So you have found the best and the brightest on your outsourcing team? You are more productive than you have ever been and business is booming! Did you know that specialists in this industry do “fire” clients and they do it more often than clients “fire” them? It happens when the match isn’t working, when projects aren’t being completed, and for a host of other reasons. Most outsourcing providers protect their success ratios – it’s tied to their professional reputations and is reflected in their own bottom line. Want to protect this business asset?

Below are a few tips to help you keep the best offsite services providers on your team:

• Don’t “forget” scheduled meetings. If you must reschedule, do so in advance, not at the last minute. Most high quality providers keep tight schedules. The meeting time scheduled for you probably means another client had to wait or was turned away.
• Don’t make it a challenge to get information from you. Although some client-provider relationships may survive this situation, most will not. Your remote professional doesn’t ask for information from you that is unnecessary and few want to “play mom” and continually repeat requests for the necessary information to complete your projects.
• Provide your portion of the work on time. If your outsourcing partner has to wait on you, your project will shift down his or her priority list. If you aren’t worried about your deadlines, how can you expect your current procrastination to become their future deadline crisis? You can’t -- and doing so will damage your relationship.
• Make decisions. Don’t be “wishy-washy” about how a project should be approached. Ask for the provider’s advice on issues in his/her area of expertise, and then make the call. You are the client – it’s your business. The final decision belongs to you. Own it.
• Pay promptly. A superior outsourcer is never hungry for work. If you don’t pay promptly, you may find that your “client slot” has been filled with someone who does. Every hour spent “collecting” is an hour that’s non-billable time for the specialist. Besides, no one enjoys chasing down clients for payment – and most of these independent workers chose this career path to enjoy work more.
• Be honest. If there is a problem, just say so. If the project, or even the relationship, is not working for you, it’s probably not working for your provider either. Most professionals will work with you to find a solution, or will refer you to another provider to help you make a better match.
• Be the client you would like to have. I know it’s a bit terse, but in business the golden rule is still golden.

© Copyright 2005 by Angela Allen Parker of WickedWordCraft.com

Angela Allen Parker is a remote professional and freelance writer based in Dunnville, Kentucky. She's served as the president of an international virtual assistant professional organization, has worked as an Internet marketing specialist and web content writer for client across the globe, and has provided offsite services since 2000. She offers marketing articles for small business owners, real estate agents, and outsourcing professionals at WickedWordCraft.com and writes regular columns and marketing articles for online and print publications for the real estate industry. For more information about hiring the perfect offsite professional, visit RemoteProfessionals.com

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