The Psychobabble

Don't confuse business colleagues, however much you like them, with your friends. Likewise, remember that however involved you become in your work, at the end of the day you're doing it to keep your bank manager happy. In other words, be ruled by your head, not your heart.

Don't get demoralised and fall into the trap of thinking you've lost a customer because your work or PR hasn't been good enough.

I don't mean you shouldn't re-evaluate your performance, but don't torture yourself either. Companies change suppliers for lots of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with poor quality - perceived or otherwise.

Sometimes, they may just be testing the market and comparing prices. Maybe they quite simply don't want to be dependent on one supplier.

Sometimes the change is due to a new member on the team who wants to make their mark. This could easily be the case if your former contact has departed and your fees are considerably above what this newcomer perceives to be the market rate.

They may not be aware of how to evaluate translation quality or how it affects company/brand/product image. Which means they could easily be convinced that the short- term savings of a cheaper supplier will reflect well on them. You want to respond to the situation as a business challenge following an effective strategy, not as if you were in a Hollywood divorce drama.

The Strategy

First of all, you need to be clear about your objective. Your goal is NOT to get your client to change their minds. Any pressure you exert in this direction will create friction or opposition. Instead, do everything to make your client's departure as pleasant as possible...

• sympathetic
• understanding
• helpful
• confident

Indeed, quiet confidence, not contradiction, is the one thing that is most likely to change their minds. And while you're at it, make sure you say a decent goodbye to all your contacts in the company. Each and every one of them is a potential introduction to new business.

Make it clear you view your client's move as entirely understandable. Offer to help them with it, giving them the option of everything from past translations to glossaries and support/consultancy over the transition period.

Unless you're going to charge for this, this really is bending over backwards to be accommodating.

I would only ever go this far if I really really wanted to keep the client. Some clients are worth it, others certainly aren't.

Leave them with the impression that whatever they have decided, your objective, now as always, is to provide them with the very best solutions. Don't get worried about "losing" anything. This sort of "terminological" support is the most elementary component of an effective translation service.

By providing it, you're also giving your client an opportunity to understand this if things go wrong with their new supplier, who will of course now have no excuses (while you've given a further demonstration of your professionalism and selfless dedication).

Keeping in regular contact with your clients isn't just good PR, it's also a way of making sure you can offer this sort of "long goodbye" rather than simply letting them sneak away. Because your objective is above all to make sure that when they leave, they leave...

...with the door open, knowing that if they decide to come back they will receive a warm professional welcome, and won't need to explain themselves, excuse themselves or otherwise eat "humble pie".