If you are about to outsource work overseas , then this video is a must-watch because it highlights one of the biggest pitfalls of outsourcing that is common to both, small business owners as well as CEOs, namely, not investing enough time before outsourcing. This video helps you understand why time spent in understanding the outsourcing process, instead of making cost the sole criteria, can give you massive gains. In this continuing Social Media Week London 2015 Master Class Series, Shaunvir Mahil, Co-founder of VirtualEmployee.com, walks you through the crucial Step 2 that SMEs need to follow to successfully outsource work overseas. While Step 1 talked about having realistic expectations, Step 2 of the series focuses on the importance of investing time before outsourcing. Far too many clients, including CEOs and senior decision-makers, spend less time when it comes to offshore outsourcing decisions than they would while ordering a pizza. Quoting actual instances from his own company, Shaunvir says that almost daily they get clients who send just a few lines about the work that they want to outsource overseas and ask for a quote. “If the price offered suits the client’s budget, then they are ready to directly outsource work to us,” he says. Such clients, who focus only on the cost factor while offshore outsourcing, often get their fingers burned. The Virtual Employee MD minces no words when he says that this is a “very illogical way of outsourcing”. He goes on to add that, “Small differences in outsourcing models and subtle differences between companies can make a massive difference when you are outsourcing work halfway round the world.” While one can appreciate that paucity of time is why a lot of people don't want to invest time in thinking about how to outsource work (which is why they want to outsource work in the first place), nevertheless, it is strongly recommended that they should put aside some time in thinking how to outsource and reap the long-term benefits of offshore outsourcing.