Outsourcing and Trust: Our Top Tips for Maximizing Your ROI When Outsourcing
When was the last time you took your car into the shop for servicing? If you’ve ever performed an oil change (some of us know better than to perform these sorts of jobs ourselves), then you understand how messy and difficult it can be, so we decide to hand it over to the experts to save ourselves a headache. In your business, you will run into times when handing things over to an expert is the next best step for growth and development, but we know fully trusting in them can be easier said than done. After all, we put so much hard work into building a business, usually entirely on our own. But much like taking your car to a shop for servicing, there are situations where hiring the expert and allowing them to work their magic is the best course of action. As a business owner who likes to be hands-on in all aspects of my business, I recently had an interaction that genuinely opened my eyes to the power of allowing an expert to utilize their expertise with complete trust and confidence.
My Own Lesson in Trusting the Expert
While attending the 2023 Annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, I came across a vendor booth that did stunning custom hats. With everything from cowboy hats to wide-brim fedoras, this booth had something for everyone! Despite having lived in Texas for years, I still had never invested in a high-quality hat that would last me for years. I figured, when at the rodeo, right? I ventured into the crowded booth and was warmly greeted by the owner. After chatting with her about my lifestyle needs and personal style preferences, she immediately got to work grabbing various trinkets and decorative items from around the booth. Realizing this custom hat would be a significant investment, I followed the vendor closely and chimed in during every step to ensure I got exactly what I wanted. After going back and forth on a few items, it dawned on me that this vendor is known for their custom styling, yet I was taking control over all the design choices (news flash: I did not have years of custom hat styling under my belt.) Why was I paying an expert if I wasn’t utilizing their expertise? I stepped back and told the vendor to work her magic while I watched silently. When she presented the final product, I was shocked.
Was this hat anything that I would have picked out myself? Nope.
Is it so much better than anything I would have selected? Absolutely.
If you are paying for expertise, make sure you are actually utilizing it. Sure, I could have gone to the dozens of western wear stores locally that offer a variety of different hat selections, but this one was totally custom to me. Yes, the price tag was a bit higher, but I most definitely got what I paid for. By allowing her to fully use her expertise and trust in the process, I left with a one-of-a-kind custom hat that I will use for years to come.
So how can you translate this lesson to your own business? It all comes down to research, communication, and trust.
Building the Foundations of Trust
It can be scary placing important parts of your business in someone else’s hands. Our #1 tip for ensuring you can truly trust who you are working with? Do your research! Before committing to work together, go over the provider’s website, review testimonials, and ask about previous work.
We highly recommend setting up a discovery call to chat 1:1 and discuss any questions or concerns up front! Ensuring you are clear about your needs and expectations up-front sets the stage for your working relationship. When it comes to outsourcing, transparent, open, and thoughtful communication goes a long way.
Establish KPIs and Recurring Meetings to Ensure Continuous Progress
With every area of your business that you outsource, it is important to establish KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to track progress and ensure everyone is on the same page and moving in the right direction toward the same goals. Some examples of common PR and Marketing KPIs are:
Website Traffic
Sales Growth
Leads
Media Mentions
As much as we would love to see growth across all metrics, all the time, focusing on improving 2-3 metrics at a time is much more practical and sustainable for long-term success. Depending on the area you are outsourcing, you could request a monthly report to review numbers and have them on file for reference. Some providers prefer to set up a monthly meeting to check in with clients to ensure both parties are clear on goals, objectives, and deliverables. KPIs are important for establishing an overall picture of where you are and where you are going without having to be there every step of the way to execute.
Set Realistic Expectations
As we said before, as much as we would love for numbers to go up all the time, sometimes they don’t, and that is okay! Growth is not linear, and a part of owning a business is hanging in there through those ups and downs. Public Relations and Marketing is often a long game that takes time and consistency before you see results. Don’t make rush decisions and pivot before giving your strategies a chance to work. Trust that the experts will guide you based on their extensive knowledge and expertise and evolve things as they see fit. Stay the course!
Focus on Your Zone of Genius
Remind yourself of this: You are hiring an expert for a reason. If you are going to maximize your investment, you don’t need to still be heavily involved in the areas you are outsourcing. Focus on the parts of your business that require your expertise. Be wise about how you spend your time, and strategically outsource areas that you no longer wish to manage. A huge learning curve of growing your business is learning how and when to let go. The art of outsourcing can be scary, but we have found it is one of the most powerful tools for scaling a business.