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.

Escaping the Low-Rate Translation Market - Part 2

Don't continue searching for work in the same areas where thousands of other translators are searching for work.

Changing Your Business Skills

If you continue searching for work in the same areas where thousands of other translators are searching for work, you’re going to break your heart. When a translation client has such a wide choice – let’s say between you and 500 other translators - the decision is obviously going to boil down to ‘Who can do this work the cheapest and quickest’? Unless you’re translating a very unusual language or you have an unusual specialization, forget about translation job boards. What you need is an attractive, professional website! It only needs to be very basic, and you can create your website yourself on SquareSpace or WordPress.

Tips for Finding Better Clients

• No longer will your selling point be low rates. Seriously, would you trust the cheapest surgeon or accountant? Of course not!
• Don’t have business cards with ‘Free business cards available at…’ on the back: and don’t use ‘print-at-home’ business cards. And don’t alter old business cards – get new professional business cards made specifically for your business.
• Respond to inquiries from potential new clients immediately, and make sure that people find you easy to work with. Keep in mind that price is not always a client’s main concern: there are many good clients out there who are happy to pay good money for a translator who’s responsive, competent, constructive, pleasant, and all the other positive traits that you possess.
• Look for translation work where other translators aren’t looking. Make sure you attend conferences for your specialization. Even more, be the translator who asks a really clever question during the Q&A session. If finances don’t allow for you to attend these types of conferences, make sure you’re at least on their LinkedIn group.
• Start hunting! Actively search for the kind of work that you not only like to do, but the kind of work you know you’re good at: work LinkedIn, send warm emails, follow your prospective clients on Twitter, and attend conferences. When they’ve achieved something great, send them a short email with your congratulations – basically, just get in their game!

Improving Your Translation Skills

• Help your clients out! Help them say what they really meant to say and not what was actually written. There will be many times when you read something in a client’s document that’s utter nonsense, so don’t simply accept that and translate it. Flag the error for the client and make your suggestions for alternatives. Your client will really appreciate your help!
• We also strongly suggest you enroll in one or more continuing education classes for your specialization: this will help you understand the concepts you’re translating, in addition to how to translate them.
• Make sure you’re open to constructive criticism of your translation work. If and when an editor finds an error in your work, remember that your goal is to become a better translator. This means that whenever your work is edited by a good translator, it’s just another opportunity to improve your skills. Accept criticism gracefully, because it’s just another opportunity to learn and grow.
• Slow down! No-one can produce engaging, dynamic, flowing translations by consistently translating 4,000 words each and every day. Perhaps you might get 4,000 words of meaning across, but it’s not going to be high-quality work. You need your client to say ‘That’s exactly how I wanted this translation to sound,' so ‘quality, not quantity’ is the order of the day!

Charging for Rush Translations

It’s interesting to note the variety of ways in which different translators handle rush jobs.

It’s interesting to note the variety of ways in which different translators handle rush jobs: some people don’t charge anything extra, while some translators double their price. Some translators waive rush charges for their loyal clients, while others apply rush charges to everyone. Some people charge rush rates for translations due in less than 24 hours, while others consider a rush job to be a project requiring the translation of more than 2500 words per day.

What Constitutes a Rush Translation?

So, what constitutes a rush translation? Is it one where the translator is required to rearrange their schedule in order to meet the client’s deadline; or is it an assignment whereby the translator is required to translate more than a certain number of words per day - and how many words are we talking about? Perhaps a rush assignment is a project that must be turned around in less than 24 hours?

The Difference between Rush and Overtime

So then the question arises: What’s the difference between rush and overtime? Are we really translating faster when we’re asked to complete a rush assignment, or are we simply working longer hours? And what sort of levy should translators charge for a rush project? Should it be a 10% levy due to the inconvenience, or 100%? And what about workers who are paid by the hour: if they receive time-and-a-half for overtime, then why don’t translators? What portion of the project should the rush charge be applied to – the whole project, or just the portion which requires extra work on behalf the translator?

Obviously, there are no hard and fast answers to these questions, but it is interesting how translators have determined their own pricing methods. Most translators will admit that subjective factors, such as the desperate tone in their client’s voice, can enter into the rush charge equation.

Suggestions for Beginner Translators

If you’re a beginner translator and you’re still trying to work this issue out for yourself, our suggestion is that, if it’s a short translation you’re being asked to do for a regular client or a client you’d love to have as a regular client, then try to fit it in without charging extra. However, if a new or infrequent client asks you to complete a big translation project on a rush basis, then perhaps one-and-a-half-times your regular rate would be appropriate – or, to put it in perspective, you could refer to it as time and a half!

Many translators dislike rush work because you’re required to answer the call to action immediately with a yes or no answer and a firm quote, and there’s a definite pressure to omit quality assurance steps in order to get the translation back on time. That being said, there will always be rush jobs, so maintain your quality control as much as possible and ensure that you’re adequately compensated for the extra hours you work by rewarding yourself the following day with time off.