Potential Clients: The Right Way to Approach a Translator

This brief article is designed to offer some advice for translation clients when contacting translators.

Most translators, when asked how their workload is, will respond by saying that they’re very busy. And because most translators already have more than enough work to keep them busy, it’s led to a situation where translation clients, or buyers, can face a difficult time when trying to recruit a qualified translator.

This brief article is designed to offer some advice for translation clients when contacting translators. For the purpose of this post we’ll assume that the client is already familiar with the translator’s credentials - through word-of-mouth, a translation association directory, or simply by viewing the translator’s website.

• Sell Yourself to the Translator

Most qualified and experienced translators are already working full-time, and often more than full time, because they already have a regular client base; which means there’s little or no incentive for them to work with a new or unknown client simply because they’re being offered work. If you’re in the market to recruit a new translator and you assume, or even know, that this person is already very busy, as a potential customer you need to acknowledge that it’s your responsibility to sell the translator on the idea of working for you.

• Introduce Yourself

Introduce yourself to the translator. Even though you know the translator may well be fully booked, you still need to ensure that you evoke a positive impression of your company. At the very least you might say: ‘Good Morning/Good Afternoon, my name is XXX and I work for XXX. You’ve been recommended to us by XXX and I’m wondering if you may have some availability for our upcoming project.’ This first approach is very important because we know that first impressions are usually lasting impressions. When an already-busy translator is contacted by a potential new client saying: ‘Hi, I’m with XXX Translation Company and we’d like you to translate 30,000 words in the next 8 days’, or similar, this kind of approach is considered presumptuous, and rude.

• Choose a Negotiation Point

Choose one negotiation point. There are various parameters when it comes to translations, and these include the deadline, payment terms, the charge-out rate, format, being asked to use special software, collaborating with other translators, and so on. Understand that a translator will usually be willing to make concessions in one area, but don’t ask for concessions in a number of areas. Perhaps you need a translator to work in conjunction with other translators, exchanging glossaries various times each day; perhaps you need this work in a rush, or you may ask the translator to accept payment in three months’ time. Whatever your special request, make this your main negotiation point instead of asking for payment in 90 days, a rush job, plus the need for the use of non-standard software. We’re sure you get the point!

• Be Prepared with Key Aspects of Your Project

If you want the translator to commit to your project, you must be prepared to provide complete details. The translation industry is an industry where most translators are working on strict deadlines and work is accepted on an ongoing basis, which means that the schedule of an in-demand translator can (and does) change very quickly. Get yourself organized prior to approaching the translator and be prepared to detail the key areas of the project, which may be the format, subject matter, number of words, and so on. This information should be provided to the translator on the first contact.

• Confirm Everything in Writing

Everything discussed with the translator should be confirmed in writing. A simple email to the effect of: ‘As discussed on Monday (date), you have agreed to translate the 10,000-word document we emailed to you, and the translated document will be returned to us by 10am on Friday (date). We confirm you will be paid X cents per source/target word within 14 days of receipt of the translation’. This simple written confirmation can avoid any unnecessary confusion or misunderstandings between the client and the translator.