The best way to manage multiple contractors, is to hire a team leader. This way you are only communicating with one person, and that person is communicating your message with the rest of the team, and making sure that everything is getting done.
Make sure that you are very clear and extremely specific.
You might thing that the task is really easy or self explanatory, but never assume that they think the same thing. You want to let them know what the exact task is, and what the outcome should be. For instance, you don’t want to tell them to create a good looking lead capture page. You want to tell them that you need a lead capture page created that has a video on the left, and the opt in box below it. YO should let them know you want to happen when a lead opts in and so on. The more that you communicate with these people upfront the better your end result will be. Keep in mind they probably don’t know anything about your actual business so it’s up to you to make sure that the work is getting done to your specs.
Start communicating your expectations from the beginning
Don’t wait until things start going wrong with a project before you start communicating with your contractor. Make sure you are in constant communication, and that you are getting frequent updates.
On bigger projects that are more long term, make sure you check in at miles stones. Mile stones are like little checkpoints along the way to insure the contractor is on track. The earlier you catch a mistake the easier it is to fix.
Ask for input.
If you followed instructions well, and hired a contractor with some experience, chances are they have learned some things from many different companies along the way. Ask them for their input, and any ideas for your business, that may have been beneficial for previous companies. So encourage them to share what they have learned in the past.
Finally,reward the best worker
If someone does an awesome job, let’s say they either wrote a sales letter that converted like crazy, or they just did a really good design job, you want to reward them. It will make you feel really great to give something back, and it will keep good workers from leaving you. It is a lot easier, and cheaper to keep a good worker around than it is to go out and find a replacement.
Always remember to get agreements from your workers.
Make sure you are filling out the proper paperwork, and contracts when hiring contractors for your company. Look up the local tax laws in your state or country to make sure that you are compliant.
Also make sure you understand the employment laws in your state, your country, or
So in closing I will tell you that outsourcing is great. You can save and make tons of money with it. It can allow you to travel the world, and still have a business that runs with very few hiccups. You can be as hands off as you want, and still be confident that there is someone else handling all of the details for you, and not some lazy slacker drinking coffee all day in the back room.
So outsourcing is a great tool for your business, but it is just a tool. You are still going to have to keep an eye on your business. Don’t assume that once you outsource you can walk away and it will just run itself. You’re still going to give input and implement new ideas for your business.
Just find one person that you can trust to help run the show, and you can use outsourcing to save you time, reduce overhead, and increase your bottom line.
