It seems that at least once each week I hear the same five words from friends and clients: “I need to delegate more.” And then, immediately afterward, they say, “But I don’t think there’s anybody who will understand my work, take it as seriously as I do, and do a really great job.”

As a result, nothing gets delegated and they are left doing everything for themselves.

The problem, I’ve discovered, is not a lack of capable and committed people willing to help. It’s that people simply don’t know how to delegate and are afraid to let go, even a little. So they assume there’s no way forward.

Here’s what I recommend instead on your way to becoming a delegation rock star:

1. Do your research. It’s important to know what skills are needed by the person you’re going to hire. Just like hiring an accountant to do your taxes, you’ll want to find someone with expertise. If you need to delegate setting up your newsletter, find someone with experience using MailChimp, Constant Contact or a similar program

This may sound obvious, but I often hear solo professionals say they are thinking about hiring very smart friends, but I discover after a few questions they don’t have any relevant experience. You wouldn’t hire a “very smart friend” who knew nothing about cars to act as your auto mechanic – delegation of your business needs works the same way; specific skills are required.

2. Take time to plan. You’ve got to give the person doing the work enough time to schedule it into their calendar and get it done. This requires planning ahead. When I get ready to write my newsletter, for example, I ask my editor on Sunday or Monday if she has time for edits on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. I don’t just assume and send it over to her. You need to be prepared, too, for the answer to be “no” or “not this week.”

3. Provide specific information. “Can you handle this?” is not enough information for the person you’re delegating to – even if it’s a simple and (in your mind) self-explanatory task. Include details, timelines and any supporting information. For example: “I’m ready to publish my next newsletter. Attached is the word document and the images I’d like to use. Can we schedule it for this Friday at 6:00 am?” Be thorough: include deadlines and guidelines about how you’d like the work to be done.

4. Create check-in and control points. If you’ve delegated a project, schedule check-in points for milestones to make sure things stay on track. Sometimes there can be misunderstandings about the required tasks even when you both think you understand. Regular meetings will help with discovery and allow for adjustments.

5. Develop a communicative relationship. When you work with someone you are in a relationship with them. I don’t mean you need to be BFFs, but simple things that work in your other relationships will work in this one too. A simple, “Thank you – great job,” or “How was your weekend?” will go a long way. Be sure to answer questions about the project quickly so that it can stay on track and on time. Your work together will require conversation – either written or verbal.

My guess is that 99% of the time the person assisting you wants to do a good job. If that’s not happening, check these five points to see where you two might be going off track.

Delegation is a powerful way to leverage your time and get help with areas of your business where you might not have expertise. Done well, it can be a big win for you and your business.

Just last week my client Sara and I wrapped up a big project – we had been working on it for several months. Sara owns a personal training studio in Westport and needed to find a way to make the day-to-day management more efficient. She was tired of doing everything manually, tired of keeping details in her head, and tired of managing a never-shrinking pile of paper.

We talked for a while about the options and she was eager to get started. Like many professionals, once she understood how much time and effort could be saved with some system set-up and automation, she was ready to take action.

Even so, I explained that there were several necessary steps to ensure the success of her project:

1. Outline your goals. Sara was looking for a number of specific improvements. Among those, she wanted: Clients to be able to schedule their workout sessions on her website; automatic email reminders of upcoming sessions; credit card acceptance; client workout progress tracking; electronic signing of storage of waivers. We assumed we would uncover other goals as we went along (we did), but this was our base list of what we wanted to accomplish.

2. Look for the right solution. Google the top applications in your field, read the reviews, look at the features list, and ask others in similar businesses what they recommend. In other words, do your homework! During this research phase, make sure you also consider pricing and compatibility with systems you already have in place. Consider issues like calendar software, accounting software, your web site back-end, and the ability to use a solution on your phone or tablet.

3. Try it out. This is the time to dive into the details. If there’s a free trial period offered, sign up. Start to set up the software with dummy client information and see how it works. In Sara’s case, it was important that the session reminders have her logo and branding. It needed to integrate with Google Calendar and be compatible with her tablet. If there is no trial available, ask an account representative to give you a tour of both the client experience and how you’ll manage the day-to-day details of your work.

This is also the time to try out support. How responsive are they to your questions? What hours are they available? Is it chat, email, phone or some combination? Whatever you discover, don’t be afraid to abandon ship and consider other solutions. That’s what trials are for and whatever you choose, you’ll be living with it for a long time!

4. Run redundant systems. Usually, jumping to a new way of running your business requires a lot of changes. If you’re used to keeping a paper calendar, for example, and you’re moving to an electronic one, keep them both for a few weeks to make sure the new approach is working and that you understand how it works. Same for finance tracking. If you’re accustomed to tracking your revenue using Excel and you’re moving to QuickBooks, continue to run them in parallel for a while.

5. Take a go-slow approach with your clients. If this new way of working is going to change the way your clients interact with you, keep in mind that they might not embrace the change. Make sure you think through how best to communicate the improvements and how you’ll handle tech support if there are glitches. You may want to begin with a new client (before you switch over the old ones) to see how easy it is for them to understand what’s involved.

Making improvements and streamlining your business is a never-ending and (at least for me) fun thing to do! Just make sure you move slowly and smoothly along the way.