Poll: Do you ever follow up with clients who have not contacted you for work in a while?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
May 5, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you ever follow up with clients who have not contacted you for work in a while?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:32
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other May 5, 2018

No, in general, but with one exception: when I moved from Brussels to Lisbon in 2015 I did contact all my clients (new and old) to give them my new coordinates. Some thank me, a very small number (1 or 2?) came back later with work…

 
Amir Arzani
Amir Arzani
Iran
Local time: 22:02
English to Persian (Farsi)
+ ...
No, but May 5, 2018

I do follow up on the few ones who still haven't paid, just to annoy them for not having paid. I know they're not gonna pay me for my services cause that's just the kind of people they are, but at least I'll make their day a little less pleasant.

 
Edwige Thomas
Edwige Thomas
France
Local time: 19:32
Member (2014)
English to French
+ ...
No way May 5, 2018

If they don't, it means they have found cheaper translators. So I would never follow up as I'm not that desperate.

 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Never? Well, hardly ever! May 5, 2018

As the song from "Pirates of Penzance says

 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Other May 5, 2018

Every project--as well as a contract--has the beginning and ending, so it's ok to fall apart.

However, occasionally I say Happy birthday and wish Happy NY)

[Edited at 2018-05-05 15:29 GMT]


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:32
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
No May 5, 2018

Well, only if I've been away for a while, or had email account problems, or have moved. If their silence is for any other reason, I leave them be. They know where I am if they want to do business, but they're under no obligation.

Goodness, Jack, that has brought back some distant memories. A local theatre often put on Gilbert and Sullivan operettas when I was a kid.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:32
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other May 5, 2018

You mean chase them up? Not usually, I'd consider that pestering. Maybe if one of my best clients disappeared I might make enquiries after a while.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:32
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No. It doesn't work anyway May 5, 2018

I've tried it before, many years ago. It has never led to a new job from any of these clients. Nevertheless, many of them reappeared after a while, disappeared again, and reappeared again later. So, it's virtually useless to go after former clients begging. It simply will not lead to any work.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:32
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other May 6, 2018

Only if I've been away for an extended period, and then only a few of my top-tier clients.

The head of a translation service once told me, "It doesn't hurt to check back with us if you haven't heard from us." Sometimes it happens that other people's names rise to the top of the list for no particular reason. You will definitely go to the bottom of the list if you weren't available the last time we contacted you."

Ever since I heard that, if I have to turn down a job, I
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Only if I've been away for an extended period, and then only a few of my top-tier clients.

The head of a translation service once told me, "It doesn't hurt to check back with us if you haven't heard from us." Sometimes it happens that other people's names rise to the top of the list for no particular reason. You will definitely go to the bottom of the list if you weren't available the last time we contacted you."

Ever since I heard that, if I have to turn down a job, I make a point of sounding very regretful and closing with the line "Please keep me in mind for the future."
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John Fossey
 
krishna sankar
krishna sankar
Philippines
I only do when they haven’t paid me Jul 13, 2021

I only do when they haven’t paid me. If someone promised me work but no details or date, I just forget about them and plan my next work. If they did give me a timeframe of when I can expect to hear from them, I wait until then before I find another employer. Previous customers are pretty much forgotten right after we’ve completed our bargain.

 


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Poll: Do you ever follow up with clients who have not contacted you for work in a while?






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