Listen in as Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek, talks to Erlend Bakke, MrOutsource.com, about working with Virtual Assistants from the Philippines. Mark talks about how he has gotten hooked on working with the well-trained MrOutsource.com team.
Mark talks about his six-week experience working with the MrOutsource.com team. When Mark first dipped his toe into working with MrOutsource, he was a bit skeptical at first. He had some experience with other companies and they all left him wanting. Mark highlighted the fact that working with the team, he has gotten daily reports from the team with updates, questions, and clarifications. He has been happy with the communication between himself and the team, which made working with the team such a great experience.
Mark’s experience, working with the MrOutsource.com team has been wonderful for him. It has become a one-stop shop for his podcast. Right after he records each episode, the podcast is sent to the team, who would literally do everything with it. Erlend stressed that one year of doing podcasts has made this his team’s core competence, making Mark a perfect fit. This has saved Mark some time and money. This also allowed Mark to focus on higher income—generating strategies.
Working with Filipino Virtual Assistants, Erlend has had to emphasize during training that they shouldn’t just say yes and be submissive. Another important report required of all the Virtual Assistants is their daily update, which includes What I Did Today, Challenges Encountered, and Questions I have for you. Among the parts of the report, Erlend recommends focusing on the third question, which require immediate attention. One of the simpler tools Erlend recommends everyone to use is the email.
When asked about the prices, Erlend responded that connecting a Virtual Assistant with a client would cost $497. Then you get three candidates to choose from. The benefit of going through MrOutsource.com is that the VA has a contract with the Filipino company, which means that if the VAs do something illegal, they can be sued in the Philippines. In addition, each applicant is also required to go through their seven-day training. You pay a 30% rate on top of whatever other rate, but you are secure knowing that you’re working with trained and reliable VAs.
Mark asked Erlend whether MrOutsource.com is going to eventually increase their prices now that he’s hooked and how Erlend would maintain the quality of work when more and more clients avail of their services. Erlend responded that he intends to charge new clients more but keep prices the same for old clients. Perhaps if he were to consider an increase, he would increase his prices by the standard 4% per annum, depending on the inflation rate. Erlend emphasized that keeping his current clients happy will lead to a whole positive ecosystem of positive referrals. Taking care of the customers he already has will continue to be a priority for MrOutsource.com.
Erlend mentioned learning his business philosophy from Keith Cunningham’s course called the 4-Day MBA where he learned quite a few things. One of them was learning to take care of his clients before he’ll consider raising the prices or going out to get more customers.
When working with VAs, Erlend says it’s incredibly important to be passionate because people are attracted to passionate people. You need to be excited about what you accomplish as a tem, especially when it comes to delegation and outsourcing. Those are the kinds of leaders people are attracted to. Being like Richard Branson, Erlend says that you need a vision, know how to joke around but also be serious.
Outsourcing has allowed Erlend to do things that he enjoys. Since he is able to do the things he enjoys, he is able to be energetic and passionate at work. That way, he is able to attract people who are equally as passionate. These people he is attracting want to be part of his vision and his dream. He likens this to having weight on an entrepreneur’s shoes but with the VAs, with their help, they can run together rather than walk slowly. To have fun and success in business, Erlend says if you have a passionate team that care about the same stuff, you will be successful. It shouldn’t be all about money. Erlend also warns against greedy business partners. These are people you shouldn’t be working with. The same goes for outsourcing. Employees who are driven by money and are opportunists will only play for the money. They’re not adding to any value but rather just focused on getting a paycheck.
A book by Adam Grant called Give and Take was read both by Mark and Erlend. It says that we all go through phases of matching, taking, and giving. We want to be more on the dominant side of giving because ultimately, you’ll get more. The more you give, the more you get. You don’t want to be a giver all the time. There are people you want to be matching with. If you give me an apple, I’ll give you an apple. Mark says Erlend has done a phenomenal job hiring and training these givers and has somehow been able to crack the code of giving this kind of service.
Tip of the Week:
Erlend: I was reading about getting up in the morning and suggests that as soon as you get out of bed, you stand tall, confident, with your shoulders back and your head held high. Then, you reach up your arms a little bit upwards, like a 45- degree angle, and you welcome the day. After that, you make your bed. After that, you’re done with your first task of the day. That would make you feel really good. Also, as soon as your alarm goes off, you start counting down from 10 inside your head. Then you get up before it goes to zero.
Mark: Go to MrOutsource.com, schedule that 30 minute consult, and find out if it’s a good fit for you and what you’re doing. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast so I can continue to get the quality of guests on the podcast. If you send us a screenshot you’re your review, you get the $97 Passive Income Launch Kit for free. Send that to [email protected]. Go to theLandGeek.com and download the Passive Income Blueprint and get this informative and engaging podcast delivered each week to your email mailbox.
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