Be Locally Famous: Six Strategies for Budding Businesses

/0 Comments/in , /by

Every entrepreneur wants massive reach in business, to be recognized internationally. However, there’s the first hurdle of local promotion; you can’t reach beyond borders if you’ve yet to be recognized within your own.

Your target market may be small and local, but it’s a good start. Introduce products and services in ways that stand out in a saturated market; if you’re building awareness before familiarity, then your locale is the best place to start. It’s your springboard to recognition.

The process is more involved than these six strategies, but you’re guaranteed on the right track if you work on your own pace:

1. Befriend business reporters

Media is one of the most influential means of relaying information to the public. If you acquaint with business reporters and establish a good relationship with them, it’s drumming up a buzz about your business. There are plenty of publications focusing on stories about local businesses, platforms where your enterprise can be put in a spotlight. The relationship is mutual, because business reporters also need consultants from different industries; lend your expertise pro bono to build rapport, foster a good connection.

2. Contribute content to business publications

Once you’ve developed relationship with business reporters, they’ll eventually want your industry experience and learning published, shared with their audience. You’ll have opportunities to introduce your products and services through your contributions, promoting these to larger, new communities. And if your output earns good feedback from readers, you can expect repeated requests along the way. Who knows, you might even become a regular, syndicated contributor.

3. Nominate your business (and your team) for local awards

Business publications find ways to highlight new and different aspects of industries; there’s always something of interest to cover. Publications will push content as long as there’s community readership. You can leverage this by nominating your business for local awards; use search engines to scout for local institutions, award-giving bodies suitable for your business. Even if you’re not at par with the other nominees, there’s still benefit in being nominated.

4. Expand your network at industry events; establish your business’s presence

Networking is proactively acquainting with your colleagues, to discuss your products and services, your team and business prospects. Through networking, business relationships are being established from one entrepreneur to the next. Attending networking events helps you locally promote your enterprise, with opportunities to introduce your merchandise to broader markets, especially to your potential customers.

Your network strategy must be focused on events relevant to your business, if you want to be exposed to the right crowd. Otherwise, you’re wasting time, money and effort, making the most of every mismatch.

5. Broaden your relationships

Build on your network by engaging the outer branches; friends of friends, people you know who could be well-connected. Don’t restrict yourself to people who fit the profile of a good connection; random introductions sometimes lead to great partnerships. Broaden your relationships with people, and capitalize on your network’s reach.

6. Impress your customers

Your market is primary consideration in doing business. As entrepreneur, prioritize your customers and you’re ensured healthy relationship. Customers and clients are your largest marketing resource; you can’t underestimate the reach of word-of-mouth, especially on social media. Maintain communication with your market, appreciate their business. Treat them better, serve them well. If you leave a good impression, you’re guaranteed repeat business from customers who’ll also bring in their networks into the fold.

Expect you’ll juggle several or all of these strategies, and it takes time to get the hang of things. Your goal is to grow local, so it pays to move at your own pace. Satisfy your customers, develop your products and services; earn referrals, new business opportunities. Gain and maintain your edge over competitors.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Six Strategies to Maximize Your Business Profits

Four Outsourcing Challenges Your Business Needs to Hurdle

Build Stronger Teams on an Infrastructure of Shared Services

You Need These Five People to Succeed in Business

/0 Comments/in , /by

If you were asked to drum up a list of people crucial to your business’s success, who would be your first five picks? It’s hard to imagine success without support, and this usually involves a wide network of contributors. This is true for start-up companies sprinting towards the jump; your momentum determines how far you’ll go, and there should be people supporting you all the way.

You need all the help you can get, but if you had a choice, who are the people you want to propel you to success, with less time and minimal effort? We shortlisted them into five types; your business is probably already partnered with several of them. Complete your dream team if you want to fast-track your success.

1. The Adviser / Coach

Spare yourself from false starts and countless mistakes; learn all you can from those who’ve been there and done that. Advisers ideally have years of gleaned experience to offer – imagine all the pressure and anxiety you’ll skip with mentoring! You may already have insider knowledge and wisdom, but you can’t best good advisers when it comes to experience.

Many mentors are also well-connected in the industry, something you can tap onto as you expand your initial network.

2. The Industry Insider

Insiders are different from mentors because they exponentially boost your network. They’re well-connected and willing to refer you to the appropriate channels. An insider’s introductions are precious! You could find someone who knows someone, who knows someone important. You’ll join smaller and smaller circles as you zero in on your best contacts.

Insiders boost your reputation and influence by mere association; a good insider is like having Obama re-tweeting your tweet, exposing your handle to his millions of followers.

3. Peers

You’re on equal ground with peers, which means you have everything to gain by earning their approval. It’s true they don’t have the upscale insights advisers offer, but their network is still crucial if you really want to be part of the community. Peers share your struggles and triumphs, and there’s reward in knowing you’ve hurdled roadblocks the hard way, with colleagues.

You’ll tackle similar problems with peers, and there are plenty of opportunities to handle. Find solutions as a team, and move forward.

4. The Specialist

They keep your business (and the community) from falling apart. They’re also the grinding gears of your business. That’s a crude analogy, but specialists do ensure every piece is in its rightful place. They’re skilled in focus areas you want to press, and they’re immediately accessible in your network. If you’re outsourcing jobs, specialists can be freelancers, fresh graduates, or free agents rapidly moving between projects. Some may even be working on their own start-ups on the side.

5. The Investor

How deep are your pockets? You’ll know by the quality and quantity of your investors. Yes, you can be frugal with resources, but you also need a consistent stream of working capital if you want to succeed long-term. Investors boost your resources until you can stand on your own, and they also help get you out of tight situations. You’ll find them in unlikely places, and they’re so hard to spot, so elusive – you’ll only know when you’re introduced by the right connections.

Investors rarely (if ever) advertise their services, so the best way to meet them is to be properly introduced. You usually need a good reputation to make this happen.

There’s always a better way to jump start a business, but you’ll cut a lot of corners if you’re partnered with the right people. Ensure you’re on board with them if you want the shortest possible (and feasible) ­route to success.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Six Strategies to Maximize Your Business Profits

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses

3 Outsourcing Essentials for Better Business

Six Strategies to Maximize Your Business Profits

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Profit is primary reason in doing business, but it’s hardly the end-all of goal. Success is measured with various metrics, like healthy client relationship, employee satisfaction, liquid assets, etc. It can also be elusive, especially without planning and strategizing. If you want to maximize revenues as soon as feasible, you need to consider a handful of factors to make this happen.

Investing in business comes with risks, and only people with true grit are able to handle the pressure. If you have any intent of building a start-up, then you should be ready to invest your money, time and personal comforts to make it happen. Here are six strategies that ensure you get more mileage with your initial efforts:

1. Know Your Target Crowd

You have plenty to consider in putting up a business. If you’re starting a restaurant, you think of the best location and the best ingredients, hire the best crew to set your business apart from the rest. However: while thinking of the best elements to complete your business, you might forget the number one factor that is needed to succeed – your target market.

Your target market is the most important factor you should consider; without it, no one will purchase your products and avail of your services. It’s hard to develop a business if you’re clueless about the market. Consider the crowd covered by your products or services, what they want and need, and what they’re willing to pay for, as you go along improving your enterprise.

2. Make Your Business Stand Out

After examining your target market, determine how to highlight your product’s unique features, use these to develop brand identity. Make your product stand out so it’s unique to all the other offers on the market. It must be attractive enough so the market is encouraged to patronize your products and services. Get a grip on this technique if you want to find your sweet spot on the market.

3. Make Your Business Known

Investing heavily in business, keep in mind the best way to achieve success is to be visible to as many people as possible. Your products or services might be as good as your crowd demands, but if it is not known by the public, there’s less chance you’ll achieve what you really want. After developing the best product to market, start a buzz around it and maximize reach before launch. There are two ways to make your business known: by maximizing exposure online (social media), and through outreach marketing.

4. Deliver a Great Customer Experience

Once you are done introducing your products to the market, deliver to expectations in terms of service. First impressions last, so make sure your initial impact is positive, or at least satisfactory. Deliver what your market wants, and they will note your service for next time; you have potentially subsequent customers, repeat business. Customers who are secure in your business stay loyal, which is always good in the long-term.

5. Offer a variety of products and services.

Your product is already exposed on the market, and it is already patronized. Building a momentum is challenging enough, but you also need to sustain it. People who are easily satisfied eventually ask for more and better. If you offer products without variety, there is a possibility that you might lose your customers. Try something new and add some spice to your business. Innovation is always needed in the industry and you should conduct it for your business’ success. Innovation keeps the crowd satisfied with what you offer, leaving them to choose from your products’ varieties.

6. Encourage Word of Mouth

A good impression goes a long way, especially when you’re just starting your business. If your first customers aren’t satisfied with your services, you’re seriously risking repeat business, choking your revenue stream. These same customers might give share negative comments about your business, preventing conversion of potential customers. Reputation spread by word of mouth is indeed significant; to gain more customers, encourage your first crop to refer you to others, ensuring your business develops and grows.

It takes a lot of courage to enter the business industry. The successful make it look so easy to profit, but it actually involves hard work and perseverance, which are so often endured behind the scenes.

Elsewhere on this blog:

4 Smart Solutions When Your Capital Isn’t Enough

3 Outsourcing Essentials for Better Business

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Four Outsourcing Challenges Your Business Needs to Hurdle

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Is your business outsourcing projects to specialized teams? You’re on the right track in taking that first step; it’s cost-efficient and feasible. There are also fewer worries in entrusting processes to skilled, experienced teams. However, you need to overcome a handful of challenges before you invest; have you considered how the employees in the company will respond the changes, and are you clear on the expectations set with your service provider?

Outsourcing work as extension of your business is beneficial in the long run, but you need to cover all bases if you want to milk all of the benefits. Here are four challenges you need to consider before, during, and after you take the plunge:

1. Transitioning the Management

Outsourcing parts of your operations could mean you’ll have to let some people go. At the very least, you’ll restructure teams as necessary. You need to anticipate the disruptions, manage it so the change wouldn’t be a liability. Existing employees may resist with lack of support; some may also seek other opportunities. Nip this at the bud with proactive strategies that gradually, seamlessly transitions the change in management.

Develop a professionally made communication draft, sent to all stakeholders affected by the transition. It’s best if you can personalize each message to the recipient; sending unique messages to different employee levels will also work. You need to address everyone’s lingering thoughts, “What about me?” and “What’s in this for me?”

2. Cultural Differences

You’re coordinating with teams from different timezones, sharing tasks with different cultural and corporate mores. Your corporate culture may be opposite from your service provider; are you willing to adjust rigid policies to accommodate your provider’s casual approach? What works for you may not work for your provider, and a compromise can be your best solution to achieve synergy.

Factor in national cultures, which can be categorized into differences in language, work ethics, work hours, and religion. Asian cultures are less confrontational than their western counterparts, and your straightforward approach may be received as aggressive, threatening by your eastern counterparts. Your service provider will likely have awareness training resource on hand; coordinate and trade notes in effort to merge the cultures.

3. Unrealistic Expectations

They say great expectations come with great disappointments. You’re partially at fault if you don’t clarify expectations with your service provider at the outset. It is true some companies expect their providers to take care of everything, which is hardly the case (unless stipulated). Set the bar too high and you’ll end up overcritical on the output, worsened by a barrage of negative feedback.

Your executive team need to be aware outsourcing isn’t the end-all of solutions; expectations must be realistic and agreed upon by all parties. Employees and stakeholders must be kept up to speed on developments, including setbacks encountered as the project unfolds. Managing expectations ensures there’s goodwill between the company and clients moving forward.

4. Protecting Intellectual Property

IP is always at risk when you’re working with outside parties. Non-disclosure and non-competition clauses should be airtight, and strictly enforced. Mitigate risks in areas affected, including access to information, physical properties like buildings and offices; implement administrative safeguards that sanction employee conduct.

Keep in mind the safeguards must consider the corporate and cultural differences mentioned, draft policies that anticipate and cover for loopholes. You can’t be too careful with your intellectual property, and it must be said that once that precious trade secret is out, it is out.

All things considered, the benefits of outsourcing outweigh its disadvantages. It’s just a matter of ensuring you’re on the same page with your provider every step of the way. You have everything to gain with efficient coordination, since your business is heavily invested in the results.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Why Outsource to the Philippines?

Media Managers

Expanding Your Business Reach: Multilingual Contact Centers

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Philippines is a primary source of English-fluent customer service employees, no doubt a feasible destination for companies in need of business process outsourcing. Did you know opportunities also abound not just for Anglophiles, but for multilingual customer service representatives? What makes multilingual contact centers prime potential, for companies looking for cost-effective solutions to sales and customer support? Your business has a lot to gain, whether you’re a start-up or large corporation. How can you take advantage of it? Here are points to consider before you invest:

A Culture Open to Influence

Most Filipinos are at the very least bilingual—learning English side by side with their native tongue at the start of their schooling. Many even have third or fourth languages, dialects learned in childhood. Thoroughly exposed to Western culture, Filipino contact center employees are surely comfortable in dealing with foreign customers. Their openness to other aspects of foreign cultures help them adjust and adapt to change, too—from their knowledge of Western pop culture to the influences of Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture in their vocabulary and lifestyles.

Moreover, outsourcing employees who are well-versed in more than two tongues is an easy feat, given the prevalence of students studying in language institutes across the country.

Crucial Aspects in Maintaining a Good Multilingual Contact Center

Having a vast talent pool of people fluent in English, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, or other languages is a good start. However, it’s better if you find other essential aspects before you invest in the country. This includes building a solid sales team who can easily fire on all cylinders to scout new demographics. Furthermore, it’s important your talent is thoroughly trained to be language and culture competent.

Investing in human resource outsourcing means investing in their potential. Employers must require more than fluency, since the customers they face will have different temperaments. For instance, German and Japanese customers are more likely to expect more efficient responses, given the importance of time in their cultures. Moreover, train your employees to know the variations in spellings in English—no matter if it’s American, British, Australian, or other varieties.

Developing a multilingual contact center pays off in the long run. So long as you make the most of your teams’ potential, you’ll always have someone able to step in to handle foreign-language clients.

Elsewhere on this blog:

3 Big Reasons Why You Should Hire a Graphic Designer

3 Great Benefits of Outsourcing Data Entry

Hiring Your First Offshore Employee – Outsourcing Tips for Beginners

4 Smart Solutions When Your Capital Isn’t Enough

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It takes serious commitment to start a business. It also takes courage to persevere through the highs and lows of management, expanding operations by outsourcing jobs. Unless you’re set with a huge fortune to back your capital, you’ll need supplementing funds more often than you would admit. If you’re heavily invested in your business, then it’s likely you’re built to take on the risks, starting a business with capital insufficient to last the long haul.

Here are four smart solutions to tide your business over, in times you’re running low in capital:

1. Start Small

Startup businesses do not necessarily require massive capital, just enough to sustain about a year’s worth of expenses. Most large corporations start from small enterprises, others were acquired by other companies at hefty markup. You want your products or services to be known around the world, but you have to start local to achieve this goal. Take it easy and one step at a time; make the most out of whatever you have right now. With a feasible business plan, your company will grow through stingy and wise management.

2. Curb Your Expenses

Creativity is crucial at the start of small business, especially when it comes to spending. Innovation in products and services is also important, a secret to streamlined operations. If you think you do not have enough capital to start up a business, at the very least minimize your expenses. You may not need to outsource jobs you can manage (not yet), especially if you can’t afford the service. Your priority should involve looking for resources. Don’t limit yourself to expensive tools when free or cheaper alternatives are available.

3. Partner with an Angel Investor

Angel investors throw money at startup businesses, allowing these to spend on development and improvement. This is first benefit of partnering with an angel investor, but you also gain experience from mentorship and coaching; years of hard-earned experiences imparted to your gain. Looking for angel investors can be a challenge, but easier if you’re well exposed and connected in the relevant industries.

4. Advertise for Free, Use Social Media

Social media is a free, effective promotional platform, and the accounts are easy enough to set up. Make sure you’re established on these free platforms before you invest TV commercials, multimedia, and printed advertisement. Take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar sites where you can introduce your products or services. How can you resist the appeal of free advertising?

According to Robert Kiyosaki, “It does not take money to make money.” Business is a step-by-step procedure, and you have a variety of resources at your disposal. Start small and let it grow, and then outsource jobs to keep operation costs feasible.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Choosing Your Business Model: Shared Services Over Centralization

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Boost Your Business Without Going Bust – 4 Scaling Tips for Startups

Caffeine Is the Lifeblood of Your Business: 3 Reasons You Should Keep the Coffee Flowing

/0 Comments/in , /by

What’s one thing workday mornings can’t do without? Based on the law of averages, ask enough people and you’ll likely reach a consensus: it’s the lifeblood of business, and it fuels the daily grind. It’s as close as you’ll get to ingesting magic beans, and it opens your mind to endless possibilities. Still stumped? You can have it drip, pressed, brewed, instant, and (gasp) decaf.

All credit goes to the guy who discovered coffee, an Ethiopian goatherd who one day noticed his goats were giddier than usual. He literally followed the scent leading to a local monastery, where he saw monks trampling on red beans to extract a weird concoction. This weird liquid is currently second to water as the most consumed drink in the world.

You may not consider coffee the staple of productive mornings, but there’s surely people at your office who will disagree. One experiment even aimed to measure how coffee affects productivity, comparing the difference between a week of flowing coffee and a week without it. The result? A 19% margin increase in perceived and actual productivity. This difference is more than enough to ensure your team delivers under pressure and against tight deadlines.

Have you ever considered coffee as essential part of your business? It’s served with donuts, at board meetings, on-the-go, and at every opportunity that needs a caffeine boost. If you plan to target the office’s coffee supply in effort to cut costs, these three crucial reasons should convince you otherwise:

1. Coffee makes people happier, consequently more productive

A study by the National Institute of Health proves drinking four or more cups of coffee makes people 10% happier, or at least 10% less depressed and cranky. This improvement is attributed to that caffeine jolt, but it gets better. The long-term effects is caused by all the antioxidants contained in every cup. The benefits are immediate and lasting, and in moderation, safely addictive.

2. Coffee boosts intelligence

If you’ve ever powered through overtime work downing pots of coffee, then you have first-hand experience how caffeine improves intelligence, at least for a short time. The caffeine jolts you wide awake, improving your focus. Your brain works smarter and faster this way. When sleep is scarce and you need a boost, drinking coffee improves attentiveness, reaction time, and logical reasoning, attributes closely related to intelligence.

3. Coffee is great for the liver, reduces risk of Type 2 Diabetes

A study showed people aged 22 and above tested lower risk of developing liver cirrhosis, an autoimmune disease closely related to excessive alcohol consumption. It appears coffee has protective effects against alcoholic cirrhosis, and increased coffee consumption proportionally reduces the risk. A separate study also showed drinking coffee reduces the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by as much as 50%.

These should give you enough reason to keep the coffee flowing from the break room. Sure, you also have to account for those who prefer tea or chocolate, but nothing spites the flow of a productive day more than an empty coffee mug you can’t refill. So, break out fresh grinds and keep the pot filled, if you want to make the most out of the daily grind.

Elsewhere on this blog:

3 Outsourcing Essentials for Better Business

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Are you having trouble calculating the difference between EST and PST? Have you ever juggled one-hour discrepancies between states and cities? The tangle of time zones can twist your business into knots, especially if you’re involved in supply and customer service. Whether you’re dealing with clients or partners, it pays to be conscious of time zones. This inconvenience is necessary, but can be mitigated by outsourcing services to teams who can handle aspects of operations round the clock.

Toggling the timezones can be messy, but becomes second nature once you get the hang of it. Here are three strategies to start with:

1. Use Your Phone’s World Clock and Converter

It’s one of the most neglected features of smart phones, also one of the most useful. You’ll find this indispensable when you’re doing business in multiple locations. If you’re trying to schedule a meeting with clients from different countries, setting the best time to meet is easy when you have all the local clocks on hand for comparison.

Use this feature as a crutch until you know the conversions by heart. You can also rely on your smartphone’s world clock for every transaction. Either way, use this often enough and eventually you won’t need it.

2. Lay Down Timezone Rules with Clients

This is an awkward way to start, but must be settled so everyone’s clear on expectations. Which timezone will be used as basis in meetings, deliveries? This depends on your relationship to the other party. If you’re dealing with customers and clients, you’ll have to adjust. Otherwise you’ll have to compromise.

What’s the use of setting timezone ground rules? No one has an excuse for missing deadlines and deliverables if there’s a standard time set. You’re also displaying good business sense if you go out of your way and adopt a client’s local time as basis.

3. Keep Your 24-Hour Workday Feasible

Round-the-clock customer support is unavoidable when you’re serving customers in various timezones. It makes sense to have someone accommodating customers at the other end, responses customized and sent as soon as possible. This is crucial if you’re selling products worldwide; a feasible solution is to outsource services to contact centers, or dedicate teams to work in rotating shifts. You can also handpick sales reps based on locations you’re serving, working from home and on flexible hours.

Outsourcing pays off in customer service, if the response times complement the customer’s timezone. Being considerate of client’s time also increases chances of repeat service; you don’t want to annoy someone by replying on an ungodly hour. Personalize service by hiring someone local (or nearby) your clients to handle calls and queries.

Managing a business with global reach is a challenge, but it’s very doable with the right strategies. It also helps if you outsource services to reliable partners. Step up your game as you expand to new markets.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Three Odd, Specialized Tasks You Should Outsource

Essentials of Contact Center Management: Call Handling

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

3 Outsourcing Essentials for Better Business

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Business Process Outsourcing has become an all-in-one solution in today’s industries. This is evident in the Philippines, with the local outsourcing jobs exhibiting exponential growth. The country hit high margins of employment in August 2014; from 101,000 in 2004, the workforce increased to over 930,000. It’s evident why outsourcing is the byword in cost-efficiency across a variety of industries.

Outsourcing is only beneficial if you approach it with the right strategies. There are variable, essential factors to consider before adopting solutions for your business, and it’s important your decisions are backed by solid evaluations. Here are three essentials to consider before you commit:

1. Consider the Costs

It’s common knowledge outsourcing saves time and money, but this is only the case if the solutions complement the business’s needs. Yours must be realistic in terms of sales or savings, projected and actual. Anticipate problems in production / operation to preempt losses. Survey factors that can affect your income, pave a clear path for your prospects.

2. Partner with the Right People

Synergy is crucial to smooth operations, all the more important in outsourcing jobs. Ensuring a successful business requires partnership with the right team. You get to screen and choose the service, so bide your time and consider as many quotes as you can before you commit. Don’t give in to what’s most feasible until you’ve weighed all strengths and weaknesses.

Beware the pitfall of going for the cheapest offer, though; this sometimes comes with serious tradeoffs. It helps if you choose the best one as you contrast the qualities of the products and services being offered. Entertain quotes and proposals, conduct background checks, evaluate history of performance, and never, ever skip the fine print.

3. Draft a Solid, Airtight Contract

The terms of service will either ensure you get the best end of the deal, or it could leave you shortchanged. At the very least, there’s mutual benefit with the outsourced party. Closing on the contract is tricky if you haven’t fleshed out the essential details with your partner. The dynamics of your partnership hinges on the signed agreement – it’s your assurance of quality service, also your safety net in untoward incidents.

A cost-effective business involves taking advantage of every opportunity, and outsourcing jobs is proven an efficient, feasible alternative to in-house sourcing. Your business has everything to gain with the service, so long as you guard your interest, do your due diligence. In any case, outsourcing companies are well aware of these expectations, it’s just a matter of finding the right people to partner with.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Spotting the Right PEO for Your Business: Efficient Offshore Staff Leasing

When West Meets East: Outsourcing Services and the Corporate Cultural Gap

Why Outsource to the Philippines?

Three Odd, Specialized Tasks You Should Outsource

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Businesses delegate tasks for minimum cost and maximum efficiency, the primary reasons why outsourcing is so appealing. Companies often outsource so they can concentrate on big picture management. If you’re considering third-party services, it’s important the provider leases skilled, experienced. and specialized staff.

However, you might not be aware of unlikely processes you can also outsource, sparing you time and money. This includes podcast production and email management, anything you’d rather not do and willing to pay for. Here are three other tasks you can delegate to outsourced staff:

1. Logistics, Planning, Appointments, and Reservations

Isn’t it great if you didn’t have to worry about the day’s mundane routines? Businesses have the same needs; the service is similar to hiring a personal assistant, but the scope is wider, covering important operations and processes. You can also delegate what can be considered errands. If you’re managing the personal affairs of a team or department, you’ll need help handling the task that pile up.

It’s best if you outsource these tasks to virtual assistants: dinner reservations, spa appointments, car rentals, parcel tracking, even social media posting. These seemingly trivial tasks are real-world concerns of businesses and corporations, and entire teams are leased and hired to to handle the upkeep.

2. Calls Management, Inbound and Outbound

Unlike virtual assistants who juggle a wide variety of tasks, virtual receptionists are dedicated to call management. Instead of answering calls on your own, you can choose trained and experienced representatives to filter the flow. As authentic and professional fronts to your business, virtual receptionists will also screen your calls, sparing you time and trouble.

There are plenty of tools you can use online, with receptions always on standby to take over your load. If your needs are so involved you’ll need a team of receptionists in rotating shifts, then staff leasing is your efficient, feasible alternative.

3. Research and Documentation

These can involve something as simple as a background check, to a comprehensive survey of target market trends. Either way, you can do away with the legwork. Outsource this to skilled researchers with background on statistics or library science. Even if you’re only composing a blog post with detailed data, researchers ensure the facts and numbers are straight.

You can hire individuals or teams, depending on the bulk of the work to accomplish. If you’re pressed for time, then you can spend it rehearsing your presentation, instead of fumbling with the source material.

There’s always someone willing to take on the task. With outsourcing, costs are surprisingly feasible, and people bid with high-quality work and shortest turnaround times. Whether you’re a start-up or established business, outsourcing the small task ensures you’re focused on management and operations, everything that keep the gears of the company grinding.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Essentials of Contact Center Management: Call Handling

Spotting the Right PEO for Your Business: Efficient Offshore Staff Leasing

Staff Leasing 101: Is Cheaper Better?