What does your role as a Key Account Manager involve exactly?
My main responsibility is looking after clients working in the worlds of advertising, retail, transport, tourism, services and public administration. So I support those clients as well as winning new business and expanding our client base.
What three attributes are the most important when it comes to client acquisition?
Well, I actually think it takes a good mix of different attributes and skills – but they can be picked up and developed. Here are the key attributes and skills...
- Empathy and active listening: It’s so important to really understand a potential client’s needs. Otherwise, it’s impossible to come up with the right solutions and build trust.
- Specialist skills and industry experience: Both of these help you to provide reassurance and stand out from others offering the same service. Clients expect you to understand their pain points and offer sound advice, which could cover terminology management, quality assurance processes and technology solutions (such as CAT tools, MTPE, workflows and so on).
- Patience and persuasion: Within the language services sector, decision-making processes are often long and complex. Make sure you can clearly and confidently convey the value you add through your services. Keep following up and stay in touch with the client every step of the way until they’re in a position to make their decision.
And I do believe there’s a fourth secret to success. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and suggest new, alternative solutions. Just remember that you always need to solve the client’s problem and make their life as easy as possible.
How do you find potential new clients?
I focus my attention on various strategies and types of businesses. Here’s what I’m looking out for...
- International operations: I look out for businesses that need to communicate internationally on a regular basis or that write a lot of multilingual content. For example, this could be the case if a company is breaking into new markets or expanding overseas. Lots of businesses based in Switzerland are already communicating in at least two languages as standard.
- Content-driven business models: I target businesses that need a lot of marketing, product-based or legal texts.
- Digitalisation projects: Businesses could be launching new software, websites or e-learning courses that need to be made available in multiple languages.
- Tenders and industry updates: When you make an effort to keep up to date, you’re more likely to spot announcements about expansion plans or regulatory changes that might result in a need for translation.
So my approach is a mixture of market research, website analysis, industry reports and updates and networking (e.g. on LinkedIn and at events and meet-ups).
What are the most common mistakes people make when looking for new clients – and how can those mistakes be avoided?
In my experience, there are some common mistakes. But I also have top tips to help you avoid them...
- Being too generic: It’s always worth doing thorough research and zooming into a potential client’s specific situation. If you play it safe and stay too general, you won’t end up attracting potential clients.
- Focusing on what you have to offer: It’s a good idea to start by asking questions and actively listening so you can build up the most detailed picture possible – and then offer solutions at that point. If you start shouting about your services too soon, you may well end up misunderstanding what really matters to your potential client.
- Underestimating the decision-making process: It’s all too easy to give up too soon – especially if a potential client doesn’t reply straight away or if progress is slow. Stick with it, stay in touch and keep showing up to build trust.
How important is specialisation/positioning? Which niches is it worth exploring?
You need to make a real effort to position yourself because the market is seriously competitive in the world of language services. If you have a clear specialisation and a strong USP, you’ll come across as a skilled professional who can be trusted. Here are some attractive niches to explore...
- Life sciences and medicine: Clinical studies and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole are two examples here. With such stringent regulatory requirements in place, there is a real need for precise translations.
- Legal and financial: Expertise and confidentiality are key in these fields. Clients are looking for long-term partners they know they can rely on.
- IT and software/e-learning: The demand for localisation is steady and tech-savvy translators have important skills and knowledge to offer.
- Marketing and e-commerce: Clients need specialists who can creatively adapt texts for international markets (transcreation).
How can freelancers improve their visibility if they don’t have a huge network or budget?
There are plenty of ways to increase your visibility and get your name out there even if you have limited resources. I’d recommend taking one step at a time to build a clear brand and take a strategic approach to opening up opportunities...
- Professional online presence: You need to have a clear online presence that presents you in the best light. Work on your profiles on LinkedIn and ProZ and consider building your own website. Make sure everyone knows about your areas of expertise and specialisation and share relevant case studies.
- Share content and position yourself as an expert: Short posts, blogs and comments on industry-specific topics show off what you know and build trust.
- Be specific: Don’t take a scattergun approach and contact hundreds of companies. Instead, write a short wish list and contact your dream clients with tailored communications and/or sample translations.
- Connect and collaborate: Working with other freelancers or small agencies can open doors – especially when you offer complementary services like translation, proofreading and DTP (desktop publishing).
- Start small but leave a lasting impression: Even little jobs and pilot projects can provide you with valuable testimonials. Just make sure you impress with the quality of your work and deliver a reliable service to improve your chance of being referred.
Let’s talk about the first point of contact. What are your tips for emails and direct messages on LinkedIn?
When you’re contacting a potential client for the first time, keep your message short, make sure it’s personalised and be clear in conveying the value you can offer. Here are my three top tips:
- Personalisation: Make a clear reference to the company you’re contacting, the sector they’re in or a specific situation so there’s no doubt that the same message isn’t going out to anyone and everyone.
- Value: Briefly explain one specific way you can help the potential client or one benefit you can offer them.
- Clear call to action: You might include an invitation to have a casual chat, for example.
And this is what you want to avoid...
- Too much text: Nobody wants to read emails that go on and on.
- Over-the-top self-promotion: This doesn’t come across well at all.
- Attachments or links: They might cause someone to worry about the security implications.
- Aggressive sales pitches: Putting pressure on someone won’t help you come across as trustworthy.
How do you deal with rejection – and what should be your next move?
Rejection (and ghosting) is all part of the process. Just make sure you don’t take it personally. Whenever I receive a rejection, I always thank the person for their reply and keep the door open by saying that I’d be happy to work with them on any suitable projects that come up in the future. If I don’t receive a reply at all, I send a friendly reminder a few days or weeks later and add a little extra value – this could come in the form of some industry news, an example of best practice or a short case study. This is a positive way to stay top of mind without coming across as pushy.
My long-term strategy would be to keep in touch even if a potential client doesn’t need my services right now. I rely on regular, low-pressure points of contact – LinkedIn posts, newsletters, webinar invites – to stay top of mind and increase the chance of receiving a request later down the line.
What impact does online presence have when it comes to finding clients? Do you have any tips?
These days, the first impression is almost always made digitally. That’s why it’s so important to have a professional online presence that can help you build trust and verify that you’re a serious service provider. Your website, LinkedIn profile and portfolio act like an online business card – and they’ll often influence someone’s decision to get in touch with you (or not). Above all, you need to present yourself clearly and professionally online. That means expressing your services, specialisations and USPs with clarity. Testimonials and case studies are important too because they showcase your skills through examples and in your clients’ words. Make sure all your profiles are up to date – outdated information is a barrier to building trust. Everything needs to look consistent and professional too – think photos and design elements. Last but not least, you need to make it easy for potential clients to contact you – this could be by email, on LinkedIn or through a contact form on your website.
Do you have a client acquisition success story that might inspire our freelancers?
Oh yes, I have plenty of those. I often contact potential clients who aren’t overly enthusiastic to start with because they already work with a language service provider. But I don’t cut off all contact with them. I keep in touch. Every so often, I’ll send them brief updates – these could be about trends in terminology management or examples of best practice for marketing translations – and keep the conversation going on LinkedIn.
What often happens is the person I’ve been in touch with will contact me – this could be months and months later. Maybe they need our support with a project at short notice, they have a particular problem we can help them with or there’s a tender coming up that we can take part in. We’re not really talking about quick wins here – but the wins do come eventually. It’s just so important to keep in touch, offer genuine value and build trust over time. This is the recipe for turning sceptical contacts into valued clients in the end.
Which tools or platforms do you recommend for client acquisition?
There are so many useful tools and platforms out there that make it easier to manage your leads – and they don’t all break the bank either. Here are my top recommendations...
- LinkedIn & Sales Navigator: Research decision-makers, connect with people strategically and position yourself by posting relevant content.
- Industry-specific platforms (e.g. ProZ, TranslatorsCafé, Slator, TAUS): These are great for networking, increasing your visibility and finding projects and tenders.
- Marketing and automation tools (e.g. Mailchimp, Canva, Buffer): Use these to create professional-looking mailings and visual content and to plan your social media posts – big budget not necessary.
- Professional communities and events (e.g. LinkedIn groups, webinars, industry conferences, meet-ups): Make the most of these opportunities to show off your expertise and start building long-term relationships.
- CRM systems (e.g. HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce): Manage your leads, contacts and follow-ups in a structured system.
It’s up to everyone to find out what works for them. For me, finding clients is a marathon and not a sprint. It all comes down to keeping in touch, conveying the value you bring and building trust. Shifting your mindset will stop you seeing the process of finding clients as a necessary evil and start you on a journey towards strong and successful client relationships.
