Category Archives: Semi-Popular

6 strategies for growing your outsourcing business fast

October 16, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Marketing, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

In real life, growth is partly in your control and partly based on luck, and market conditions. What I learned from looking around is that most companies don’t grow because they have a failed growth strategy. Here are some simple ideas that can help your outsourcing business or offshoring business take off!

(1) Have labor resources
To attract new clients, you need to have some sort of exposure such as a well promoted web site, advertisements, or agents. But, if you don’t have the labor resources to get work done, then you will lose your new client as quickly as you got them. So many American companies are so stupid this way. They go to great efforts to gain new clients, and then don’t fulfill deadlines and lose the client within 30-90 days. Gaining new clients is hard, not to mention expensive. Make sure you retain them. Now, having labor resources is not the same as having quality labor resources. If your workers are all incompetent, that is even worse than not having resources at all. If not all of your staff is smart, make sure that the few who are smart, are regularly watching and inspecting the no-so-smart people’s work like clockwork. Otherwise you can not retain your clients. Having labor resources is key, but they need to be well managed too, otherwise you can not grow your business. Unfortunately, having more labor than you have clients means that you will be paying salaries for people who are not always busy. That is the cost you have to pay for growth.

(2) Give it away?
I just read a blog about a very successful African American. He was asked how he became successful. He responded that he had popular products and just gave them away in the beginning. He was not greedy for money. He gave lots of samples and free stuff to others, and gained the favorable opinion of many future clients. If you give something of quality away, people will get to know you and your company. Most people prefer to do business with someone they know. So, if they can get to know you for free, you will have a very fast way of acquiring clients — at a cost to you. But, how much is the cost to you if you give a little away to qualified prospects? I would screen them to see if they are worth giving a free lunch. If they seem like they have a good chance of being long term clients, then give them something for free, or at least give them some very flexible terms in the beginning. Most companies alienate prospective clients simply by being to rigid in their contracts and terms.

(3) Have a branch office in America
Many Indian software companies and companies from Belarus have an office somewhere in America. This means they are on the same time zone as prospective American clients. It also means that you have an American phone number, and people who speak good English. Americans will trust you more if you have one of your feet on American soil. Having an American office comes at a huge cost, but it can result in fast growth of your operation too. If you can’t afford an office, you can start out with an independent agent who gets a referral fee for introducing business to you.

(4) Have a well optimized website.
Many companies particularly in Gujarat show up all around the world. If you need a programmer in New York, Moscow, or Canada, companies in Gujarat will show up. If you want to get clients, you need to be visible wherever people are looking. If people find you everywhere, they will remember your company name.

(5) Do overflow work for American companies
Most companies in America have a labor shortage. It is hard to find good help in America these days. Many companies might be willing to use your services if you offer very reliable services at good prices. You can get large quantities of work fast this way. But, don’t screw up, otherwise you lose your relationship permanently. Watch your quality control, because you ruin their reputation if your staff makes any mistakes.

(6) Call people with websites
Have someone who is smooth talking call people with websites around the world who speak your language. Those website owners might need database programming or web design. If you get to know them without trying to push your service down their throat, they might not mind talking to you. A pushy salesman will get hung up on. But, if you just call to talk about what their needs are without being aggressive or trying to sell them anything on the first phone call, you might win their affection. Listening is more important than talking on these types of phone calls, and remember to avoid being desperate. You are there to casually chat and see if you can help them — don’t behave as if you are begging for a job. And remember, a little small talk goes a long way with Americans!

Good luck!

You might also like:

If someone doesn’t need your services today…
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/15/if-someone-doesnt-need-your-services-today/

Gaining market share or gaining the type of market share
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/07/18/gaining-market-share-or-gaining-the-type-of-market-share/

How to sell like a pro — what exactly do they do?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/06/25/how-to-sell-like-a-pro-what-do-the-pros-do/

The concept of lower-middle management
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/08/01/the-concept-of-lower-middle-management/

If you do outsourcing, your programmers need English

October 11, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Popular on Google+, Semi-Popular, Software Development | Tagged | 1 Comment

Many programming bosses think that their programmers don’t need to interact with clients. They don’t like dealing with human beings in any case, right? This is true. Programmers have a particular gene that scientists have isolated that is responsible for antisocial behavior. It is the S3427 gene. It causes people to not be physically capable of picking up a phone and dialing 10 digits, or sending an email on their own initiative. It is a most interesting gene, and so many people have it. But, sometimes the client needs to be able to interface directly with a programmer, especially for more complicated projects.

Many programming companies have a “project manager” who is someone who flakes 90% of the time and doesn’t really supervise anything, not do they double check anything. Clients are forced to relay their question to the project manager who asks the programmer who gives the project manager an answer who relays the answer to the client. There is double the quantity of communication, triple the aggravation, and quadruple the miscommunication. If you are talking to someone, you should talk directly to them, especially if it is complicated.

But, if you hire people in India, the programmers typically don’t know English. So, how do you work with them? You can find people who know a little English, and hope for the best. Or, ideally you hire people who really do know English. After centuries of British rule, you would expect more people to know English, right?

The bottom line is:

If your .net programmers don’t know English, you will encounter a lot of problems outsourcing to English speaking countries. Why not hire people who know English, and then train them in good communication skills?

You might also like:

Customer service is what Americans want
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/12/customer-service-what-americans-want/

A special economic zone for insourcing in Oklahoma
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/04/a-special-economic-zone-idea-for-insourcing-in-oklahoma/

Steve Jobs watched his programmers carefully — so should you!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/10/steve-jobs-watched-his-programmers-carefully-so-should-you/

Hiring people with a good attitude does wonders!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/07/09/hiring-people-with-a-good-attitude-does-wonders/

Does your company have testimonials from happy clients?

September 30, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Popular on Google+, Sales, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

Does your company have testimonials from happy clients? Yes? Do you think you should post those on your website? Maybe put a few on your home page and then have a link to the rest on some other page. Credibility is what drives business in today’s world (and yesterday’s world as well, but saying today’s world sounds better). You gain credibility when a client refers you to another client. You gain credibility when you have a professional looking website. You gain credibility when you have smart people answer the phone at your company and behave in a helpful way.

But, testimonials are one of the more potent forms of credibility. So, if you have a few, don’t waste them. Show them!

People want to work with you if other people are happy with you.

Tweets:
(1) Do you have testimonials from happy clients? Post them on your website!
(2) You gain credibility when a client refers you to another client. Get online reviews!

You might also like:

Do you invest in the customer experience?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/27/do-you-invest-in-the-customer-experience/

7 habits of successful salespeople
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Cottage industries in India ruin India’s outsourcing reputation

September 29, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Many people feel that the industry relating to call centers in India has had its reputation ruined by cottage industry players. What is a cottage industry you might ask? Tiny companies with one, two or three employees might be considered members of the cottage industry. India has many call centers that are family operations run out of people’s living rooms. Their neighbor, uncle or cousin might work there when they are out of a job. Many of these companies are completely unprofessional. But, here is my take on the matter.

I am pro-cottage industries. My business is a tiny company. We have three people all working from our homes. People who work from home tend to be the least reliable, but we tend to be generally very reliable. We have been running websites for over 12 years you know! But, for new startups, people are not always realistic. It takes money, skill, manpower, connections, and more to run a small business. I say that it is better to start really really small, and build your way up… Slowly!

The faster you rise, the harder you fall is a line from a rap song. It is sometimes true. Grow slowly but steady and you will be more stable. Don’t try to grow faster than nature lets you. Grow step by step, brick by brick, relationship by relationship. If you have been in business for three years, your clientele should be mostly people who have been with you at least a year, otherwise you are not a stable company. Your staff should have stuck it through with you hopefully for a long time so you know them. To grow in a stable way, your relationships need to be stable. Business is about relationships.

But, what can we do to clean up the cottage industry world of call centers in India? The problem doesn’t get automatically solved if you have an office. Offices are not magical, they are just buildings. Unless they were blessed by a god, they are just a hunk of concrete. People who work in large offices often deliver horrible quality work. The solution is simple — just pay attention to the quality of your work and try to always make it better.

Kai-Zen is the Toyota term for constant improvement. Why not try to find new ways to make your company daily. It is not about trying to find new tricky ways to screw your customers out of a few rupees. Then, they will dump you and you won’t have a business. Find new ways of delivering quality to your customers, then they will multiply!

Tweets:
(1) Many feel that home based call centers in India have ruined India’s reputation.
(2) My business functions w/people working from home. But, do call centers do well like this?
(3) Offices are not magical, they are just buildings. Do people all work better in an office?

You might also like:

5 reasons Indians are less stressed than Americans
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/22/5-reasons-indians-are-less-stressed-than-americans/

How does culture determine what is private or public information?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/05/how-does-culture-determine-what-is-private-or-public-information/

Active vs. Dormant followers on Twitter

September 27, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Analytics, Semi-Popular, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Active vs. dormant followers on Twitter

I have five Twitter accounts and find them all to be very interesting. However, several are run by a manager who has a very definitive way of running her accounts. She targets users one by one who are relevant. This makes sense, but there is more that needs to be considered. After we have accumulated 3800 fans, only a handful of them interact with us or retweet us no matter how good our materials are.

I just started my own two Twitter accounts. Each one has a well defined audience. I do not target prospective users at all. I have a completely different way of attracting followers. One technique I use is to retweet from industry news, national news, and international news. That way I get interesting people to join my account. Those new folks might not be relevant to my niche, but they are the type that click the EXPAND link — which means that they are the type that retweet. You can not retweet without clicking the expand link. With my niche followers, even if they did retweet me, their followers are not in my niche, so the tweet would never go viral. However,

these followers who found me when I retweeted, are retweeters themselves, and they retweet me. My new Twitter accounts that have less than 100 followers are getting retweeted once per day which is more than I was getting with my old accounts after they hit 3000 followers. The only way to make it big on Twitter is to go viral, so attracting people who retweet is key. The next thing I do is to interact on large Twitter accounts. The relevancy and quality of the interaction determines whether I get retweeted or not. I use humor, and spend a lot of time refining how I convey my message. I’ll sum up my techniques below:

(1) Retweet from industry news, national, and international news. But, don’t retweet from each source more than once per week for maximum results. Remember, that retweeters are searching through those mediums looking for others who retweet — so they can FOLLOW them. Those retweeters are clicking the expand button on many tweets, so you only need to be on one per week.

(2) Interacting on large accounts, or relevant accounts. A small account in your niche is a place to interact regularly. But, large news sources or entertainers are good places to interact. By posting a really interesting response to a post they published — THEY will not retweet you, but their fans will. I get retweeted almost daily by this technique. You need to be very selective about what you respond to and how you respond. Humor works well, and insight works even better.

(3) Use crossover tweets? Tweet information that is industry specific for your niche, but ALSO is relatable to the public. I tweeted about cats who use google analytics. People loved this. It appealed to the laymen as well as hard core analytics guys! Crossover tweets get retweeted roughly 10x as much as a thoughtful industry specific tweet.

It is no crime to interact with people with mini-accounts of 100 people or less, but it is not a way to go viral. Those will end up being dormant followers who do nothing more than represent a number in your # of followers. Active followers can be caught through interacting and retweeting. Throw your herbal antibiotics away and go viral today!

You might also like:

The Google algorithm has some serious issues
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/04/the-google-algorithm-has-some-serous-issues/

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

Outsourcing is like a long-distance romantic relationship!

September 20, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

6 tips for managing your long distance outsourcing relationship

3.75 million married couples in the U.S. and 14 million couples around the globe are actually having a long-distance relationship because they work in other cities– so long-distance relationships can work! Here are six tips on what to watch for and how to handle your long-distance business relationship:

1) Have as much contact by phone as possible. Talk about things that make that person remember you and want to keep in touch with you. Share a business tip you read or some advice you need; ask for that person’s expertise. Demonstrate yours.

Voice alone–without skype– is a powerful tool, and will help you learn–way better than email–who that person is. Listen to the sound of the voice as well as what the person says. Too cold? Be careful. Keep it warm.

2) If the person is consistently late for the phone appointment and does not stay in touch, it’s a good bet you are not a priority. Be more careful about the work and see if the quality of the work also suffers in the same way. In business, you know there is always someone else…so go back to # 1 and make sure you are always on top of that person’s list. Send an email that is longer than a sentence and includes something upbeat, informative, and fun (a joke, an anecdote, an observation or question on something to do with where that person lives/ works). Make a note of the person’s response.

3) People worry. Communicate. Show that you are someone he/she can count on. If you are the person who is always late for a phone appointment, tell the other person why and commit to doing better. Then, do better! Keeping your promises makes you even more valuable and rare in today’s world. Show you can be trusted–and are able to give the honesty and value you demand of the other person.

4) More than 2/3 of long-distance relationships end when the couple does not plan for change. Be willing to listen to feedback and act on it. Try to accommodate the other party’s requests and point of view. Talk about changes in schedule calmly and respond positively. If you are disappointed, say so, and plan together to solve the problem. See what change this makes in the way the other party handles the work.

5) Maintain an equal position: your needs and time are as important as the other party’s. Ask a question by email and see if the other person answers it. Treat the other person as you would like to be treated. Respond to any agreed-upon concerns and get the respect you need by always following through on your part of the bargain.

6) Don’t give up your other business relationships and interests. In other words, stay in touch with other companies–just in case you need a new outsourcing partner. Most long-distance relationships have potential problems around 5 months in. Make this relationship work, but if you have tried everything and it ceases to work, be ready to move on.

Tweets:
(1) 3.75 million married couples in the US & 14 million globally have a long-distance relationship. #outsourcing
(2) In a long distance outsourcing relationship, if the other person doesn’t call much, you are not a priority!

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Is finding an outsourcing partner like an arranged marriage?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/24/is-finding-an-outsourcing-partner-like-an-arranged-marriage/

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/

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/27/wouldnt-it-be-nice-to-have-your-office-in-the-himalayas/

How to find great offshore companies to do your back-office work!

September 2, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: BPO, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to find great offshore companies to do your back-office work!

Many companies in the United States are just too busy to get their work done. They need help, but don’t know where to turn. Outsourcing your tasks can be a life saver if you find a good BPO company to help you. But, if you get stuck with a sloppy company, you might end up doing your tasks yourself and being really busy. You can’t just roll the dice and expect to find a great company in India who can anticipate your next need.

Call lots of companies you find on directories
The first step in finding your ideal outsourcing partner is to compare many companies. Some people think that comparing means to call three and pick the best one. That is missing the point. You might need to call up to 500 similar companies to find a handful that are good enough to consider. Once you find your lucky handful, then try them out — then compare.

You can’t compare until you try them
I remember being at a drum store. The guy at the counter said, “You have to buy-it to try-it”. Not a very friendly attitude. The fact is that many outsourcing companies are just plain sloppy and don’t care even a little bit about their clients. In my experience, the 80:20 rule doesn’t apply in outsourcing. I created my own rule called the “98:2 rule of outsourcing” which also applies to American companies. 2% of the companies who provide services might get an “A” or a “B” in my book. Another 10% get a C. The rest are horrifying companies who you should avoid like the plague. If you are stuck with someone mediocre — count your blessings, it could be much worst statistically.

Call 500 companies
If you call 500 companies, you will find 10 that get an A or a B. Don’t expect them to be perfect. But, if they are pretty good, and “care” to a certain extent, then you are ahead of the game! Don’t judge them by how well they talk, judge them based on whether or not they get your task done up to specifications and if they answer questions and emails.

Give a small test project
How small should your test project be? I would test out a dozen companies or so. I would give them a project that is a few hours long. I might give a project that doesn’t matter. You don’t know what they are going to do, or if they are going to do anything at all. You would be surprised at how lousy most companies are. If they are not in the top 2%, they are not that great according to my rule! Compare the work of all the companies tested. Do not compare until all companies have submitted their results or finished their work. Don’t expect anyone to be perfect. See which companies are faster and which do better work. Compare pricing as well.

Pick three winners
Once you found who you like, give them a second phase of screening work. Maybe a slightly longer project. If they do well on that one, then give them a third. I would not entrust a company with serious long term work until they have passed through three tiers of scrutiny.

Never trust salespeople
Don’t believe what the salesperson says. You won’t be dealing with them in the long run, and most of them lie and misrepresent their company. You need to get the salesperson off the phone and get the project manager and workers on the phone. You need to get to know who you will really be dealing with, not the salesperson. That is the entire point of the test project — it might be the only way you will get to know the real people who you need to know who are behind a veil of secrecy!

Use 123outsource.net
123outsource.net has thousands of outsourcing companies in all types of categories from Accounting to Web Design. We have hundreds of call centers, data entry companies, medical billing & medical transcription companies, custom software outfits, and more. 123outsource.net constantly keeps in touch with companies on board and sifts the results little by little every month. This sifting lowers the placement of companies who do not have good interaction skills, and raises the placement of companies (on the search results) who behave in a professional and intelligent way. In the future, we will even go to the extent of testing companies out with small test projects to see how reliable they are. 123outsource.net is a source of thousands of choices that can make your quest for offshore help faster and easier.

Tweets:
(1) To find a good BPO Outsourcing company to help you, you might have to call over 100 and compare!
(2) To find the right BPO company to assist you, give a test project to many & pick a few winners.
(3) Never trust the salespeople in a BPO. They not only lie, but don’t know the technical realities.

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Good sign bad sign: what to look for in newly hired workers
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/13/outsource-blog-good-sign-bad-sign-what-to-look-for-in-newly-hired-workers/

A 20 minute office visit reveals the character of a company!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/12/a-20-minute-office-visit-reveals-the-character-of-a-company/

What time of the day do you think better?

August 26, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest, Semi-Popular | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What is time?
Time is an intangible non-object that is very critical to our daily lives. Astrology dictates whether a particular day will be good for you or not, and whether the world will have a good day or not as well. Did you know that there are 12 periods of the day according to acupuncture theory? The human body is “focusing” more on particular parts of the body at different times.

The bewitching hours of the night!
11pm to 3am is the time of the night when the body emphasizes activity of the gallbladder and then the liver. If you have problems with your gallbladder, it is good to be asleep before 11pm, so that your body can optimally perform healing activities for the gallbladder. 5am to 7am is when the large intestine is more active. Sometimes, when I experience pain due to a dry colon, it happens typically around that time, although my body will react between 4:30am and 8am. I guess my body is not punctual!

But, what about your work life?
Is there a time of the day when you are more productive, or do better at certain tasks?Do you do phone calls better in the morning? Are you better at accounting at 2pm. Did you ever put any thought into this? You can make a chart and take notes as to how well you do particular tasks at different times of the day.

Business decisions
If you engage in deep thought for business decisions, from 11pm to 3am is perfect. The atmosphere is still, and you can think on a very subtle level. You can meditate on business decisions at that time. I do this regularly.

A formal study
A study was done on Junior High Students by Finley Edwards of Colby College. Students did 3% better at math and reading when they started the day an hour later.

Interesting! What do you think? (But, don’t think about this now, because now is not a good time to think.)

Tweets:
(1) Time is an intangible non-object, but what time of the day do you think better?
(2) According to 82% of spiritual gurus, time does not exist. But, what time of the day do you think better?
(3) Students did 3% better at math & reading when they started the day an hour later.

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What if classically trained musicians ran IT companies in India?
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500,000 Filipino call center workers are on American time!
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Why a CEO is worth 6000 times more than the average worker
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How to get outsourcing work without lifting a finger

August 25, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Myron, are you up yet????” yells a woman’s voice.

“Sure, sis. Yeah, I’m getting dressed.” An obvious lie…but why not? Whose company is it anyway?

You live outside the U.S., in the Philippines, let’s say–but want to entice U.S. companies into using your BPO services. You’ve chosen a snappy company name and a logo, have a mobile phone, and absolutely no work. You have a trusted group of friends who are now your employees…but again, you have no work, so you really can’t test out how this new relationship will go. In the meantime, you come downstairs and lie on the sofa after you are dressed, and maybe you watch the news or a few cartoons.

“Myron, what are you going to do with yourself today? Are you going to get listed on 123outsource.net? Are you going to call your prospective client list? Are you going to search the internet for more clients? Are you going to call a few people you know who might need you to do some accounting or office work? Are you going to at least visit other BPO companies and pretend to want to hire them so you can snoop around?”

So you lie back on the sofa and watch a few shows. Your sister goes to work and you lie there. Soon she comes back for lunch and sees you lying there…

“MYRON!!! Here’s the trash. At least take the trash out. And go buy the paint for the guest room so you can make it into an office. Here’s 2000 pesos. Don’t come back with that same lazy, depressed attitude. You’ve got to DO something!!! So take out the garbage and get the paint. Then you can…” and she goes on and on and on.

Sure, without lifting a finger, you’ll get work, but not the kind of work that a positive attitude, energy, and diligence will bring. Anyway, what your sister is giving you are chores, not work.

Not BPO work.

Notice I didn’t call this blog “How to get hired by a serious U.S. company without lifting a finger.”

THAT takes work. (:

Tweets:
(1) You have a snappy company name & logo, but no work. What do you do? #outsourcing
(2) Sure, without lifting a finger you’ll et work, but not the kind of work you get with a positive attitude!

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An American teaches Indian companies to be more American
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/23/an-american-teaches-indian-cos-to-be-more-american/

If you hire happy people to interact with your staff!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/29/if-you-hire-happy-people-to-interact-with-your-staff/

Integrity is more important than skills or even prices

August 23, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Hiring & Firing, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How do you assess a person’s character? Should you? Should you jump to conclusions? Should you trust your gut? Or should we be good Christians and “Judge Not” like the Bible says? In business, the minute you stop judging, you get eaten alive. You have no choice but to determine where danger lurks and avoid it like a disease!

Imagine a world where you have a million dollars, but the people around you lack integrity. They lie, cheat, deceive, and steal. They are late on deadlines and they couldn’t care less about their clients. How long would your million last without integrity? I feel that the majority of outsourcers lack integrity, and you can get taken for a ride very easily. Without a society with integrity, you will lose your money easily. My personal story is that I was very lucky to find many outsourcers who had excellent integrity, and it has only been recently in the last two years when I have been confronted with so many crooked people involved in outsourcing. Maybe God wants me to learn how to deal with them.

On the other hand, in a world where you start out with little or no money, but are surrounded by honest and decent folks, you will make money, and not get cheated out of it if you do worthwhile work for a living. You would be given a fair handshake every step of the way! You might only make moderate income, or you might make millions. With integrity, the money comes!

When working with outsourcers, you might not see their flaws right away. Part of your skill as someone who hires companies is to quickly recognize the character of the owner, manager, and workers in an outsourcing company. You can see certain traits right away if you are looking. You can ask questions that reveal a person’s character or thinking style too. Avoid questions where they tell you what they think you want to hear and ask probing questions which bring out their personality.

If a company gets by your initial scrutinization, you might see character flaws later on, i.e. Recklessness, carelessness, disrespect to others, substance abuse, keeping bad company, etc. You need multiple backup plans when hiring companies just in case your first pick doesn’t work out well. If your hired company exhibits character flaws, you can expect trouble to manifest itself later on, and you will suffer as a result. Keep a keen eye and watch out.

An outsourcing company that is not reputable can start out nice, but later on cheat you in so many ways you never thought of. There are so many ways to cheat in outsourcing services and it is so hard to protect yourself. The only real protection is good karma and choosing people with integrity. Integrity means you don’t cheat, you don’t lie, you deliver when you said you would, and you are generally decent. Don’t compromise on these.

Pick people with good character even if they are not the smartest! In the long run you will be better off!

Tweets:
(1) How do you assess a person’s character? Should you? In business you get eaten the minute you stop judging!
(2) The Bible says, “Judge Not,” but if you don’t judge in business, you can lose everything overnight!
(3) If you lived in a world where people were honest, you might do okay w/very little money.
(4) An outsourcing co that is not reputable can start out nice & then cheat you!

You might also like:

What type of salesperson to avoid in outsourcing
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/14/what-type-of-salesperson-to-avoid-in-outsourcing/

You are a helpless victim if you hire the wrong company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/07/04/you-are-a-helpless-victem-if-you-hire-the-wrong-company/

Mistrust and Phone Interaction
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/05/26/mistrust-and-phone-interaction/

Motivating workers with bonuses or shortages, which is better?

August 22, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Motivation, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

If you are an employer, you need to know more than just how business functions. You need to understand psychology. Many people are what you might call psychologically demented. They do not respond to reason. However, they do respond to particular stimuli. As a company boss, you need to understand that what a textbook says about motivating workers might be true in general, you need to understand the particular psychological makeup of EACH of your workers and subcontractors if you want to have an optimal working relationship. So, how do you go about this?

The shortage type
Some people are motivated by money. Others are motivated by laziness. A few like flexible work schedules, while many like a good quality of life. What I learned from reading and also from real life is that there is a set of people who are motivated by shortages. There is a particular mindset of some individuals where they are never satisfied. If you give them more, they respect you less — or at least not more. If you give them enough, they take it for granted. You can not motivate these types of people to do more unless they are afraid that they will not have enough. This type of people don’t save money, because they don’t plan for tomorrow. They only want enough to get by.

There was a car manufacturer that moved its operations to Mexico. They paid top dollar to have good workers. As soon as the workers had enough money in their pocket, they stopped coming to work. Yes — it was very short sighted to stop work like that. It is hard to get a good job at a good company. But, many people, particularly in the third world countries, do not think about tomorrow. The only way you get them to work is if they are hungry. Unfortunately, the strategy with this demented type is to keep them a little bit hungry. Not too hungry. Just hungry enough so that they don’t skip work.

Identifying the shortage type
To identify someone who is motivated by shortages is not hard. Offer them a bonus for good performance. See if they respond well. If they slack off after you give them a bonus. Try talking to them — try reasoning. If they still don’t respond. Try one last bonus after a few months if they did something to merit it. If there is still no good response, then you have identified that your employee is definately not the bonus type — the type who is motivated by bonuses (or who gets bonuses as the two go hand in hand). Step two, is to reduce the job responsibilities and payment for this individual to just below their comfort level. Knowing their comfort level might require some study and guesswork. Giving them 5% below what they think they should be making might be a good place to start. It is not low enough to panic, but low enough to get off their rear and start performing!

If they don’t respond to bonuses, maybe they respond to shortages. Use shortages as a way to motivate workers who don’t respond to bonuses and see what the results are. In some cases, your workers might not respond to any stimuli in which case you might have to phase them out! Good luck!

Tweets:
(1) If they don’t respond to bonuses, maybe they respond to shortages. #motivating workers
(2) Use shortages as a way to motivate workers who don’t respond to bonuses & see what the results are.
(3) If you are an employer, you need to understand business & psychology. R ur workers motivated by bonuses?

You might also like:

Positively reinforcing good worker behavior & negatively reinforcing bad
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/31/positively-reinforcing-good-worker-behavior-and-negatively-reinforcing-bad/

What is your management style?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/02/02/what-is-your-management-style/

Are bonuses really the best incentive?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/17/are-bonuses-really-the-best-incentive/

What is the correct order of steps to screen an outsourced company?

August 16, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Hiring & Firing, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Many of us hire BPO companies to do outsourcing work for us. Some of us who are less experienced just talk to them over the phone, say, “They sound good”, and hire them. Once we have had bad luck a few times, we start scrutinizing a lot more. But, what is the best order of steps to scrutinize a company?

If you spend hours interviewing people, and then find out that they don’t cooperate when given a real task, you just wasted a lot of time. Sure, it is fun to interview people, but that is a huge chunk out of your day, and can go down the drain easily.

Part of scrutinizing companies has to do with finding out how cooperative they are. People these days tend not to be so cooperative no matter what you pay them. An email is a fast way to contact many companies quickly. You can keep a log of how fast people responded to your email. You can ask them all types of questions and see how thorough or realistic their answers are.

Requesting a bid for a project is a wonderful way to get to know companies. You can see right away if they have slow or inefficient workers. I would do basic email Q&A, and a bid request before you spend too much time talking — if you want to save time. Once you get a bid on a sample project, maybe give them a mini-project to see how they do. You would be surprised at how companies handle mini-projects. A few will leave you high and dry, others will deliver horrible work, while a few will do a great job. This is your opportunity to weed out the troublemakers and identify amazing service providers. There are “A” quality people out there, you just have to find them.

After a company has done a good job on a test project, then talk to everyone at that company who is pertinent. However, I recommend spending as little time talking to salespeople as possible. They are not going to be working with you after the fact, so don’t cloud your mind with the impression of how much or little you like them!

Tweets:
(1) Do you talk to the company over the phone and say, “They sound good” or do you test them?
(2) You can spend hours interviewing people & learn that they don’t cooperate w/real tasks!
(3) Requesting a bid for a project is a wonderful way to get to know companies.
(4) Interviewing new companies? Get to know the technical manager, not the salesperson!

You might also like:

The 2% rule; only 2% of companies are worth hiring
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/21/the-2-rule-only-2-of-companies-are-worth-hiring/

The 2nd interview: why is it so important?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/02/the-2nd-interview-why-is-it-so-important/