Author Archives: 123outsource

Succeeding at blogging is not about having the best resources

January 9, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Social Media | Leave a comment

Sure, the big guys in blogging such as the Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review and other huge agencies do well at blogging. They can hire the best writers, editors, and have a huge following already. Many organizations that did well on social media already had millions of fans long before blogging was even popular. It was easy for them because the had resources. But, the rest of us do not have resources. We start from scratch.

Some people are good writers. Others are good at hiring the best people. I am not good at either unfortunately and also do not have the largest marketing channels built up either. However, I realized that the more I write, the better I get at it. The more I blog, the more I figure out what is popular and what is not with my crowd. I also find co-bloggers from time to time who can help me. My blog continues to grow and my social media channels continue to grow as well. They work together. My growth is based on me using the resources that I do have rather than complaining that I don’t have the best resources. I use myself, my time, and my ability to see what others are writing about. I often take someone else’s theme and create my own pieces based on my own take of their themes. Perhaps it is like Mozart’s theme and variations a little bit except that I don’t write 23 variations on a single theme!

I had a vision a few months back. I saw that my business blog would become huge and would develop a gigantic following. We get about 3500 visitors per month now. But, I saw millions in the long run. As time goes on, I will improve my personal writing skills and have the money to hire professionals to help me. I’ll know exactly what to publish, when and in what quantity. I’m not sure how long it will take to obtain this type of growth. But, with my social media skills improving daily, I might get there in four or five yeras. It is hard to predict where I will be or where the world will be in a few years.

The moral of this entry is to use what you have. Continue developing your skills. Keep figuring out what works, what doesn’t and why — and eventually you have a chance at being a popular blogger. It doesn’t happen overnight, but in time you can build your empire!

I do my best business thinking when I’m NOT in the office

January 9, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Innovation | Leave a comment

Many of us are accustomed to thinking that we can only work in an office and that we would simply not be businesslike if we weren’t in an office building. If you are accustomed to working in an office, this might be true for you. But, an office environment can be chaotic and not a good place to think. Writers typically don’t like offices and they are some of the most creative people of all. I work from my home. However, my best business thoughts happen when I am not at home. So, where do these winning thoughts happen?

At a friend’s house
If you are at a friend’s house or workplace chatting, you might stumble upon your best business idea just talking about your business issues. The best business decision I ever made stemmed from dropping by my friend’s office.

At a restaurant
When you get bored waiting for your check at a restaurant and start daydreaming, that might be where your best business thinking happens. It is then and only then that you really have time to reflect on the deeper workings of your business and processes.

At the beach
I go to the beach all the time. But, I don’t go to swim. I go to sit in my car at night and soak in all of the relaxing energies that the coastal spirits give me. In the world of elemental spirits there are water spirits and then there are tree spirits. It is about one to four hundred feet from the coast where these two types of spirits merge to create a hybrid type of spirit I call a coastal spirit. I sleep like a baby with these spirits around and enjoy reading in my car. I’ll read business blogs and think about business topics. I think of fun things to write about and new ideas for managing my business better.

Under a Banyan tree
They say that the Buddha attained enlightenment sitting under a Banyan or Bodhi tree. I like to sit with my back to a redwood tree to benefit from the healing powers that these majestic trees possess. I sometimes have my best business thoughts sitting under a big tree.

At my psychic’s house
My psychic and I have great conversations about business. Sometimes the winning thoughts will come to me while sitting with him. Sometimes we channel from the consciousness of business greats of the 1900’s and even better thoughts come to us.

The office
When I’m in my work space, I get a lot of busy work done. But, work involving deep thinking is never accomplished at my work station. Perhaps in the other desk in my home office, but not at my primary work space which is where I crank out lots of blog articles, thousands of phone calls and more!

Creating a workplace where people actually want to work

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Have you ever walked into someone’s office and just felt like sitting down and staring into space? Then, there are the hectic offices which are so crazy you just want to get out of there as fast as possible. Then there are “open-offices” with no privacy where desks are all in one big room which is the new trend. There are other offices where everyone chats with each other all day instead of working which might be termed “people-friendly but work-unfriendly” spaces. Google likes to create office spaces where people bump into each other all over the place including halls, restrooms, lunch, billiard tables, and more to stimulate interactive innovative processes which makes sense in their industry. But, what is the ideal type of office for your type of industry?

The BPO industry
Most of the people reading our blog are in industries that have large office spaces for back office tasks and phone work. I have visited such offices and will say that there are too many cubicles, too many people crammed into small spaces, too much noise, and too many people mulling around which is distracting. In short, call center and BPO offices are designed to be stressful, distracting, and cramped — at least in India where I have traveled. So, what is the solution?

Stress
Stress is the number 1 killer of BPO workers. They deal with uptight complaining customers, deal with tough programming tasks that relentlessly go wrong, unreasonable managers, and too many hours. To top this off, they have to work in a very distracting and stressful office space. They have a layer of stress from the work on top of another layer of stress from the customers, with a third layer of stress from management with a final layer of stress from the type of office they are in. My philosophy is to combat stress with the opposite of stress.

If you have a stressful job, do it in an un-stressful environment.
I realize that this is not always possible, but I often take my work out of the office. I work at home in my room. It suits me well as there is almost no noise, no other people, and no distractions. I work well during the day and even better at night. I rarely answer my phone as that will take me off course in my work. But, I found that working from the beach is the best place to make stressful calls. The beach relaxes me. I work in my car near the beach on a cliff actually. But, the atmosphere from being near the water calms me down which counteracts the stress of dealing with dumb customers who can’t answer a question unless you ask the same question four times to each of one hundred people on a list. Dealing with the same type of stupidity over and over and over makes me impatient and mean. So, choosing an ideal environment really helps.

But, what about your office layout?
You can’t put your office next to the beach unless you are really lucky. But, you could arrange trips to the beach from time to time to do work, or build a mini-office near the beach, or even use someone’s home near the beach to do calls. Another solution is to have an office where workspaces are more private. You could have rooms instead of cubicles and not have more than one person on a phone in any particular room which would cut down on distracting chaotic noise. I realize it would be more expensive to create such rooms and would be less space efficient. However, for senior employees, this would be a great way to reward them for their loyalty and provide a pleasant environment which might entice them to stay at the company longer.

Creating spaces with views or trees?
If you are in a cramped city, this might not be possible. But, what if you can have an office in a more remote spot? I would take advantage of nature and integrate trees, water, and gardens into your office theme. Imagine having office suites where each room has windows overlooking beautiful natural scenes. You could have a Japanese Zen Garden with Bonzai trees out one window, and a forest outside the other. You might design a small waterfall to be 30 feet North of your boss’s window for good feng-shui and grass to be next to someone else’s window. Having windows that actually open is much more healthy than breathing recirculated air. Perhaps we should all be like Google and have customized offices based on our industry’s individual needs.

Retreat offices in the mountains and shores
I think it is a great idea to get away from the office from time to time and work in a completely different environment. This won’t work for those of us who have children. But, for singles, it is wonderful. I work so much better when I can get away to the mountains, beach or desert. Not all remote environments work for me, but some work miracles and make me feel recharged. I can actually get 50% more done in the ideal remote environment just because the energies stimulate me!

What is right for you?
Most managers are very closed minded about what is right. They want to do the same old thing and make excuses about why change is too difficult or won’t work in their unique or not so unique situation. I think the world will learn that companies with Google type consciousness that involves innovation, customization, and optimization of environments (and everything else) to be companies that get ahead while companies that are closed minded have limitations for their growth. A good worker experience will decrease attrition, increase engagement, and revolutionize productivity! It is worth a try at least as a pilot operation. Let me know how it goes!

My psychic told me to partner with a recent grad for startups

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Startups | Tagged | Leave a comment

I had a 12 hour session with my psychic broken into four meetings. We discussed dozens of business topics that have been difficult for me over the last several years. One of the most interesting topics was growth. I wanted to know what the best ideas for growing my online directory business. We channeled spirits of deceased great business people, and tuned into the consciousness of management departments at some of today’s best corporations like Google, Toyota, and Uber. Although there is no way to prove that those organizations would really recommend what my psychic picked up on, the exercise was fascinating and the results were nothing short of amazing.

Find a partner, but who?
One of the tips we got was when we channeled Warren Buffet. He is so “in demand” that the chance that I’ll ever get to talk to him in depth is slim, but you never know. If he took an interest in me, then he might give me some time. But, for now we’ll have to settle for channeling with Walter the psychic who is excellent — no complaints! The suggestion we got was to partner. But, with who?

Should I partner with a company?
I thought about partnering with social media companies since I am so active on social media. One of the entities we channeled actually did suggest that idea. I thought about partnering with programming companies as I am so reliant on their work. Someone else recommended that idea as well. But, when we channeled Warren, the suggestion we picked up on was to partner with someone fresh out of college. Perhaps someone from a family with a strong work ethic. Perhaps an Asian-American who really wanted to get ahead and wasn’t afraid to work for it. The next thing we picked up on was that the kid would need to have a father who was very influential in his life. If the father told him to do something — that he would do it. Kids are fickle at age 22, but if they are subservient to pushy parents, it’s a lot easier to work with them as the chain of command isn’t broken.

History repeats itself
I remember back in high school, I had a friend from music school. He had never had a job. His father talked to me one day after music school. He wanted his kid to have some work experience. I was doing landscaping in those days. I know it’s hard to picture an amateur cellist doing lawn mowing, bark mulch, and digging ditches for plants — but, I’m a born entrepreneur, and that was the one business that I could easily start as a kid and succeed at. Incidentally, this family was also Asian-American, and they did not allow any slacking off for their kids. The kid I worked with turned out to become a Pediatrician after he finished school. So, basically, the suggestion we picked up on from Warren was history repeating itself — one of the few incidents in my history that actually turned out reasonably well too!

Partner with a college grad
So, I would need to network and find some college grads who want to build a new business with me. Startups are a popular topic on Twitter, and the subject matter does interest me. But, in real life I deal with startups in India regularly and see people falling on their faces in the United States as well. I just read that startups in Greece can barely afford wifi. The truth is that if you don’t have intense drive, money, experience, and management skills, your startup has only a slim chance of succeeding. I started my business in 1999 and started two more web directories around 2004-2007. I didn’t have the time to promote my other web directories until recently. Now, I’m doing the work and it is really time consuming. Getting a web site to be popular requires dealing with programmers, social media, finding good content to put online and more. It is an overtime job! So, if I found a kid who would do the legwork for me, I would have to provide the wisdom and cash to get the operation moving. It is an interesting thing to think about.

What if the partner quit?
If you have a partner, the chance of them quitting is quite real. You need to have a backup plan of who is going to take over the venture if they quit. You need to know how to train people to gain the necessary skills. Unfortunately, in my business it takes time to learn all the skills you need. There are so many skills, and each one takes years to master. So, if I get someone new, they won’t make money in the beginning as they are learning. But, with me as a mentor, they will get an interesting business education. It would be far less erudite than sitting in on Harvard Business School lectures, but a lot more practical and hands-on.

Learning the ropes
If I chose a partner, they would have to be willing to learn the twenty or so types of skills necessary to run a web business. I would be creating a mini-me in a sense. Sounds kind of creepy when you phrase it like that. I would teach them to be just like me. But, should I choose a business grad who wants to learn to run businesses? Or should I choose a tech grad who is interested in business but who can also program. If you hire outside programmers, they never give a damn and the bills are always sky-high! Or do I hire a social media fanatic. To do well in my world, you would ideally be all three wrapped into one human body. But, is it possible? We’ll find out!

Wish me luck & wish my future partner luck too.

Subliminal messages in on hold message – online hypnosis!

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor | Leave a comment

People spend a lot of time on hold. Personally, I lack the patience for being on hold. It can last for twenty minutes or an hour sometimes. I wonder if companies value my time at all? But, maybe there is a lot opportunity here. If you put subliminal messages on your on hold message, you might sell more.

Subliminal messages are a form of hypnosis.
The listener might not be consciously aware that they are receiving messages, but their subconscious will definitely pick up on it. You could have messages that make people want to buy stuff, or just make them enjoy being on hold. I’m not sure how the whole subliminal message technique works, but I guess you can program humans to enjoy or want anything.

I was just at a car dealership.
I commented on how they liked Mo-town music from the 60’s. As usual, the rep claimed he didn’t even notice the music half the time since he was so used to it. But, I told them this was a wasted opportunity. They could play music with subliminal undercurrents worked into the music. Or just play cool songs like, “Baby you can drive my car.” and other songs that make you want to buy a car. Who says that the music needs to be subtle in its message? Songs could be picked with lyrics about cars or whatever else you are selling.

What about your BPO?
Imagine if you had some subliminal messages on the on hold music for your outsourcing outfit? Or what if you just had really pleasant music that people enjoyed listening to. It pays to figure out what type of music your clients like, but how many companies even bother? But, if I ran a call centre, I’d have hypnotic messages saying, “get more seats, get 100 seats in our call center with a three year contract!”

Tired of Social Media? Try Anti-Social Media

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor, Social Media | Leave a comment

I’m very tired of social media. It’s always the same anti-social people, the same boring posts, etc. And then I get into the same addictive behavior all over again. I quit social media four months ago only to become addicted to it again. Maybe I should have a rule that I only use it at night.

The truth is that the type of people who use social media the most are very anti-social. Try making friends on social media. Even the people who follow you and have interacted with you before don’t want to know you. We might as well come up with a new form of media called anti-social media.

But, how would it work? Anti-social media platforms would reward you for each time you offend people. They would poll other readers to get a score for how cutting or disturbing your comment was. The more you upset, the more followers they give you. I like this idea almost as much as I like my idea called “Dissed.” Dissed is a social media site where you get notified every time someone unfriends you.

“Sorry John, you were just dissed by Cindy!”

Anti-social media could also be a place to show inappropriate photos, or photos of people at their worst. You could take photos of your friends when they just got out of bed, or spilled something on themselves. Or you could spill something on them just to have a good photo for anti-social media.

I’m not sure what is becoming of society, but the cool people I know hang out at cafes and NOT on social media!

The length of your break time determines your success

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Many of us are busy all the time and just don’t take breaks. Or some of us take breaks, but not at the right intervals. Studies have been done to research how often and for how long the most successful people take breaks.

Ultradian Rhythms?
The US Army research institute discovered that the human body has ultradian rhythms that last 90 minutes. Ultradian rhythems are present while we are awake as well as when we are sleeping.

Take a break regularly!
Research has shown that adult humans think better when they take a break every 50-90 minutes. But, how long should the break be? One article I read said 17 minutes. But, what should you do on this break?

About me…
Personally, I take breaks all the time and work round the clock. I start around noon and work late into the night. Many overachievers have found that it is easier to get work that requires deep thinking done while others are sleeping. There are less distractions, less noise, less interruptions, and the atmosphere has less mental static as well if you can embrace that theory. I’ll typically watch television, take a walk, get a massage, or have dinner during my breaks. But, am I breaking wrong? Research is telling me I need 17 minute breaks. What could I possibly do for 17 minutes? That is too long to nap and if I dose off too short to sleep?

Google?
I saw a movie about Google‘s educational campus, and they had little sleep pods. Aparently Google got it early on that napping and game time are an important part of keeping an innovative mind sharp. They had pool tables in their office, lots of community space, and weird games that they played outside. I thought it was really cool to see all of the innovations and weird words they came up with.

Your Employees?
I hope that bosses read my blog because it is written from the perspective of an entrepreneur or a boss of a very small company. But, as a boss, you need to make sure your workers are getting enough break time. You need to enforce scheduling of breaks and have cool stuff to do that your staff will appreciate. Why not have a samosa break? If you are in India you are probably already doing this! But, be disciplined about when you have it. Then, have a wild-card break where it is unpredictable what you are going to do. You can have a nap break, a lunch break, a take a walk around the block break, and meet new people break. The important thing is not what you do, but making sure the break is exactly 17 minutes. Or, perhaps that is not important. Experiment and you tell me!

The most successful people
The high achievers do not burn out. They don’t because they find ways of creating balance in their life and keeping their passion strong. If you are to survive a grueling schedule and tough tasks, you need to stay healthy, eat right, exercise, take breaks, and balance your life. Try different approaches, but make this a priority, because not breaking enough can ruin your career and your company.

Unions — good for the American worker, or not!

January 8, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: America | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

In the old days in America, there were mean company bosses who forced people to work overtime. People were not given paid sick leave, and were not given medical insurance. Workers had to work in dangerous and unpleasant conditions. Sounds like today’s China, but with a different accent.

The solution to this problem was the creation of unions. Unions hit their peak membership in 1954 with almost 35% of the labor force as members. Many felt this was “good” for American labor as it got people “fair” wages. I feel otherwise. I feel that unions helped particular groups of workers get higher than market value wages. They were able to do this by virtually holding expensive and immobile (not movable) infrastructure hostage. It would be too expensive to relocate, so companies were forced to negotiate with very angry, destructive and unreasonable unions. Throughout history, many union workers provoked many arguments and disputes with management, often when it was not useful or practical to do so. The Japanese philosophy of work is for management and labor to be in harmony. Americans wanted no such part of this harmony. So, what is the result of an unwillingness to develop harmony and balance?

The unions in America were strongest in the Northeast, Midwest and California. The Northeast lost a lot of manufacturing, but retained its economy by excelling in other sectors such as hi-tech. California also did well in hi-tech, but also in agriculture, movie business, and much more. But, the Midwest was not able to recover from a huge blow to its manufacturing sector. The fact was that the inflated union wages were just far more than what companies would have to pay down South or in foreign countries. So, many manufacturers with union contracts just packed up and left which meant a huge expense of creating new factories in new places.

Additionally, it seems that unions never really had the interests of workers as a whole at heart, but only some workers. Puerto Ricans and blacks were often left out of unions. Younger workers were not always given immediate membership in unions either. Since there were limited unionized jobs at above market rates, there were more people who wanted to be part of unions than there were jobs.

As with life, power seems to come and go, especially to those who abuse it. The workers in the Midwest abused their power by asking for more than a market wage. They were enjoying a lavish lifestyle while other workers doing similar work in America and overseas were working for peanuts. The result of this abuse of the power they created is evident if you drive through the Midwest and see all of the abandoned buildings.

On a brighter note, due to technological advances, and lower labor costs due to increased immigration, America can now once again compete with China for manufacturing. China’s increasing land and labor costs also make it easier for us to compete.

The bottom line is that unions never helped the American worker, but temporarily helped a few who had mafia type control of overpriced jobs. For the rest of the workers, their lives were horrible. I will say that our government did somewhat of a good job creating labor standards that protected workers from dangerous or abusive situations. On the other hand, the government made it so hard on businesses by forcing them to provide health insurance and other benefits that many companies are forced to go overseas where laws are more relaxed. The old story is told again, that when you push too hard, there is a devastating reaction. And that reaction is called outsourcing. But, it’s a blessing if you live in a country called India. So, look at it from the other side of the coin.

I think the point of this article besides how great outsourcing is (if you are in Asia) is that when you push markets out of balance by force, they will bounce back one way or another. And when that bouncing happens, it can be a disaster leaving bombed out buildings that used to be plants, millions unemployed, and worse! Until next time!

A call center where they pretend to be in the same room with you

January 7, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Leave a comment

People who work at call centers tend not to be the most imaginative. And they tend to burn out quickly as well. It might be more fun if there were a way to spice up the call center business a bit.

Whenever I make business calls, I always apologize profusely for how I am dressed and ask if they like the fragrance I’m wearing. Sometimes I ask if it bothers them that I am not dressed at all. I can imagine a motivational coach being upset that I didn’t dress for success — but, I work from home, so sweatpants and a t-shirt are the dress code for success around here.

AGENT: Nice to talk to you too.

CLIENT: Yeah, I am so glad you can help me.

AGENT: Yes, but one thing. It’s your desk. Have you dusted it recently?

CLIENT: Why, do you have allergies?

AGENT: Not yet, but I’m sneezing just being on the phone with… hold on… (a-choo) with you.

CLIENT: Wow, I didn’t realize it was so bad. I’ll use some bleach and clean it up so it is sterile enough to do surgery on.

AGENT: Sounds wonderful .I’ll bring a scalpel.

CLIENT: I like this virtual being together. It’s like a virtual marriage!

AGENT: You think? Well it will really be like marriage when you find out how much I spent on your virtual assistant plan without asking you. $2000 per month. But, you’ll love the VA I got you. Her name is Cindy and she is one of our best girls.

CLIENT: You spent how much? $2000? This girl better be good. It’s a good thing you took out the trash last week, otherwise you’d really be in the dog house.

AGENT: We don’t have dog houses in my country. That would make it like taking candy from a baby for the neighbors to have their dinner.

CLIENT: Yes, dog soup is a famous delicacy in the Philippines I heard. But, I didn’t believe that. I thought it was all a big joke.

AGENT: Anyway, love your hairstyle and the hair spray smells really good. We’ll talk to you later. Have a night afternoon.

CLIENT: It’s evening here in America, but, — whatever! Have a nice afternoon. And don’t forget to take my pants to the cleaners!

I saw my personal evolution unravel as I examined blogs I had written years back

January 7, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

It is so funny. Several years ago I wrote a blog called, “The Rupee Mentality.” And then I wrote another blog with the same title recently. I’m not sure why I came up with the same idea twice, but I understand that is quite common in article writing.

My original article
The one I wrote many years ago did poorly. It was about my own personal battle with thinking small. Nobody wants to read about thinking small, especially not my personal small thoughts. People want to read about someone who had a great idea and turned it into something big. Although this article examined thinking small vs. being sensible, it missed the bigger picture. Saving every penny and being a miser will leave you with very little in the end. On a brighter note, making sensible decisions and paying for good employees will help you be more successful. But, how do you become a huge success?

My second article
The second time around I wrote about small-mindedness on the part of outsourcing managers and how annoying that is. I wrote about how managers hire cheap employees that can’t even function and how stupid that is. I don’t see how businesses with incompetent fools for employees even survive, but they do. I interview dozens of companies in India and turn them all down because I talk to their lowest level workers who can barely talk, let alone work.

My thinking about business has evolved.
Looking back at my 2010 rupee mentality article, I realize how much I have changed in the last few years. I used to be very cost conscious while now I think more about the quality and reliability of the work being done with price being a secondary consideration. In India, they have not evolved to this point yet. Maybe one day they will wake up and get it. India is so backwards in so many other ways, that thinking about quality before money is the last of their concerns. Just being able to function would be a welcomed change. Putting other people’s functionality aside, I just wonder where my thinking will be in another four years when I will probably reuse this blog title a third time!

What about a huge success?
In India, ten million rupees is called a “crore.” Maybe I should write something called “The Crore Mentality.” To be successful in a huge way, you often need to either reinvent efficiency to a masterful level, or reinvent the wheel. You need to find a completely revolutionary way of doing something currently done, or invent something new that people will need. With or without great ideas, you also need great workers. Companies like Google understand corporate culture. They understand the proper breeding conditions for innovation. They understand how to attract live-wired people. Google seems to be the opposite of people with the rupee mentality as they create super-function! I guess, when you are having a brain-storming session about business, ask yourself if that thought will make you a huge success. And if you are thinking of hiring someone, ask yourself if that person is going to drive your company to stardom. That is the difference between the crore mentality, the responsible mentality, and the rupee mentality. You cannot become a huge success unless you reprogram the way you think! So throw away your thoughts of rupees this instant and start thinking on a galactic scale.

A final thought
Putting aside how much better my short 2015 Rupee Mentality article is, the Rupee has devaluated a lot since I wrote the earlier article back in 2010. In any case, you can read both and see which one is better and why. Personally, I feel the 2015 article is much better because I no longer had the Rupee Mentality when I wrote it. Perhaps I should really think and write a much longer and comprehensive article about this psychological phenomenon!

The Rupee Mentality 2010
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/08/14/the-rupee-mentality/

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

The Rupee Mentality 2019
I have no idea what that one will be about, but I guarantee you it will blow you away!

What to write about in your outsourcing profile on 123outsource.net

January 7, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsource Marketing | Leave a comment

Many people advertise on 123outsource.net. Many claim that they get great leads from our directory as well. However, most companies do not describe their specialties clearly and do not write a good notes section for their advertising profile. So, what should companies put in their notes section? There are actually many points that a company could put. Many introduce their company and talk about their lofty corporate mission, but fail to give you even a vague clue what the company actually does which makes it unlikely that they will get any calls. Other companies have bullet points and go point by point what they do and all of their respective specialties. While a third category of companies writes about themselves as an individual and redundantly mentions their cell phone at the bottom of their notes as well as their address which is already in the contact information section of the listing. In any case, here are some winning ideas of what to put.

(1) Services & Specialties:
Examples: Inbound, Outbound, Telemarketing, Order Taking, Collections, Product Support, Technical Support, Help Desk, Medical Billing, Medical Coding, Custom Software Development, PHP, Java, .Net, etc.

(2) Training
How do you train your workers? What is unique about them?
Many companies create long paragraphs about how great their workers are without mentioning any specifics about how they are trained and what metrics they focus on. There are often vague claims about how they deliver more “value” to the client, or how they focus on training, but the nitty gritty would add some substance to the notes. Uniqueness and specifics sell while vagueness is a waste of the reader’s time.

(3) Management
What is unique about your management?
Once again, being specific about your uniqueness is much better than talking about some lofty mission goals that have nothing to do with your daily functioning.

(4) Other
Do you offer 24 hour service?
Are you international?
Does your staff speak American or British English?

(5) What is better about your BPO or call center?
Is there a way you can prove that your BPO operation is better without resorting to bragging? Some companies give compelling reasons why their company is better. Perhaps they have an impressive list of clients like IBM or Intel, or perhaps they have been in business longer, or have a larger staff. Others might hire better trained workers, or do a better job of training them in house. There are many reasons your company could be better or worse. Knowing how to express this is the difference between looking inexpensive vs. professional.

(6) Date of incorporation or inception
How long has your company been in business?

(7) What is the process of getting started and choosing your reps?
How hard is it to switch a rep if you don’t like the first one? I often don’t like a particular call center worker or programmer and want to switch them. Companies are often very sluggish about letting me swap workers.

(8) Who are some of your best clients?
Such as international companies like IBM, Burger King, Walmart, etc.

(9) What are your rates per rep for different levels of service?
Do you make prospective clients pull teeth to find out what their options are, or do you lay the various choices and price breaks on the table for them to choose?

(10) If you have a mission statement, that is not a bad thing to add.
Sometimes mission statements can sound very cheesy, and often they are used instead of much needed specific information about your services. But, if you have a legitimate mission statement and company goal, that might be valued by prospective clients.

We only focus six hours per week; When do you focus best?

January 7, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Leave a comment

We only are highly focused six hours per week. I see this in my personal work. I do a lot of busy-work such as working on my Twitter profile or writing blogs. But, the hours that we devote to deeper thinking are very critical. If you don’t use your focused hours right, your entire career will suffer. You need to figure out how to allocate your precious time — what to do more of and what to do less of.

When do you focus best and where?
When I first get out of bed, my brain can barely function. I do repetitive work then as I can’t really think. Then, I do emails and a few phone calls. But, my prime hours of focus are more in the evening. I do my deepest thinking between 10pm and 2am. I stay up late as a regular habit. I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not, but there are no distractions to my work at night when it is quiet. The problem is, that if I tired myself out with busy work, it is hard to focus.

I bet I would focus best if I did a little writing during the day, took a long walk, took a bath and then did my deep thinking. It is important to be refreshed from exercise, but not wiped out. Your brain is a very sensitive organ and performs well only under optimal conditions.

The key here is to identify not only which six hours you focus best, but which activities to do during those special six hours. Planning and analysis are very important to do during your peak hours of concentration as those are your most sophisticated and critical tasks.

Other people focus better in the morning. Should you waste your morning hours on meetings or other non-time sensitive work? Perhaps you should do your most critical tasks in the morning when you are fresh. Doing the right task at the right time of the day is absolutely essential. I have optimized my day by doing exactly what. What about you?