Wed, 8 March 2017
If your agency’s workload is constantly in flux you may have considered agency outsourcing... but, giving up control on a piece of a project can be a little scary. Today’s podcast guest is here to explain some of the best practices for managing partnerships and ensuring success for everyone. In this episode, we’ll cover:
My guest today is Tim Barsness, founder and President of Fjorge Digital. Tim got his start as freelancer and from there turned his business into an outsourcing agency with a giant network of partners. He on the show to share outsourcing best practices to ensure solid and profitable relationships. Tim’s agency has handled development for dozens of creative agencies. Over the years, he’s learned what works (and what doesn’t work) in successful agency partnerships. 4 Tips to Successful Outsourcing
Managing Difficult Partner RelationshipsIt happens. You’re working with a vendor or partner and all of the sudden they become difficult or unresponsive. If this is the case, Tim advises stepping into their shoes to figure out why. Some people just shut down in order to avoid conflict. So think about what reasons they might have for going dark… Are they unclear on what you’re asking? Have they over-promised or under-delivered? If you can get to the root of the problem you’ll be able to put them at ease and work through a solution. But what if there is NO solution? Sometimes a partner relationship goes too far south and you’d love to call it quits but you feel trapped because you’re in too deep. When this happens, you feel like you have no choice but deal with a crappy situation. According to Tim, doesn’t have to be that way… Asses the overall risk of severing ties. Ask yourself things like: How much is their work negatively impacting the project? Is the client aware there’s an issue? If so, does the client think they’re part of your team? Who’s managing the project/process? Is there a breakdown in communication between the two teams because the PM or AM doesn’t speak in tech terms? Using clear and direction communication you can usually diffuse a situation before it gets to the point where you’re backed into a corner. Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy-to-use cloud accounting software for agencies. Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial. Transforming Your BusinessUsing the best practices possible from outsourcing to other aspects of your agency will help you transform your business but this may only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to improvements that are needed. Why not take the time to take a step back and look at other processes that need attention? No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it. There are many topics I can give advice on from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes, ways to increase your business profit or how you can build authority for your agency. Growing your agency can be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show you the different phases of growth you will experience, how placing a process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more! Want more? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.
Direct download: Best_Practices_for_Successful_Agency_Outsourcing.mp3
Category:#PODCAST -- posted at: 5:00am MDT |