Business Process Outsourcing

Avoiding Internet Business Outsourcing Disasters

October 15, 2006 @ 10:01 pm

Outsourcing is the latest buzz word to hit internet marketing circles, teleseminars, and niche websites. It’s certainly not a new concept to outsource many of your business process, but like so much else in our lives, the Internet has given rise to a new dimension of this popular technique. Because of this, there are a number of issues to keep in mind when looking at process outsourcing as a viable alternative to doing it all yourself.

Outsourcing is a concept that internet marketing professionals and newbies alike should acquaint themselves with, and for good reason. Because a large number of internet marketers are running the show by themselves or with a limited pool of additional assistance, there are just too many tasks to hope to complete them alone. In addition to the time factor involved, it just simply is’nt possible for any one individual to possess all the technical skills necessary to accomplish all the processes that running an internet marketing business intails.

With time and skill level being the two primary factors that lead internet marketers to outsource some of their business processes, it’s important to understand which of these two needs you are fulfilling when you find yourself with the need to outsource specific processes in your business.

When analyzing your business process outsourcing needs strictly on the basis of time constraints, it is advisable to have a good understanding of what an hour of your time is really worth relative to the process that you are evaluating for outsourcing.

As an example, let’s say it takes you six hours to accomplish a redundant task (process) and it might take you 15 minutes to teach someone else to do the process for you. Then look at what it would be possible for you to accomplish in that same six hour period. Would you be able to use that time to finish an ebook?, and that completed ebook could be resold for untold profits? Or possibly you could write thousands of lines of code to complete that software package you just haven’t had the time to complete, and resell it for untold profits? If this sounds like your current situation then any modest fee that is paid to outsource that redundant process could literally be worth its weight in gold!

Outsourcing your business processes on the basis of skill level becomes a little trickier. This is where most internet marketers who are new to process outsourcing can get themselves into trouble. It is imperative to keep in mind that even though you may be outsourcing a process that you simply don’t have the capablity to do yourself, you still need to be in control of that process to assure it remains a positive benefit to your business.

Remember, this is your business and your image, and your income depend on the business success. If you fail to retain a firm grasp on control of the processes you are outsourcing, those processes will almost always fail to live up to your expectations. This would not be productive for you, or for the individual you have contracted those processes out to.

Communication is the key component when outsourcing a process that you are not readily able to do yourself. Let’s use an example to clarify, let’s say that your artististry could use some improvement, you can contract with an designer to develop the header and the ebook cover graphics for your sales page, while you apply your skills to complet the text of the ebook. If you just tell the designer nothing more than the title of your ebook and then expect the designer to deliver the cover graphics you visualize in your dreams, that result just isn’t going to happen.

So, the more detailed you can be about your likes, dislikes and expectations, the greater the chance will be that you will be thrilled with the end product. Again, remember that just because the designer has those skills that you don’t posess, that one of their skills probably isn’t mind reading! If you don’t like the color green, there is no way someone is going to know this unless you tell them! COMMUNICATE!

Yet another area where internet marketers get into trouble, is when the process you are outsourcing involves technical skills or programming. This can be particularly difficult if both sides are not communicating properly.

non-programmer often sees a project as being far less complex due to the lack of knowledge concerning the mechanics involved in the programming process. End users are used to just clicking buttons and having things work, they seldom have to deal with or think about what goes on with the coding behind the scenes of those beautiful graphic masterpieces.

This can have an impact on the perceived value of the process outsourcing bid, as well as the time frame and the ultimate functionality of the programming project. Misunderstandings with all of these things can be greatly reduced by taking time to clearly and concisely define the project parameters ahead of time with the designer. Again, the importance of communication during this phase cannot be stressed enough.

Finally, it’s never a good idea to outsource any process you don’t understand or can’t measure. This isn’t to say that you need to understand the mechanics behind the process, but you definitely need to understand the result you expect.

As an example, it’s not unusual to see bid requests on popular process outsourcing sites requesting 200+ inbound links from PR7 or higher sites to be completed within 24 hours. While this may or may not be an exaggeration, here’s the point; if you are asking for something like this and you are adamant that you want to get your money’s worth, you better be prepared to have a means in place with which to judge someone’s performance in completing this process. Otherwise, it’s a surefire recipe for disaster.

Simply put, if you want something done to your satisfaction, you need to be prepared ahead of time to know what is required to attain that satisfaction!

Remember, process outsourcing is in many ways, just the virtual version of an employee or subcontractor. If you have ever been an employer who has created a job description, along with it you most likely implemented a means of gauging the employee’s performance. And as an employee, you knew exactly what was expected of you and the consequences of failure.

Today’s business process outsourcing concepts are based upon the same time honored principles used in business throughout the ages, and understanding this concept will greatly increase your odds of a successfull venture.