So you have found the best and the brightest on your outsourcing team? You are more productive than you have ever been and business is booming! Did you know that specialists in this industry do fire clients and they do it more often than clients fire them? It happens when the match isnt working, when projects arent being completed, and for a host of other reasons. Most outsourcing providers protect their success ratios its tied to their professional reputations and is reflected in their own bottom line. Want to protect this business asset?

Below are a few tips to help you keep the best offsite services providers on your team:

• Dont forget scheduled meetings. If you must reschedule, do so in advance, not at the last minute. Most high quality providers keep tight schedules. The meeting time scheduled for you probably means another client had to wait or was turned away.

• Dont make it a challenge to get information from you. Although some client-provider relationships may survive this situation, most will not. Your remote professional doesnt ask for information from you that is unnecessary and few want to play mom and continually repeat requests for the necessary information to complete your projects.

• Provide your portion of the work on time. If your outsourcing partner has to wait on you, your project will shift down his or her priority list. If you arent worried about your deadlines, how can you expect your current procrastination to become their future deadline crisis? You cant -- and doing so will damage your relationship.

• Make decisions. Dont be wishy-washy about how a project should be approached. Ask for the providers advice on issues in his/her area of expertise, and then make the call. You are the client its your business. The final decision belongs to you. Own it.

• Pay promptly. A superior outsourcer is never hungry for work. If you dont pay promptly, you may find that your client slot has been filled with someone who does. Every hour spent collecting is an hour thats non-billable time for the specialist. Besides, no one enjoys chasing down clients for payment and most of these independent workers chose this career path to enjoy work more.

• Be honest. If there is a problem, just say so. If the project, or even the relationship, is not working for you, its probably not working for your provider either. Most professionals will work with you to find a solution, or will refer you to another provider to help you make a better match.

• Be the client you would like to have. I know its a bit terse, but in business the golden rule is still golden.