By Henry Brown

Outsourcing can be a wonderful way for businesses of all shapes and sizes to save time and perhaps make more money. However, there are some important questions you need to ask both yourself and the vendor you’re outsourcing to before you go ahead and make the final decision. Outsourcing the wrong thing can negatively affect the quality of your service/product, and this could affect your reputation.  Also, assuring that you’ve found an outsource service you can trust is essential. Below, you’ll find the crucial questions to ask before you start outsourcing:

Questions to ask yourself

Before you strike up a deal with the outsourcer, you need to know what it is exactly you what to outsource. Here are questions you can ask yourself that will help you to figure it out:

– Does the process I’m going to outsource touch any of my customers? – if it does, then you might want to reconsider outsourcing. Many businesses prefer to keep the processes that directly touch customers in-house.

– Could outsourcing sacrifice the quality of what I’m doing? – again, if the quality is sacrificed, it’s something you should consider avoiding.

– Am I getting lots of things I don’t need bundled with this service? – you might want to negotiate a cheaper deal or find another package elsewhere if you don’t need all of the extras.

– If I had the same resources as the outsourcer, could I manage this better? – if you could do this better than the outsourcer providing you had the right resources, it’s something you should reconsider.

The best processes for you to outsource are those you struggle with, or those that eat up your time. Ideally, they’ll help you to save plenty of time so you can focus on the important stuff. You shouldn’t really outsource the important stuff itself!

Questions to ask the outsourcer

Once you have a good idea of what you’re outsourcing, whether it’s Cloud Solutions or copywriting, you should ask a few questions. Below is an idea:

– Do you have a portfolio of work? – so you can determine the quality of work.

– How will you manage my account? – so you know they will handle your account properly.

– Who are your customers and are they satisfied? – checking references is a must.

– What security measures do you have in place? – keeping your information secure will protect you in the long run.

– How are your services priced? – transparent pricing is key.

– What are your special skills and experience? – why should you work with this person and nobody else?

– Will you be able to accommodate my specific needs? – a tailored service will usually be better for your business.

– Are you financially stable? – this might seem like an invasive question, but if this person or company isn’t financially stable, you might lose them in the middle of working with them. Ask for details about the burn rate of the company and review their cash flow. This can be especially important if you’re thinking of working with a startup.

Now you can confidently outsource!

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.