else is even conscious of this very important concept!

Tweets:
(1) If you can master the art of customer experience, you’ll become the biggest outsourcer in the world
(2) Nobody else is even thinking of the customer experience, so if you do, you’ll clean up!

You might also like:

Outsourcing: Why everyone is doing it!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/25/outsourcing-why-everyone-is-doing-it-one-bizarre-example/

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/

What if there were no IRS and we paid taxes to our state instead?

January 26, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: America | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Imagine the USA with no IRS. Do we really need them?
The states can collect taxes and could collect self-employment tax or social security tax too. The states could hand over money to the central government monthly based on the size of their population as well. Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler to only pay tax to one entity? Your accounting procedure would be a lot easier.

If your state charged too much tax, you could move to another state. You might not want to move, but at least you would have the right. If you have had trouble with the IRS, you have nowhere to run. Even if you leave the USA, if you have assets here or are planning to come back, you cannot hide.

I am a person who likes choices. I prefer having good choices, but bad choices are better than no choices. I like the idea of having states to choose from. Better yet, imagine that the USA was comprised of 400 states, each with a different philosophy. You could have a state for solar energy lovers. Another for organic food fanatics. You could have a vegan state, and a pot smoking state. This way you would have the right to live with people who think like you do. For those who are Republicans, they would probably have a lot of states, but there could be different breeds of Republican states. Even if you lived in a state that wasn’t exactly your cup of tea, you could sleep soundly knowing that you had the choice to move to a state that suited your fancy!

With all of this crazy behavior in congress, I am beginning to think that my idea of the states being the sole entity collecting taxes might come to fruition. Our Federal government could be dissolved any day now. I think that realistically, it won’t last more than another 10 years. Sad, but with this crushing debt, they will default. On the other hand, what if the idea of globalism comes into play? Then we would all be citizens of the world! Hmmm. That sounds really scary.

Tweets:
(1) What if we paid taxes only to our state, but not to the Federal Government?

You might also like:

Bringing jobs back to America: How ’bout the South Y’all?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/16/bringing-jobs-back-to-america-how-bout-the-south-yall/

Developing the CEO within — a spiritual guide
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/11/developing-the-ceo-within-a-spiritual-guide/

How often do you do monitoring and give feedback?

January 24, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How often do you do monitoring and give feedback?

Putting aside how saavy your methodology of training and watching your staff is, many companies simply don’t do it hardly at all. To have good workers, you need to constantly be molding them. If they are resistant to being “worked on,” maybe they are not a good fit for your company.

A samurai sword is not something that an amateur craftsman just throws in the fire and pounds haphazardly on. It is something that is worked on with intricate attention to detail and care by a very highly experienced and skilled master. And if the samurai is not pleased with your workmanship, I think they cut your head off which raises the average level of performance of the sword makers who are still alive.

Putting samurai jokes aside, step one in having a good work force is to monitor them regularly as a matter of course. Knowing what to look for and what to monitor is another question though. You really need to make a very long list of categorized points to work on. It might not be possible to work on all of those points all at once, but the awareness of the complexity of a seemingly simple job is critical for success!

The next thing that matters is who you pick to do your monitoring. You as the manager need to understand who is to be monitored and how. But, you need someone else to do the actual monitoring and then compare notes with you. If you pick someone careless, or someone who rubs people the wrong way, then you will be out of business soon. Learn to pick the right folks for the right job. They should be pleasant and have a passion for details!

Rewards should be given for top-notch workers, or even mediocre workers who improved a lot. If you are keeping a detailed score card for each member of your team, it will be easy to track improvement and reward it. Everyone likes to feel they matter, and rewards are a way to do it. You could have employee of the month, mention them on the company newsletter, or throw a small party in their honor. In my opinion, mixing it up is a good way, otherwise the rewards get boring. Creating an atmosphere of fun is important not only for the one being rewarded, but for the other ones who will have to wait until next month to get their just desserts!

(1) To have good workers, you need to constantly be molding them. Do you give regular feedback?
(2) Rewards should be given for top-notch workers, or even mediocre workers who improved a lot

You might also like:

The outsourcing equivalent of fast food
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/03/the-outsourcing-equivalent-of-fast-food/

To micromanage, or not to micromanage, is there a question?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/13/to-micromanage-or-not-to-micromanage-is-there-a-question/

The Indian companies who answer professionally are even worse?

January 23, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

In my September 2013 cleanup of 123outsource.net, I removed about 800 companies from our outsourcing directory. The companies that were removed were taken off because they either didn’t answer their phone, or refused to communicate in an audible or helpful way. If you are in business, you need to invest in a clear phone line otherwise you will be saying, “What, what, what?”, and your prospective clients will be saying, “I’m hiring someone else!”

In my frustration, I found that less than 1% of small outsourcing companies in India answered the phone professionally. They did not state their company name or personal name when answering the phone. They only said, “Hello?” I understand that there are very few good role models for business behavior in India, but you can learn from England, the US, or Singapore if you need role models.

I decided to call larger companies in India so that I could see how professional outsourcing companies handled their clients. These larger outsourcing companies in India answered the phone stating their company name, either in person, or with a recording. The problem is that is the only thing they did right. Yes, I am generalizing. I communicated with about twenty larger companies, and not one of them could answer even simple questions.

Company: Rajeev Outsourcing Company, may I help you:?
Me: Hi this is Jeremy from 123outsource.net, I wanted to know if you are still in Thane
Company: Let me transfer you
Me; I think that you are intelligent enough to know what city you are located in.
company: Please hold

Then I was put on hold and the phone disconnected in many cases.
In other cases I was connected to someone else who once again transferred me to a third, fourth or fifth person. I had to spend about five minutes being transferred just to reach a single person who could interact like a human being.

My suggestion to larger outsourcing companies in India is to hire people who have half a brain. That would be a huge improvement over what you have now. Teach them how to answer questions like: What is your name? What city are you in? What does your company specialize in? The smaller companies generally had highly intelligent owners or partners who could speak the queens English, answer all questions intelligently and make small talk. The large companies couldn’t even function.

Indians have a narrow-minded view of business that bigger is better. This is not true. Better is better, bigger is generally indicative of a thick skull.

Tweets:
(1) The few Indian companies that answer the phone stating their company names are actually the worst!
(2) Larger companies in India need to systematically put u on hold to answer complicated questions such as: what city r u in?
(3) Over 99% of small outsourcing companies in India answer phone, “hello”. Making them sound like a wrong number!
(4) There r better ways of spending time than being transferred 2someone who transfers u 2someone who transfers u again.
(5) Small co’s had more intelligent spokespeople. Big ones barely functioned. Like cars, “smaller” got better mileage.

You might also like:

Nursery rhyme music is not appropriate when you are on hold!
Click here

Are you tired of outsourcing to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/03/05/are-you-tired-of-outsourcing-to-india/

The second test project & the second bid

January 22, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

It is like pulling teeth to find good software companies to hire. I started off by hiring software companies / software outsourcing companies who talked well on the phone. Then, after I saw their work I realized that talk is cheap. Of course the ones who didn’t talk well, couldn’t function when we needed to communicate. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

So, to get a sense of perspective about how efficient companies were, I gave many a test estimate job. Some bid too high, while others bid too low. What I realized is that the ones who bid too low were not realistic or reliable. The ones who bid too high were crooked. Those who bid right on target were too good to have time for me. So, I tried to find companies who bid a little higher than what I wanted — but, not too much higher. I overlooked a few things.

I found one software outsourcing company who bid perfectly on a test project. I wanted a bid of 40 hours, and they bid exactly 40. Then I had another project which took other programmers about 2 hours. This same company wanted 16 hours for 2 hours of work. OMG! They bid very realistically on the first job, and insanely on the second. So, I am realizing that my screening process needs to be longer and include more than one bid.

Another company was given a job that I thought an American software company should take 4 hours to complete, but that an Indian company might take 6 hours. They came in at 5.25 hours. I was very happy, and their work was flawless. Then they bid on a 60 hour project and wanted 800 hours. What happened?

I feel that before settling on a particular software outsourcing company, shop around and really put people through two test projects and several quick bids to see if they are in the ball-park each step of the game. If they are sometimes out of the ball park, you could lose your shirt very quickly.

Never judge a company by their first bid!

Tweets:
(1) If ur testing companies out, give them a 1st test project, and then a 2nd before hiring them.
(2) If a company bid sensibly on test project #1, they might bid insanely the 2nd time around
(3) Never judge a company by their first bid!
(4) Don’t judge a book by its cover or a company by its 1st bid.
A 2nd bid proves you’re consistently in the ballpark!
(5) Baseball is back! As you visit the ballpark, make sure the IT guys bidding are in the ballpark! Or they’re…OUT!
(6) Bidding too low: unrealistic.
Too high: crooked.
On target: too busy for me.
A little higher than ideal? 🙂
(7) Don’t judge book by its cover or company by its 1st bid. Get two bids to make sure both are in your ballpark!

You might also like:

You are a helpless victim if you hire the wrong company!
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How to ensure that software company you hired will deliver!
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From 100 Indian call centers down to 1

January 21, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular on Twitter, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

From 100 call centers down to 1

I just did a big clean up of my outsourcing directory. I found that there were many companies who were just not worth listing. If a company is paying to be listed on my site, then I am forced to keep them whether I like them or not. But, most companies on our site have free listings which gives me the freedom to remove them.

I called more than one thousand companies in various categories such as software, call center, data entry, etc. I found that in India, there are some very intelligent sounding people working in Web Design, .Net development and PHP programming services. But, the call center folks were not worth calling 99% of the time. Out of 100 call centers in India, I found only 1 who I felt was worth listing. I kept another few dozen to keep the site populated. What do you do when you call a call center and they answer with a practically inaudible, “Hullo?”.

Me: Hi, this is Jeremy from 123outsource.net, what is your company name?
Company: Who are you?
Me: I just told you, this is Jeremy from 123outsource.net, what is your company name?
Company: Who is this?
Me: I told you who I was twice, now you tell me who you are.
Company: What do you want?
Me: I just told you, I want to know your company name, so I can know if I am calling the right people.
Company: Why should I tell you, what is in it for me?
Me: I will remove you from our directory if you don’t tell me your company name. If I was a prospective client, I wouldn’t hire your company even if you worked for free.
Company: who are you?
Me: Never mind, I am removing you from our outsourcing directory. You have no phone skills whatsoever, it is scary to think that you dare call yourself a call center or any type of business for that matter.

They behave as if I am invading them in their bedroom just to know what their company name is. Why is it such a secret? If you want people to think you are professional, announce your company name and personal name when answering the phone. Answer all questions in a helpful way, and don’t be a pain in the neck like the 65 Indian call centers that we removed in September!

Tweets:
(1) From 100 Indian call centers down to 1 after the weeding out process.
(2) 123OUTSOURCE.NET weeds out the deadbeats who don’t know how to answer the phone. We over-and-out-sourced them!

You might also like:

How to get clients for your call center – get an agent!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/14/how-to-get-more-clients-for-your-call-center-get-an-agent/

How to get clients for your call center: Pay-per-click!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/01/how-to-gain-clients-for-your-call-center-pay-per-click/

Google+ is delivering already!

January 20, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: SEO, Social Media | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

We talked to many people in the web business. Word on the street was that Google+ is good. What I have learned is that there is no such thing as a good or bad social media venue. What counts is if it is working for your particular campaign. I run several websites and Facebook works miracles for one, and was a dud for another. Hmmm.

On my Google analytics it shows up as plus.url.google.com / referral. I was excited because we finally started getting detectable clicks from our network of less than a dozen people. We just started Google+ only a month or so ago and put very little effort into it so far.

One of the clicks was from the city of Gwangmyeong-si. I’ll put it on my bucket list to go there one day. I have no idea where that is. Sounds like Nepal, Laos, or China. I bet they have good dumplings there regardless. Ooops… Just looked it up. It is in Korea — wrong again! Korean dumplings just don’t measure up to Chinese. It is the one thing that Koreans aren’t good at! We got another one of our clicks from Khulna which is in Bangladesh. Not only do I get optimization from Google+, but I also get a geography lesson!

The reality of the situation is that it takes a long time to grow a social media network. Some grow like weeds with very little maintenance. Others take endless maintenance only to grow at the speed of a snail. It will take a few years to grow our Google+ really large, but it is nice to know that it just began to sprout in fertile Asian soils! Experts say that Google+ is great for your optimization, and it makes sense. A click from within one of Google’s networks will get preferential treatment, and for good reason.

So, what do I think about having Google+? It’s a definite plus!

(1) So, what do I think about having Google+? It’s a definite plus!
(2) It takes a long time to grow a social media network. With Google+, it is growing with you!

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Active vs. dormant followers on Twitter!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/27/active-vs-dormant-followers-on-twitter/

Social media, the analytics are deceiving
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/27/social-media-the-analytics-are-deceiving/

Does your team function as a team?

January 18, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Does your team function as a team?

There are many types of company structures, and many ways to play politics in any of these structures. There is always jealousy, resentment, competition, greed, and arguments. The question is, how do you get your team to function as a team?

Sometimes I feel that the people who work for me function as separate individuals and have very little positive interaction with each other. Often times they just don’t like each other. When you combine bad chemistry with territorial types, you end up with a lot of trouble. Should you hire people because you feel they will do a good job or do you hire people who will blend in with your other workers?

Bad interactions between even two workers can ruin your company culture and fill the air with a bad vibe. On the other hand, if people work more remotely, it might not matter as much if people don’t get along. Assessing the damage of bad internal relationships is not easy. What really matters is how the customers feel. If they interact well with your staff, that is yet another set of relationships to consider. In a perfect world, we would all get along with each other, but on planet earth, we need to optimize our relationship structures!

For me, honestly, there are too many variables. Just to find someone who can function at all is a huge challenge. If you pair that with company culture and internal relationship issues, it is more than I can even think about.

If your team doesn’t function as a team, sometimes talking it over just doesn’t help. Certain people just don’t like each other and there is no remedy. Sometimes talking it over just submerges people’s hostility until it blows up in your face at a later date.

Tweets:
(1) Should you hire people because you feel they will do a good job or do you hire people who will blend in with your other workers?
(2) There are many types of company structures, and many ways to play politics in any of these structures.

You might also like:

The magic of collaboration
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Steve Jobs watched his programmers carefully — so should you!
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Are bonuses really the best incentive?

January 17, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Motivation | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Are bonuses really the best incentive?

The subject of motivation is a troubling one for me. I have a lot of it, but can’t seem to find ways to motivate others. Others do what they feel like. They are often not motivated by money no matter how desperately they need cash. They are not motivated even by success. Bonuses and commissions motivate people to a point, but they are also complicated. If your industry is slow for a month, your salesperson might lose their bonus when it is not their fault. Sales quotas are not a really good measuring stick of someone’s achievement. The other problem with bonuses is that they can create an unhealthy attitude towards competition which might not be good for the collaborative future of your company’s work culture. Sometimes it makes more sense to give real feedback to the employees. Tell them what customers felt. Talk to them about how meaningful their work is for the company. Share your vision for the future of the company. If they don’t share the vision, it is not always so easy to get them to share your dream.

I just was reading an article about motivating workers by making them aware of the larger impact of their work. But, how do you use this strategy to get them to subscribe to your larger vision for your company? Most workers just don’t care that much about long term visions. It is about them making money, and/or being a hero in the work-world. These are selfish goals and have nothing to do with the company’s long term contribution to society.

I have learned that selling your vision to visionless people is not so easy. But, you can use psychological buttons to do this. You can put them in the position of the consumer or society. Ask them how they would feel if they did business with a company who not only gave good service, but did a lot of extra meaningful things as well verses one who merely got the job done. If they can feel the meaningfulness of the vision, they are more likely to subscribe. Remember, there is reason, and there is emotion. Emotion sells a whole lot better than reason with 99% of the people!

Tweets:
(1) re workers motivated by bonuses or by being told of their positive impact on society?
(2) I have learned that selling your vision to visionless people is not so easy.

You might also like:
Is it better to motivate with bonuses or shortages?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/22/motivating-workers-with-bonuses-or-shortages-which-is-better/

Motivating workers with competition
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/14/motivating-workers-with-competition/

Your site is only as good as the weakest link?

January 16, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Analytics | Tagged | 1 Comment

What does this really mean? What is your weakest link?

Does your site have great graphics, but broken links? Google will penalize you severely for this. Or perhaps your links all work well, but there are other problems. Maybe you have great content, but horrible graphics. Maybe your links are to irrelevant content or poorly organized. Or perhaps everything is perfect, but your server is so damn slow. In web business, to do well, your site has to be good in all respects. If there are 20 factors to consider and you are weak in even one, then you can lose a lot of traffic. Below are some considerations to what makes your site good.

Good content
This means that you have a lot of text on various pages about industry specific information. Not only do you display your projects, but you compare them honestly to other similar products and you give a lot of free related information. If your site is about lawn mowers, compare its features to your competitors lawn mowers. Have pages all about types of grass and the attributes of those species of grass. Have information about outdoor recreation. Write articles about what other people did with their lawns and show some nice pictures of the people and their lawns (and their pets of course too.) They key to good content is to grab your audience and make them want to stay on your site for a long time and come back go your site in the future. Those regular visitors are more likely to make a purchase from you than a short term visitor who thinks your site is useless due to limited or disorganized content

Good organization
If your site has one thousand pages, you need to keep them organized. A good navigation bar can organize your site in a very basic way. It might link to your home page, contact us, about us, articles, site map, and a few other pages. It can’t go beyond that. So, how do you organize your content after that? There can be links on the home page to the most popular content. Your site map or articles page can organize your additional content into sections.

Links
Google cares about links, and quality links. You need incoming links, but you also need outgoing links. You can barter for relevant links or just give them. Google respects you all the more if people click on the links you have on your pages, especially if the keywords on your page match the main keywords on the page you are linking to!

Graphics
If your site has good graphics and pics, people will gravitate towards your site. Some sites spend big bucks on fancy pictures. I wouldn’t do this until you are making the big bucks. But, quality photos and graphics go a long way, even if they are not the most expensive in town.

Speed
If your site is slow, then people will get frustrated waiting for pages to load. They might just forget about you.

SEO
Don’t hire the wrong company or you will get a bunch of links that Google will penalize you for. Then, you will be sorry. But, if you have a keyword structure for all of your main pages, having each main page focus on one or more keywords, then you are in good shape. For your secondary pages, they can focus on a single keyword per page, and repeat that keyword several times per page. That keyword could be in the URL, metatitle, and text, not to mention incoming and outgoing links from that page.

Internal link structure
Sure you need links from other sites. Those might come on their own if you offer quality content. But, if you have the right number of outbound links from each of your pages to other related pages on your site, you might find that Google is very nice to you! Finding the right number of links and the right types of links requires a lot of experimentation and use of Google Analytics, so learn these tools and good luck!

Fresh content
Good content is not enough, you need fresh content. The Google gods are not satisfied with your old content. You need to keep creating new content. Content writers are really in business as a result of this. A blog is a good way to have new content, but you can edit existing pages on your site and add new pages as well.

Layout
Part of a well organized site is layout. But, some layouts are more attractive than others. You need to space your information in an easy to digest way. There should be the right amount of space, the right amount of pictures in the right places, and the right amount of links. Finding a good layout is not easy, so spend some time on this.

There is a lot more to having a great site. But, if your site is lacking on any of these main points, you might lose a ton of traffic!

Tweets:
(1) Does your site look good, but have other things wrong with it? That can hurt you more than you think!

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SEO is like acupuncture. There are so many energy channels!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/22/seo-optimization-is-like-acupuncture-so-many-channels/

SEO and little keywords
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/03/02/seo-and-little-keywords/

Good Sign Bad Sign: What to look for in newly hired workers

January 13, 2014 by 123outsource
Categories: Hiring & Firing, Popular on Twitter, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes it is hard to know who to hire, especially when you are in a bind and need someone right away. There are many signs to look for and many phases in the relationship. Sometimes people start off with a bang and end with a low thud or fizzling sound. Always assume that a good relationship can go South. However, I have never seen a bad relationship turn good. On a brighter note, people with good attitudes who are working on their skills might improve their skills over the period of a year or two.

Good Signs
The service provider:
(1) Is always friendly and happy to talk
(2) Conversations last for more than two hours!
(3) You feel that if you were stuck with the person in an eight hour car ride that it would be a pleasant experience
(4) The person gives thoughtful answers to all of your questions and suggests their own points of view too
(5) Finishes work on time or early
(6) Is not only willing, but happy to meet with you on a Sunday or email you on a Holiday about a work related issue
(7) Enjoys taking you out to eat or being taken out to eat
(8) Gives consistently reasonable bids
(9) Is willing to do small things at no cost

Bad Signs
(1) The person is not so willing to answer questions, and answers seem incomplete or evasive
(2) Conversations are short and the person doesn’t seem to enthusiastic about talking. It is more of a burden
(3) Work is finished late, or is sloppy.
(4) Refuses to lift a finger on the weekend no matter what.
(5) Politely declines when you offer to take them out to eat at your expense.
(6) Complains about the work
(7) Answers their phone less than 35% of the time and doesn’t normally return calls or emails.

Categories of signs
(1) Willingness to interact:
Length
Phone answer rate
Answering messages rate
Answering emails rate & speed
Willing to socialize with you off the job

(2) Quality of interaction:
Quality answers to questions
Suggestions — the person makes great suggestions on their own initiative
Complaining — the person complains regularly about small things
Tone: (happy, distant, absent minded, hostile, etc.)

(3) Punctuality — getting things done on time indicates a “Willingness to work”
(4) Quality of Work
(5) Efficiency of work — keeping bids reasonable and being helpful.
(6) Integrity — not cheating or lying.

Based on my experience, if you hire someone to work for you, nobody is ever perfect. So, don’t hold anyone to perfection unless you are Steve Jobs (who could get away with it.) Unfortunately, if a workers is seriously lacking in any of the six categories of signs listed above, you really can’t use them. But, if they are not too bad in any department and get the job done, you are in business.

One of the most critical signs that I read about in other people’s blogs is a gut feeling. How long would you consent to be stuck in a car with the other person. If the answer is twenty minutes, maybe you should not work with them. But, if the answer is all day, then you found a winner!

Pay attention to signs. A single sign doesn’t prove your destiny, but if there are too many question marks or bad signs, your work relationship will most likely not work. It makes sense to end a bad work relationship as soon as possible, or you will be complaining every day about the person!

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