How To Use Your Relationships to Create Promising Business Opportunities

How is your relationship with your clients? Are you on good terms with them? Apart from wanting to come across as a generally nice person, winning people’s favor is advantageous as it can provide some great opportunities for your freelance business. 

This Translators’ Hub post will highlight some of those opportunities, and maybe after reading them you’ll be inspired to work on improving some of your current client relationships too!

Opportunity 1: the provision of extra work

When your client is at a loose end and they need some work completing in a pinch, then they’ll be more likely to contact the people they know and trust to do a good job. 

If you spend time cultivating your relationship with them, and displaying your competency by completing pervious assignments to a high standard, then chances are you’ll be at the top of their list of potential people to ask for help!

Opportunity 2: introduction to new clients

It’s easy to spend so much time ensuring that you’re well connected yourself that you might forget that your clients have plenty of professional connections too! And by working on your relationship with your client, you’ll also have the potential to tap into his or her network.

Professionals will often share advice with each other, and when discussing outsourcing work, then they’ll be likely to recommend their most trusted freelancers to their contacts. You might be surprised by the amount of new clients that come as a result of having a good relationship!

Opportunity 3: speaking engagements

Depending on your client, and the line of work they’re in, then it’s possible that speaking opportunities might arise as a result your relationship. If your client’s hosting an event and searching for some speakers, then their professional network will be the first place they turn to for consideration of suitable candidates.

If you know each other well, and you have proven your ability to provide articulate and concise information on a particular subject or sector, then you might be exactly what they’re looking for! Again, you potential to be considered for such a role will depend on the strength of your relationship with them – they need to be able to trust you.

Opportunity 4: offering professional consultancy

After developing a good relationship with your client, then you’ll become indispensible to them. Over time, they will likely share their thoughts with you or informally ask your advice on a translation-related matter.

After a while, and after proving your worth in this capacity, you might be able to offer your advice in a more formal manner. And even if your client expresses no immediate need for consultancy services, then your integration into his or her network will potentially allow you to offer consultancy (with your client’s recommendation) to his or her contacts too!

Final thoughts

Have you been fortunate enough to have any exciting opportunities arise from your professional relationships? If so, how strong was your relationship with your client before the opportunity was presented? Please do let us know!