Poll: How many of your clients have you met in person, at least once? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | | How many? I don't know... | Sep 15, 2018 |
I have been working for over 30 years, so, first of all, we have to set apart two eras: before email existed and after that.
Before email, it was quite usual to meet my clients either in my office or even on theirs. Since email exists, I’ve met in person only one or two clients.
Then, I have also to single out my work as a sworn translator for a few years: my clients used to come to my office to give me the originals of the documents to be translated and to make adv... See more I have been working for over 30 years, so, first of all, we have to set apart two eras: before email existed and after that.
Before email, it was quite usual to meet my clients either in my office or even on theirs. Since email exists, I’ve met in person only one or two clients.
Then, I have also to single out my work as a sworn translator for a few years: my clients used to come to my office to give me the originals of the documents to be translated and to make advance payment. Translations were delivered a few days after also by hand. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | At this point, only one | Sep 15, 2018 |
In years past, I have known many of my clients, having made the initial contacts when I was still working in-house . But now there is only one left who hasn't retired.
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 00:31
French to English
| More than I thought! | Sep 15, 2018 |
There's a record label I work with, I met them at a party! The one and only time I have managed that smooth move where you reach for a smart little case and hand out your business card.
There's one who invites me for lunch round about Christmas some years.
There are several former colleagues now working in other agencies who send me work.
And one friend I met through my volunteer work who needed a translator.
And there's a PR agency who invit... See more There's a record label I work with, I met them at a party! The one and only time I have managed that smooth move where you reach for a smart little case and hand out your business card.
There's one who invites me for lunch round about Christmas some years.
There are several former colleagues now working in other agencies who send me work.
And one friend I met through my volunteer work who needed a translator.
And there's a PR agency who invites all the freelancers they work with to see the results of their work. Then of course we all pile into a bar. ▲ Collapse
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| Networking and such | Sep 15, 2018 |
I found this question interesting because many of the "marketing guides" for translators say that you need to do a lot of legwork to find clients, i. e. you need to visit conferences, conventions, trade fairs, etc. for networking and to meet clients there. I just wondered if many translators really do this.
| | | | Debora d'Amato (X)
Italy
Local time: 00:31
English to Italian
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I met all my clients on the internet.
I met them and talked with them by email.
So far, si have been spoken with a client via Skype and then via phone just once.
When I keep in contact with my clients, I am used to doing it via mail. They never asked me about an online meeting or in person, and me neither.
I think I'm going to ask for a meeting when I'll have possible troubles with invoices or to clarify any kind of misunderstandings.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 23:31
Member (2007)
English
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When I lived in France I had one client who had previously been one of my English students. So I'd met him. Funnily enough, he was the only client who dropped me the moment I moved to Spain. I've never had a Canarian client, and precious few Spanish ones. But I have met quite a few past, current, and future clients at ProZ.com in-person conferences.
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of my regular clients, who are mostly international agencies that found me on proz.com (hurray for Proz).
It's only a couple of domestic, direct clients I have met face-to-face.
But that's fine with me, email communication is impeccable.
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Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 00:31
English to German
A current client because I know her from my initial inhouse translation job and she moved on to be the localization manager of a company that does other things, and a former one because her office is on the way to my parents' and we agreed to meet and talk about another interest we had in common, not translation.
I avoid meeting people in person in general, not just clients, because I'm just so much more attractive on the internet. I'm one of those first-generation computer nerds wh... See more A current client because I know her from my initial inhouse translation job and she moved on to be the localization manager of a company that does other things, and a former one because her office is on the way to my parents' and we agreed to meet and talk about another interest we had in common, not translation.
I avoid meeting people in person in general, not just clients, because I'm just so much more attractive on the internet. I'm one of those first-generation computer nerds who communicated via networks before the internet even existed, and I have spent far more time building up an electronic persona than a real-life one.
@Kay-Viktor, I strongly doubt that I would get people interested in me at an offline industry event, but I stand a fair chance on the web. This offline thing might make sense if we were translating for our local tourism industry or real-estate agents, but for IT? ▲ Collapse
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Regarding your sub-question:
Besides my website and my presence on Proz, I have done nothing that I could call marketing for a long time. When I started out in 1985, I did send a a lot of letters to particularly relevant people and organizations and attended business lunches organized by some embassies and Brussels-based associations. In the meanwhile, I’ve build up a good base of loyal clients and I haven’t seen the need to market my services for a long time (I must admit also ... See more Regarding your sub-question:
Besides my website and my presence on Proz, I have done nothing that I could call marketing for a long time. When I started out in 1985, I did send a a lot of letters to particularly relevant people and organizations and attended business lunches organized by some embassies and Brussels-based associations. In the meanwhile, I’ve build up a good base of loyal clients and I haven’t seen the need to market my services for a long time (I must admit also that I’m not very good at that). Usually clients contact me directly through my website and Proz.com directory or come by word of mouth. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 19:31
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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I live in Belo Horizonte, ranked third in the Brazilian economy ranking. I have very few local regular clients. As far as I remember, I have met only five of them personally, considering the past five years. Don't ask me to remember the other 25 years before that!
[Edited at 2018-09-15 15:49 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 00:31
French to English
Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:
I found this question interesting because many of the "marketing guides" for translators say that you need to do a lot of legwork to find clients, i. e. you need to visit conferences, conventions, trade fairs, etc. for networking and to meet clients there. I just wondered if many translators really do this.
I have, a bit, but that's not what has worked for me. I attended trade fairs with my boss when I worked for an agency, and she managed to find a few clients like that, but I don't have her chutzpah.
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