Poll: What is the best way to get new clients?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 19, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is the best way to get new clients?".

This poll was originally submitted by Overseasdtp. View the poll results »



 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Doing a good job Apr 19, 2019

If you do a good job, people will tell their friends and colleagues and so you will get more clients through word of mouth.

If you do a good job, people will remember you when they move to another company.

If you do a good job, your existing clients will also come back to you again and again to the point where you don’t need any more clients.

Quality is all that matters.


Andrew Morris
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Morano El-Kholy
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
neilmac
Michael Harris
Vito Tieke
 
Andrew Morris
Andrew Morris
Local time: 15:24
ProZ.com team
Not quite all Apr 19, 2019

Quality is essential of course, but "doing a good job" with a client, especially a direct client, goes way beyond producing a polished text.

Otherwise agree 100%


Vito Tieke
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Julio Madrid
Maja_K
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:24
Spanish to English
+ ...
* DYB DYB DYB Apr 19, 2019

I tend to agree with Chris. Do your best with every job and clients will come back to you as well as recommending you to their friends and colleagues. I've never really solicited much translation work per se. I worked in TEFL for years and did the occasional translation job through that, and eventually ended up gradually accumulating more translation work than teaching, which I was getting fed up with anyway. I reckon it was sort of my destiny, because I always enjoyed the translation component ... See more
I tend to agree with Chris. Do your best with every job and clients will come back to you as well as recommending you to their friends and colleagues. I've never really solicited much translation work per se. I worked in TEFL for years and did the occasional translation job through that, and eventually ended up gradually accumulating more translation work than teaching, which I was getting fed up with anyway. I reckon it was sort of my destiny, because I always enjoyed the translation component of my language classes at school, college and university.

So, I'd have to hazard a guess and say "probably all of the above".

* https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dyb
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Vito Tieke
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Mónica Algazi
Gibril Koroma
Alexandra Speirs
 
Vito Tieke
Vito Tieke  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:24
English to Dutch
+ ...
Best ways.. Apr 19, 2019

I agree with people here that quality is key.
In order to show of your quality however, it's key to obtain these clients in the first place.
I don't know if one way iof acquisition is clearly better than the other. I would lean towards an approach where all channels complement each others rather than one approach being the best.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Ricki Farn
Shiva Amin
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:24
French to English
presence on platforms Apr 19, 2019

I have acquired the vast majority of my clients via LinkedIn, having very carefully grown my network while working in-house.
Even last night I got a message from somebody who just happened to find my profile there.
I have also bid successfully on projects here and some of those contacts seem to be turning into great regular clients.
Two of my new clients are people who have had a recommendation from someone else.

For those of you who say doing a good job is the
... See more
I have acquired the vast majority of my clients via LinkedIn, having very carefully grown my network while working in-house.
Even last night I got a message from somebody who just happened to find my profile there.
I have also bid successfully on projects here and some of those contacts seem to be turning into great regular clients.
Two of my new clients are people who have had a recommendation from someone else.

For those of you who say doing a good job is the best way, I agree, but that's something that doesn't happen at first. It takes time to build up the kind of relationship where the client is happy to recommend you. Some agencies won't recommend you in case you no longer have time for them. In fact it's only a viable business plan for those who are already very well established. Those of us who haven't been freelancing very long cannot rely on that! And even the happiest of clients can switch to a job that no longer involves outsourcing translations, suddenly see their tran slation budget slashed, retire ...or even die.
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Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic  Identity Verified
Member (2011)
Croatian to English
+ ...
Facebook Groups and other nonprofessional forums Apr 19, 2019

As an expat, many people have found me through my presence on an expat forum or two, unrelated to professional employment. I was also chased down by people who found me on my blog, AmerikankainCroatia, as well as repeat clients, ProZ membership - a good investment (both by actively bidding and receiving invitations to bid); word of mouth in the local community and much more. In any case, I strive to provide a superior, high quality service and provide a professional attitude, and business is flo... See more
As an expat, many people have found me through my presence on an expat forum or two, unrelated to professional employment. I was also chased down by people who found me on my blog, AmerikankainCroatia, as well as repeat clients, ProZ membership - a good investment (both by actively bidding and receiving invitations to bid); word of mouth in the local community and much more. In any case, I strive to provide a superior, high quality service and provide a professional attitude, and business is flourishing to the point that I have begun hiring part time help.Collapse


 
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:24
Spanish to English
+ ...
Showing Interpersonal Intelligence & Anticipating What They Want To Know In The First Place Apr 19, 2019

I find that is what works for me.

And having a well-established track record with former and repeat clients.

[Edited at 2019-04-19 20:10 GMT]


 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 15:24
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
All options combined Apr 19, 2019

I do all of these (except for having no idea) and get new clients out of all the options - not many more from one or the other. Translation agencies mostly through my ProZ profile, bidding and cold emailing/filling out vendor questionnaires etc. And one of them out of cold calling - the only cold call to an agency I ever made because I hate doing that - but it was a successful one... See more
I do all of these (except for having no idea) and get new clients out of all the options - not many more from one or the other. Translation agencies mostly through my ProZ profile, bidding and cold emailing/filling out vendor questionnaires etc. And one of them out of cold calling - the only cold call to an agency I ever made because I hate doing that - but it was a successful one Direct clients mostly through referrals (which wasn't in this list), my website and LinkedIn - though I have found two great direct clients here on ProZ. And last but certainly not least: jobs outsourced by fellow-freelancers: mostly through some Facebook translator groups I'm very active in.

[Edited at 2019-04-19 20:36 GMT]
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Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:24
German to English
+ ...
usually not platforms - good job etc. yes Apr 19, 2019

Almost any contact I get via a platform expects me to charge 30% or so of my fee, and possibly jump through silly hoops. (A few exceptions over the years). Doing a good job, which includes quality and also common sense, brings in new clients through word of mouth and keeps old ones. I also checked professional association. In Canada it means something in particular.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:24
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
ProZ Apr 20, 2019

The only one that has worked for me in the past couple of years was ProZ. You make a lot of points in the questions and appear in the first page of the researches. That's where you get new clients.

Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:24
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Job platforms, and ProZ Apr 20, 2019

As Chris pointed out, if you have enough steady clients, you will have less anxiety about finding new ones. But that wasn't the question.

As far as new clients go, I think ProZ is the best source. Participating in KudoZ helps, too, as the number of selected answers helps to boost one's ranking in the lists.

[Edited at 2019-04-20 05:55 GMT]


Morano El-Kholy
 


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Poll: What is the best way to get new clients?






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