Try to get as many references as possible. Why and how?

In this age of online marketing it is vitally important to get marketing tools which can help you instantly convince potential clients that you are the expert. Neither you nor your leads don`t have time for lengthy introductions. People usually tend to go with the crowd – just because. And when leads see that a lot of similar businesses once left a lot of highly positive remarks about the quality of your work, they (once again, usually) won`t look for others (IN CASE price is not the only question they ask about – but you don`t want to get this kind of clients, do you?)

So, what is the reference in a nutshell? Usually it is a short comment left by your clients on-line on your web-site, web profile (like WWA entries at proz.com), or just a laminated letter of reference hanging on your office wall. What are the most important elements of a good reference? Well, the one that I consider the most important is the availability of the full particulars of the person who left this or that entry. That is absolutely vital. References left by a John Smith from nowhere look like a fake. There should be at least name of the person in charge, her position, name of the company, and date when this reference was made. Ideally all online references should be linked to the respective web page of the company. There is nothing bad – it will only attract new visitors to the website of this company.

I strongly believe that brevity and clarity of any letter of reference are the pillars of success. That’s why it should not be more than several sentences long (if posted on-line), or one page long (if this is a hard copy). Once again, your potential clients don`t have time for lengthy lists of projects you have completed for this client.

When can you ask for a reference? Well, just after your first translation project completed for this client. Just wait several days to allow your client to get a full picture of the quality you have delivered. Then send her a short e-mail asking for a reference entry. Sometimes clients won`t reply – just don`t be too intrusive in this case. Send another e-mail within several days. If there is no reply, just let it go. Usual reply rate is about 70/30 (i.e. you contact 10 clients, you usually get about 7 references).

Don`t ask your old clients for repeated entries. Why should you ask for another one if you already have good reference?

In conclusion, I would like to once again emphasize the importance of a robust list of happy clients. This list should be «replenished» regularly. There is nothing more disgusting than a web page where the last reference entry is several years old.