Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with clients is a long term investment that can yield high rewards. If you can cultivate a few solid relationships with editors and prolific authors, you’re more likely to have reliable, regular work coming in, which will reduce the amount of time you need to put into marketing. Plus, it’s nice to not have to start every new job getting to know the client. There’s comfort in working with clients whose needs you’re already familiar with.
So, how can you make a good impression and make sure clients want to work with you again?
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Make the editor’s job easy
Make it your goal that the editor has as few changes to make to the completed index as possible. Edit well in order to present a professional finished product. Pay close attention to the editor’s requests, and make sure you’re clear on them, as well as on the press’s style guidelines1.
Attend to the little things
If the editor asks you to include an invoice along with the finished index, do so; if they have specified they want the introduction indexed but not the preface, do exactly that. If you’re not clear, ask, or do your research to make sure you have it right. Make a checklist and confirm that you’ve addressed all of these things before sending off the index.
Anticipate needs
When attempting to secure new clients, anticipate what they may want to see. Rather than ending your marketing emails with “I can send you samples,” include a link to your website page where samples are located so that they don’t need to ask. And if you offer to provide additional samples, or more information (such as a résumé), be prepared to send it off right away if asked for it.
Communicate clearly and promptly
Clients are taking a chance when they hire new indexers. Given that they’re already under pressure with a deadline, working with someone new can make them even more anxious.
Good, open communication puts the client at ease, and it shows you’re taking the project seriously1. Be prompt in answering emails, and confirm that you understand what’s expected of you. Effectively communicating your expectations as an indexer also helps to prevent problems.
Established indexer Pierke Bosschieter discussed her approach to healthy client relationships in her ISC/SCI conference presentation Pre-emptive Preliminaries2.
Think “customer service”
Remember that editors and authors are paying for a service just like any other, and there is a customer service aspect to what we do as indexers. Be flexible and accommodating whenever you can. This might mean occasionally having to work a little harder in order to accommodate an unexpected change in a press’s production schedule, or taking the time to include a list of the typographical errors you come across in the text. It may seem like more work at the time, but going the extra mile reflects professionalism. It could help you stand out from the crowd the next time the client needs to hire an indexer.
Be personable
Lastly, be friendly! We all remember pleasant customer service interactions, and if all else is equal, why wouldn’t we return to someone we really enjoyed working with?
Related resources
Hopefully this has gotten you off to a good start. Here are two resources that may also help:
- For further reading on client relationships, see Chapter 9 (“Keeping Editors Happy”, by Sylvia Coates) of Marketing Your Indexing Services, edited by Anne Leach. This title is available in both print and digital format from the American Society for Indexing: www.asindexing.org/publications/asi-books.
- A recording of Pierke’s presentation is available to conference registrants until June 2022: indexers.ca/annual-conference/conference-2021-congres-2021.
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