Are you ever truly ready to outsource?
The simple answer is no! No matter how much you might think you’re ready, it’s a frightening prospect putting your trust (and your business) into the hands of an outsourcing partner that might effectively seem like a stranger. Will they meet your standards? Will they understand your business? Will they deliver on time? Will your clients be pleased?
It’s natural to worry about all of these elements, after all this is your business at stake. But if you can put that fear aside for a few moments, and focus on the many reasons you should outsource, you could soon start to benefit from the numerous advantages of outsourcing such as;
- Create a marketing agency that can scale quicker
— Free up more of your time to do the things you enjoy and/or need to do in your business
— Relieve you and your team from doing things you don’t enjoy or lack the talent to do.
— Reduce the financial risk of getting help
— Maintain your sanity of you and your team
— Feel less overwhelmed and happier in your marketing agency
…the list goes on!
Outsourcing is an organizational decision to delegate some of the business functions to other people outside the company. To help make that decision a bit less daunting, I’m going to share with you a few clear signs that you would benefit from outsourcing work to a trusted white label partner…
#1 You are always busy
Running a business can feel like riding a roller-coaster and the unpredictability of that can be part of the thrill. But when you get bogged down in the day to day stuff it can be hard to take a step back, see the bigger picture, and look at how to actually grow your business.
From my experience, one of the hardest decisions a business owner has to make is how and when to add to their team. But if you are always busy it’s a clear sign that you need to!
#2 You don’t have the time do the things you love/enjoy
Another sign that you’re ready to outsource is when you aren’t doing the things you enjoy or the things you’re good at. It’s hard to be great at everything, and to enjoy everything, and when we don’t enjoy what we do we push it further down the list and it never gets done. We then stress over the bottom of the list and it becomes a bigger problem than it needs to be.
Outsource the tasks you don’t enjoy or aren’t good at and not only will you solve this problem but you’ll also be adding talent and expertise to your team. Focus on what you do best, and leave the rest to those better suited to the task.
#3 Your overheads are increasing
If you consider that employees can account for 70–80% of a business’s fixed costs it’s clear to see that outsourcing is more cost effective than having in-house staff, and also cheaper than recruiting them. When you outsource you don’t have to worry about insurance, holiday pay, sick leave, pensions etc nor do you have to provide premises, computers etc.
Outsourcing will help you cut operational expenses and increase your profit.
#4 Customer Satisfaction is starting to decline
If your marketing agency is running at capacity, customer satisfaction might take a nosedive because you’re overstretched. Potential clients may fall through the cracks, calls might go unanswered. If you can’t keep on top of the day to day tasks then it’s definitely time to outsource.
#5 You don’t know where your next client is coming from
Growing your marketing agency is dependent on marketing, and if you don’t market your agency you’ll find it hard to attract new clients. Understanding how and where your next client will come from is paramount to long-term growth and predictability.
Every business should have a measurable marketing strategy and a budget that matches your business income goals. You can have the right budget, marketing angles and ideas but if you can’t dedicate time to do it properly any campaign you run could be a waste of time, money and team effort.
By outsourcing work you can free up time to chase leads, run an effective campaign and secure new opportunities for your marketing agency WHILST making sure the day to day jobs are getting done.
#6 Staffing issues
Whether your managers are overloaded, or you’re struggling to find the right professionals for your industry, outsourcing will allow you to reduce pressure on your team and partner up with a remote team that can bring fresh skills and insights into your business.
#7 Your business is going global
We now live in a digital age where agencies can run 24/7 across different time zones. This is great for any marketing agency but it brings with it the expectation of instant answers. If you’re considering taking your marketing agency into the global economy, 24/7 communication is vital to your success.
While you can’t be available 24/7 you can outsource to a global talent pool where time zones are relevant to your clients, helping you to build an international marketing agency.
So the only thing standing in your way, understandably, is fear — of something new and something unknown.
My advice is to start small and do a test-run. If it’s the right time to outsource there will undoubtedly be plenty of smaller projects to help you test the waters and outsource to a white label partner. Allow yourself the opportunity to try outsourcing and to reap the rewards that come with it.
