Page 56 - Translation Journal July 2015
P. 56
Dear Nervous Nelly,
We’re curious: has your cost of living suddenly declined?
We doubt it. But you should be aware that the only message sent out by a cut in rates with existing clients is “hey, I am desperate over
here.” And self-identifying as the desperate party in a business negotiation is not where you want to be.
How are you going to explain to clients that you could have asked less for your services last week or last month and didn’t, but have
now changed your mind? And if you do lower your rates, how are you ever going to raise them again when the market picks up, which
it eventually will?
If your income has dropped because you’ve out-priced yourself with a few clients, pull yourself together and go find some new ones.
And if you can’t operate profitably, shut down your business and do something else.
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I am desperately nervous in the presence of clients. The other day I’d planned to go to an information day for professionals in my
specialty area but didn’t make it past the registration desk. It just seemed too daunting: once in the room, I would have had to dart
around shaking hands and making small talk. I can appreciate (theoretically) why that might be a good move, but it’s not me.
Any advice?
Cave Dweller
A:
Dear Cave,
What’s with the darting and small talk? First-time participants at such events learn a lot by simply watching and listening—if necessary,
you can don a potted-palm suit and melt into the background or fiddle with your cellphone as an I’m-busy-doing-deals prop.
You will quickly realize that attending client events serves three main purposes:
• you consolidate existing ties and drum up new business (at the very least, there are always a few speakers whose PowerPoints
need your expert input)
• you pick up news of issues (and terminology) that are likely to surface in jobs over the weeks ahead
• most important of all, however, you experience how these people—the very ones who will be ordering, using and reading your
translations—interact with each other; you observe how they chat and joke and make a case for their products and services
over coffee. Which makes it easier for you to make a case for your own services when you pitch to them at some point in the
future. Invaluable!
But to get that far, you’ll want to take steps to avoid a meltdown in public, with or without the tree costume.
Tips for cave dwellers preparing for a client event:
1. Do your homework. Identify a half-dozen clients or potential clients likely to be there, and read up on what they and their companies
do. This is not just to avoid asking stupid questions; it also reminds you how very interesting their business is.
2. Look the part. If you’re selling professional services, threadbare sweats and a plastic-bag-cum-briefcase won’t make the grade.
Some translators we know object to donning suit and tie. “I feel like I’m attending a costume party as a corporate banker,” says one.
But that’s beside the point, which is to blend into your prey’s environment before moving in for the kill. Trust us: knowing you are
appropriately dressed will calm your nerves and allow you to focus on the important stuff like listening harder.
3. Take it in bite-size chunks. If you’re feeling jittery, you needn’t stay for the entire event. Example: start with a meeting where you
know existing clients will be on hand. Have their names handy and link up briefly for even a few minutes of face time. Extend hand
and say “Hi, I’m (name). I’m so pleased to meet you at last! / I thought you might be here and wanted to meet up in person to tell you
how much I enjoyed the project we worked on in April.” After a little back and forth about that job or a speaker at the current event,
announce with a regretful smile that you’re booked for a meeting at a venue across town and dash off—confirming the impression that
you are much in demand.
4. Remember that your concern is to get them—the existing client or prey—talking about their operations, not to yap on about yourself.
Have an elevator speech in hand and use it, but move the spotlight to them fairly quickly. As a seasoned networker has pointed out,
often a simple “tell me about your business” will be enough to unleash the floodgates.
The bottom line? Meeting clients in the flesh is good for you, your translations and your business. It can even become addictive.
56 | Translation Journal - July 2015
We’re curious: has your cost of living suddenly declined?
We doubt it. But you should be aware that the only message sent out by a cut in rates with existing clients is “hey, I am desperate over
here.” And self-identifying as the desperate party in a business negotiation is not where you want to be.
How are you going to explain to clients that you could have asked less for your services last week or last month and didn’t, but have
now changed your mind? And if you do lower your rates, how are you ever going to raise them again when the market picks up, which
it eventually will?
If your income has dropped because you’ve out-priced yourself with a few clients, pull yourself together and go find some new ones.
And if you can’t operate profitably, shut down your business and do something else.
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I am desperately nervous in the presence of clients. The other day I’d planned to go to an information day for professionals in my
specialty area but didn’t make it past the registration desk. It just seemed too daunting: once in the room, I would have had to dart
around shaking hands and making small talk. I can appreciate (theoretically) why that might be a good move, but it’s not me.
Any advice?
Cave Dweller
A:
Dear Cave,
What’s with the darting and small talk? First-time participants at such events learn a lot by simply watching and listening—if necessary,
you can don a potted-palm suit and melt into the background or fiddle with your cellphone as an I’m-busy-doing-deals prop.
You will quickly realize that attending client events serves three main purposes:
• you consolidate existing ties and drum up new business (at the very least, there are always a few speakers whose PowerPoints
need your expert input)
• you pick up news of issues (and terminology) that are likely to surface in jobs over the weeks ahead
• most important of all, however, you experience how these people—the very ones who will be ordering, using and reading your
translations—interact with each other; you observe how they chat and joke and make a case for their products and services
over coffee. Which makes it easier for you to make a case for your own services when you pitch to them at some point in the
future. Invaluable!
But to get that far, you’ll want to take steps to avoid a meltdown in public, with or without the tree costume.
Tips for cave dwellers preparing for a client event:
1. Do your homework. Identify a half-dozen clients or potential clients likely to be there, and read up on what they and their companies
do. This is not just to avoid asking stupid questions; it also reminds you how very interesting their business is.
2. Look the part. If you’re selling professional services, threadbare sweats and a plastic-bag-cum-briefcase won’t make the grade.
Some translators we know object to donning suit and tie. “I feel like I’m attending a costume party as a corporate banker,” says one.
But that’s beside the point, which is to blend into your prey’s environment before moving in for the kill. Trust us: knowing you are
appropriately dressed will calm your nerves and allow you to focus on the important stuff like listening harder.
3. Take it in bite-size chunks. If you’re feeling jittery, you needn’t stay for the entire event. Example: start with a meeting where you
know existing clients will be on hand. Have their names handy and link up briefly for even a few minutes of face time. Extend hand
and say “Hi, I’m (name). I’m so pleased to meet you at last! / I thought you might be here and wanted to meet up in person to tell you
how much I enjoyed the project we worked on in April.” After a little back and forth about that job or a speaker at the current event,
announce with a regretful smile that you’re booked for a meeting at a venue across town and dash off—confirming the impression that
you are much in demand.
4. Remember that your concern is to get them—the existing client or prey—talking about their operations, not to yap on about yourself.
Have an elevator speech in hand and use it, but move the spotlight to them fairly quickly. As a seasoned networker has pointed out,
often a simple “tell me about your business” will be enough to unleash the floodgates.
The bottom line? Meeting clients in the flesh is good for you, your translations and your business. It can even become addictive.
56 | Translation Journal - July 2015
