Author: Wendy Donaldson

Building a business that is composed of remote workers is a great way to save money on your initial startup expenses, and it also gives you the luxury of hiring talent based on what someone brings to the table, rather than whether or not they are located within commuting distance to your office.

A combination of remote workers and outsourced tasks, you can scale the growth of a new business fast. And when you learn how to outsource properly it can free you up to work on growth initiatives.

You will be in front of your computer a lot if you are managing an entire remote workforce. So, it’s a good idea to arm yourself with the best desktop apps to help you manage and communicate with your team. Here are some solid recommendations to consider.

Slack

Slack is the most popular team communication tool and has been for some time. It has endless customization options and it really allows you to tailor it for your exact needs.

There is a free option available for small teams, so it’s worth exploring. Once you see just what can be unlocked in terms of communication you will be addicted to this tool.

Long email chains are a thing of the past when you learn how to use Slack. It keeps all of your messages and communication in one place for easy reference.

Google GSuite

Google’s GSuite is an entire collection of its best team collaboration tools. Things like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms are its version of Microsoft Office and the sharing options make it a better choice for remote teams. From gathering info for online resources that provide todays horse racing tips, to e-commerce brands working on inventory — this toolset helps in all aspects.

Gmail is the best email option as well for organization, and it also syncs up with all of the GSuite products.

Google Drive is also great for hosting large files and sharing them with the team. The admin has full control over who can see, share and open files.

Zoom

Video communication is important for a remote team. With video, the entire team can feel as if they are one, even if they are all working from different parts of the world.

“When working with a remote team, video conferencing is a great way to keep everyone ‘connected’ and Zoom is the best option for this,” says Henk Schipper of Jaloezieen Fabriek.

It’s a good idea to schedule regular video calls, just so everyone always feels connected and part of the team. There will be some team members that are doing their own thing, so you need to make sure they don’t become isolated.

Even a weekly video call just to check in and have a 15 minute session is very healthy for a remote team.

Trello

This project management tool keeps everything in order, and is a great way to break down large projects into several smaller ones and assign tasks accordingly.

You might be working on a large travel accessories e-commerce website and one team might be creating the product images for suitcases, while another team might be writing the product descriptions.

You can keep everything nice and organized with Trello.

Sales are what make the wheels turn in any business, so anything that can be done to help get more sales should be fully explored. Online traffic is what every business with a website wants, from a blog to an HVAC repair company.

The thought of people visiting the website and making purchases 24/7 — even while you are asleep at night — is very appealing and the ultimate goal.

You could have a lot of traffic and steady traffic, but if it isn’t converting into sales then it’s essentially useless. You might get 1,000 visitors to view a product you are selling, but if they don’t hit the “buy now” button and complete the checkout process you might as well have had 2 visitors.

The end results is still $0 sales.

Well, there are things you can do to optimize your website for conversions, which will help you turn more visitors into customers (and revenue for your business). Here are three to explore.

Offer Exit Incentives

What if you were walking out of a retail store and someone ran up to you as you were about to walk out the door and said, “Wait! Don’t go — here is a 70% off coupon!” – would you turn back around and go buy something?

More than likely, yes. And the same thought process applies with an exit offer. If someone is leaving your website, you can prompt coupon codes and other special offers to be presented to them, in an attempt to get them to stay and buy.

Now, if someone lands on a blog like this one here, there isn’t anything to distract them from doing what the intent is — read the content. But, if someone is in your checkout process and tries to leave you can offer them an incentive to finish the purchase.

Highlight Reviews and Trust Badges

A lot of people won’t make a purchase on a website that they don’t trust. There are a lot of scammy looking websites out there. So, you need to do everything you can to highlight why someone that doesn’t know you should trust your business.

“You will get more sales if you appear more trustworthy,” says the owner of National Pool Fences. “Is your checkout process secure? Then mention it. Have you been featured in the media? Then let the people know.”

Also, if you belong to any organizations, either national or industry related, highlight those as well. Anything you can do to look more credible and trustworthy, the better.

Create FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

Have you ever been on a website and when you put something in your shopping cart it will say something like, “Hurry up, there are only 3 more in stock and there are 17 people currently viewing this product!”

That is done to create a fear of missing out, and it works very well.

If you were selling a product like this car subwoofer, then you could have a countdown timer with a discount code. Even something like a 3 minutes countdown timer and a 10% off coupon or a free shipping offer, will get more people to convert simply because they don’t want to miss the deal.

There is a never ending source of freelancer web designers available to hire online and with so many freelance marketplaces it makes locating them and viewing portfolios easy.

These platforms also make the transaction safe, where most will hold the funds and only release them to the freelancer once you are satisfied with the work. But, money aside, when you hire a web designer you are locking up valuable time. You might also have a deadline and need to get the new design live as quickly as possible.

So, time is precious so you need to make sure you hire the right web designer the first time. Here are some things to consider that will help.

Look at Recent Portfolio (and the actual websites)

All freelancers will have a portfolio available for you to review. This is a good starting point, but do some digging beyond it. Go visit the actual sites and see if the design is the same. If not, that is a good sign that it just didn’t flow well or didn’t convert well.

A portfolio on a freelancer site might look good, but how do you know that freelancer actually did that work? From a CBD oil company to a service provider, look for actual examples of the work done. Look for real-world examples on your own to really see their work in action.

Ask for Referrals

“Never be afraid to ask for referrals. Any designer that refuses this probably doesn’t have the best work to showcase,” says Chris Moberg of Slumber Search. “It never hurts to shoot a past client of theirs an email and just ask how their experience was.”

If a designer pushes back that is a red flag. Also, do some Google searches to see if you can find any other information about the designer. Do they have a website? A company? You might be able to stumble on their main website and see if they have client testimonials there.

Test Their Communication Response Time

One of the biggest gripes when it comes to hiring freelancers is the communication, or lack thereof it.

“You always want to know what you are getting into response-wise before you hire,” advises Darryl Howard of NuWays MD, the o-shot experts. “Ask specific questions and see how long it takes them to reply. If they go days without answering that could be a sign of things to come.”

They will usually be more responsive in the early stages before you are a client because they want to impress you and win your bid. So, be fully aware of this.

Ask for Input on Your Design Ideas

You should also test their creativity — after all that is why you are hiring. You don’t want someone that will just take any idea and slap something together. Look for a designer that takes pride in his or her work and wants to deliver the best possible web design to you.

“Get their feedback on your ideas,” says Chris Dziak of Pure Nootropics. “You might have some great ideas, but you want to make sure they make sense from a design perspective. Finding a designer that will give you quality feedback is important.”