Comments on: The 5-Minute Move That Wins Over Clients

By: Weekly translation favorites (Mar 25-Apr 7)

Weekly translation favorites (Mar 25-Apr 7) — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 21:27:04 +0000

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By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 21:04:22 +0000

Yes, I do as much research as possible on a company before I contact them, be it in answer to a listing or an LOI.

I'm also careful not to criticize what they're doing -- I can't stand it when I get email from total strangers with bullet points of what's wrong with my site and how I should pay them to fix it -- especially when they refer to things that aren't even on the site! I'm careful how I phrase it.

I've also researched and then decided it wasn't a company with whom I wanted to work, so I crossed it off my list and moved on, without the contact.

When someone contacts me out of the blue, I try to do as much independent research as possible to see if they've accurately communicated what they're after.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 21:28:47 +0000

You sure can, Cathy! It's amazing how much these companies share on social media.

Eileen, excellent point. There have been a few companies I've decided against contacting as a result.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 20:20:41 +0000

When you take the time to do the steps you outlined, Lori, you're also likely to be able to tell if you and the client are a good fit. At the very least, you'll be more likely to tell if you'd be a bad fit, and that way you won't waste your time prospecting them.

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 18:51:44 +0000

Great tips, Lori! I find I use some of the same tricks…er…tips. 😉 In addition to the About page/website, press releases and papers/articles they've written, I'll look up the company on LinkedIn. Most are there and depending how much they use LinkedIn, you can find out a lot – Pulse articles, information they share/like, LI updates.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 17:33:12 +0000

That's my peeve too, Paula. I HATE those damn "Contact Us" forms with no names attached!

And thanks for your advice on how to find them. Another good method of locating them! And I sometimes find them via the conference exhibitor lists if they exhibit at shows.

Anne, AMEN. I agree. Or I need to say no more often. :)

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 16:56:19 +0000

What Paula said, and the same thing can be true for websites...sigh

Lori, if you're working weekends raise your rates!

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 16:05:24 +0000

Step number two raised a pet peeve of mine: when press releases don't include contact information. It's astounding how often that happens. (When it does happen, Google the company name and "publicity" and the odds are pretty high that you'll find a publicist's name. But then you need to make sure they're still at the company.)

I really love step three, since approaching them in the appropriate tone is so important. I've read past articles to get a feel for magazines' particular tones, but hadn't thought of it for other types of clients. Great tip!