To Outsource or Not to Outsource…

Posted by Michael Guerin on September 7, 2008 under Time Management | Be the First to Comment

Why Outsource Your Billing?

Well, ok, excuse the pun for a moment and let me sort of outline what I’m driving at here, and what’s been on my mind lately.

A few months ago I finished reading Tim Ferriss’ “4 Hour Work Week,” and was so blown away by some of the material that I had to pass it along to some friends of mine (and fellow business owners).

Now, I don’t really want to go into all the details in the book.   Nor do I want to review it, or critique it here. But one of the main ideas in the book is that you should…

outsource all the stuff that doesn’t make you money,
to focus your time and attention on the things that do make you money

That’s the PRO side of outsourcing.

On the flip side…

I’ve been driving around the past couple of days visiting clients and signing up new accounts.  And in the CD player is a copy of Dan Kennedy’s “Magnetic Marketing.”  If you’re in sales and/or own a business, it’s really something you should check out.

Anyway, Dan got lots of really powerful insights on marketing, and he talks about outsourcing.

And here’s the gist of one of his points: the one thing you should NEVER outsource is your marketing.  Yet, many of us (dare I say most of us) probably outsource this first!

And the reason to never outsource marketing is because it’s the one thing responsible for bringing in new customers or clients.  Not to mention that the person best suited to tell your business story is…

You.

So the warning here is, WHAT are you outsourcing.

Outsourcing Will Make You More Money…

If you do it right.

For example:

You should be the ONE person most in charge of your marketing.  And that’s because you are the one person best able to communicate your marketing message to your potential client or customer.

All other aspects that you are currently doing that does not bring in the money should be delegated away.

So where does that leave you?

Think about 2 things you could do to free up some of your time.  There must be a way to use your time more efficiently.  Identify areas you could work on, then implement and track results.

Next Steps…

So what key questions should you ask a billing company before signing up with them?  Here’s a short list for your review:

1. What is involved in the fee (i.e. postage, envelopes, etc)?
2. Is there a monthly fee, even during winter months/downtime?
3. What reporting is provided?
4. Will follow up invoices (i.e. Second Notices) be included in the program fee

If you’d like to discover how we can help to automate your lawn service billing process, visit the link to give us a call at 877-262-3712.  We look forward to helping you streamline your billing process.