Poll: How often do you usually receive job-related enquiries from potential clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you usually receive job-related enquiries from potential clients?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Tim Drayton 
Cyprus
Local time: 21:10
Turkish to English
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| | To split hairs | Sep 26, 2014 |
Potential new customers as in ones I'd actually want to work for: maybe 2-3 times a year
Chancers and timewasters I'd never dream of working for: several times a week
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DianeGM
Local time: 21:10
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
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I answered 'rarely'
Like Chris S said - I get job-related inquiries on a daily basis, but how many are really from 'potential' clients? But this year so far I have worked for 4 new clients ...
| | | | | Define "potential clients" | Sep 26, 2014 |
I get several inquiries every day from people who want my services, however 80% of them had no idea that they couldn't afford them. Many of these think that since Google Translate is free, human translation should be something very cheap.
Serious job offers come in at random. The worst of it is that the time between my cost estimate and their order is random too, spanning from a couple of hours to a couple of months. Nevertheless they seem to have found a way to be in cahoots: thoug... See more I get several inquiries every day from people who want my services, however 80% of them had no idea that they couldn't afford them. Many of these think that since Google Translate is free, human translation should be something very cheap.
Serious job offers come in at random. The worst of it is that the time between my cost estimate and their order is random too, spanning from a couple of hours to a couple of months. Nevertheless they seem to have found a way to be in cahoots: though I'm certain none of them knows each other, their orders often come in together at once, especially when they are large.
So it's Pareto's Law in the first case above, and Murphy's Law in the other. Does this make me a law-abiding citizen? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Almost every day | Sep 26, 2014 |
if we include the ones that start with
Hello,
and are sent out to who knows how many other translators.
Nevertheless, some of my best clients have contacted me out of the blue sky - well, I suppose after having found my profile on Proz.com or TC.
| | | | Al Zaid
United States
English to Spanish
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| hmm... let me see... | Sep 26, 2014 |
Couple of days ago I got an email with something like this:
Hi Alberto,
I have a Contract I need translated, couple of Kwords, not long. I really have a tight deadline, if I send it to you this afternoon when can I have it back?
UNQUOTE
My thoughts:
Wow! Really? Not curious to know what my rates are (even being a rush job)? do I have a chance to look at it?
Uhhh... Errr... Do I know you? How long do I have to wait to get paid? ... See more Couple of days ago I got an email with something like this:
Hi Alberto,
I have a Contract I need translated, couple of Kwords, not long. I really have a tight deadline, if I send it to you this afternoon when can I have it back?
UNQUOTE
My thoughts:
Wow! Really? Not curious to know what my rates are (even being a rush job)? do I have a chance to look at it?
Uhhh... Errr... Do I know you? How long do I have to wait to get paid? Am I expected to wait for a P.O?
Sure, I was just waiting for you to write, with nothing else to do.
OK, let me untangle this for you, seeing you're in suuuch a rush.
Dear Mr. Such,
I'd be delighted to do this job for you. If you send it right away, along with a P.O, it could be ready by XXXXXX, considering quality and format are OK. My rate is XXXXX and I accept payment by this and that method.
Best regards,
Did any of you get the reply from this guy? Yeah, me neither...
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:10
Spanish to English
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In my main email account which I use for business, i.e. to send and receive e-mails to and from clients and colleagues, rarely.
I have one e-mail account that features in my proz profile, which I opened specifically for proz-related emails when I joined up, because I suspected it would soon fill up with non-urgent messages, such as things to do with kudoz activity, etc, or spam. I don't look at it very often, as it can end up very time-consuming, and in fact I hadn't looked at it fo... See more In my main email account which I use for business, i.e. to send and receive e-mails to and from clients and colleagues, rarely.
I have one e-mail account that features in my proz profile, which I opened specifically for proz-related emails when I joined up, because I suspected it would soon fill up with non-urgent messages, such as things to do with kudoz activity, etc, or spam. I don't look at it very often, as it can end up very time-consuming, and in fact I hadn't looked at it for a couple of months when I checked it the other day. I was surprised to see that there were quite a few work-related messages, but I'm afraid I simply don't have time to reply to most of them. So, if anyone reading this sent me an e-mail to that particular address for whatever reason, please accept my apologies.
[Edited at 2014-09-26 16:56 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 12:10
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam | Fairly Often | Sep 26, 2014 |
At least I get enough to make a reasonable income from translation. But these enquiries are not from "potential" clients, they are from real clients who send me work to do and are good payers. My clients are mostly direct and I pick up new clients through referrals from existing clients, so you might say I come "pre-sold". All that is a real advantage.
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