How to get regular outsourced projects?

Hi,

We are a web design and development team in India having decent client base in India, USA and UK. So far we have worked directly with the end business clients. Now we like to get contacts who can regularly outsource development and maintenance projects to us.

I looked at sites like Elance, LinkedIn, LimeExchange, etc., and they seem to be working for one project per client basis. We look for companies who can outsource the projects to us regularly.

I may be wrong, Can somebody suggest me how to build this kind of client base? Is there a directory of such companies to whom we can advertise our services? Googling for such companies is getting only offshore development companies in India (similar to us), but not the providing the companies that outsource projects to India.

Thanks a lotā€¦

You need to have an good portfolio with a very good customer feedback !

If you are looking for the one-time projects or bidding from various businesses, then the list of sites you listed above can work. However, if you are looking for projects on a regular basis from the same business, the key there is to build relationships.

No business is going to blindly outsource all of their work to a single company unless they know that they are reliable and can depend on them for any and all projects that come to them. Most of the recurring work you will receive is going to be a single project to start, just so they can get a feel for how you would work together. If the first goes well, perhaps they try a second project with you and so on. Also playing a factor is your pricing. If you are competitive every time, they may not look to others for bids and give you the work every time. I have a company I work with that will steadily feed me work because they know I do good work, they can rely on good communication and on-time results. But it wasnā€™t that way to start. I worked on a project here and there with them until we built a trusting relationship.

You also want to make sure you are building a relationship with a business that could utilize you the most. Finding a web design business that does not have an in-house programmer may be a good relationship to build (if you do programming), or a print house that does not have a web development division but is receiving increased interest in that field. Finding that perfect match is not going to come easy. It may take quite a while actually, but just like any relationship, it needs time to grow. Start out by talking with various companies and getting a feel for their needs and go from there. Take on an outsource project from them to start and see how the dynamic is. If you mesh well together, perhaps they will feed you more work.

Good luck!

What youā€™re looking for is ā€œmarketingā€ and ā€œsalesā€. Not ā€œbiddingā€.

Have a message that your best potential customers will find in the course of searching for the types of services you offerā€¦ and that message causes them to positively act to contact you (e.g., pick up the phone, send an e-mail, fill out a form).

Create the relationship with the client necessary to close the deal for the first project. And then follow up during the project to make sure all the stars stay aligned so that you get the second project. And so on.

Bidding is relatively easy (although winning bids is not)ā€¦ sales and marketing are harder, but more rewarding in the long-term.

Advertising is not easy or everyone would have thousands of projects lined upā€¦ you have to prove yourself by getting your name out there and there is no easy way to do it.

Start off with a single project, build a solid working relationship, deliver value and trustā€¦ repeat. Soon referrals will start to come in.

The sites you listed above are ok but there is tons of competition and itā€™s hard to differentiate yourself. You might want to look into other ways of advertising your services (such as posting on SP and getting it on the home pageā€¦good start!). Other ideas: banner ads, forums, article submissions, ppc, volunteering with business organizations, networking at business events, trade shows, etc.

Hard work pays off and finding work is not easy when youā€™re starting out. There is no miracle directory or website that will solve your problems

I started my career doing a job as a Designer. After few years i realised that i must go independent now and started bidding. I got my first project 20 days after bidding. Currently i have clients that regularly outsource to me and i started with most of them as winning bidder of their projects. This is the result of good work, completing work on time and building relationships.

All in all you need to do is do good work on every project and build good relationships. I use these things as tools of my marketing and they work better than any advertising.

Good Luckā€¦

1 Like

Advertising/Marketing is the hardest part of the ā€˜making money onlineā€™ equation. No easy way to do it other than to network, do as many jobs as you can get, do a good job, and try to get some word of mouth.

I got most of my recurring outsourced work from CraigsList (Though it can be kind of a group of penny pincher), if you do a good job and a price that makes them happy they seem to keep coming back. Its best if you can get a little web-firm that just wants to make sales and pass the work on to you, the work keeps coming. All of my ongoing clients are right around me and Iā€™ve met with them, they like meeting face to face once and a while ā€“ local has worked out the best for me.

Need tips how to negotiate directly to clientsā€¦ Iā€™ll appreciate itā€¦

I agree on this one. We are an outsourcing company from the Philippines and starting off was one of the hardest times we encounter. We had to build our reputation first and our clientā€™s trust, after that, referrals just keeps coming in.

Good luck :wink:

Once you have just a couple of people who will give you a testimonial you will be in position to pick up some business. You may want to pick up a couple of jobs at a reduced price and a testimonial about your work, do a good job and charge a fair price. Make sure that you turn in quality work for a good price and you customers will keep coming back.

Joel

Thanks LiquidReflex, amf45, Newviewit, atsa, RogueScripts, JREAM, devAngel, JoelG for all your valuable replies.

Yes, one thing I understand for sure is not the ELance or similar sites to go. We need search and build a good relationship with companies who can outsource projects. With my past experience I am confident to win clients. The first thing I am going to do is writing to my existing clients and bring in referrals.

Martin22: I will PM you with our rates.

Thanks again all for guiding me in this.

1 Like

The key would be relationship. I give out design works to a few designers outside USA. We built relationship over the years. They proved themselves by the quality of work, sincerity and such.

Start making some website locally. Make a portfolio site. And get in touch with some programmers to get jobs.

Here is a nice place you can get in touch with people ProgrammerMeetDesigner.com

Your website look good and promising. One of my relative is in needed of medical transcription outsourcing. Are you guys doing such service. If so please PM meā€¦ Thanksā€¦

I know a few Irish web designers who outsource their client work to India. Have you considered promoting your services directly to web design firms located in countries with higher labour costs?

One approach could be to do some online research and come up with a list of 100 web design firms in Ireland and then contact them one by one to outline the services you offer.

ElixirWorld Software Services is an IT software solutions company which provides full-cycle services in the areas of software development, web-based enterprise solutions, web application and portal development. Combining our technical expertise, profound knowledge of latest industry trends and quality-driven delivery model we offer progressive end-to-end web solutions.We ensure this through appropriate content and suitable internet tools, sufficient enough to reach far and wide markets.ElixirWorld services leverage deep domain expertise in the Industry, technical expertise in leading Internet technologies and a cost-effective global solutions delivery model. The services are provided under the aegis of our communications and e-business practices.

Totally agree with Atsa ā€¦ might need to bid on one off projects, but if your work is good and on time then you should have gained a customer for life. People do not want to have to go through the entire process for each project if they already know a reliable source.

I own and operate a Philippines based outsourcing company, www.remoteworkmate.com and this is how we have increased our client base ā€¦ it does not hurt that my background is in SEO also

We approach marketing companies. But we go in with a fairly friendly approach. We just drop them an email, saying this is what we do, if you ever need to outsource, just get in contact. I sent out 50 emails over the last couple of weeks, and so far weā€™ve taking on 3 marketing companies, which we could should provide us with regular work on a monthly basisā€¦not bad for half an ours work sending out the emails.

You should earn the reputation, then it will work for you. When you discuss a first project with a company you can never be sure that this is the company perfect for outsourcing the work to you.

Only when you complete the first task, your customers will make decision whether to continue cooperation with you or not. Also, contented customers will bring more customers to you, recommendation is the best advertising.

So make sure you provide high quality service, customers will come to you.

This topic is from 2009, and is now closed. New replies are no longer allowed.