You have read part 1 & 2 of this article series. And, you are probably asking yourself “what else is there to say about improving one’s translation style?” The answer to that, my friends, is the most important part of the message.

Let’s for a moment consider our profession from the perspective of the client. You have a translation project that needs a translator. You pull out all the stops: you hit the search engines; post on translation directories; you even call in a few favours asking for a reputable professional translation service. In short, you get the “word out.” Pretty soon you have around a hundred (probably more) potential candidates. Then, based on your translation project criteria, and other priorities and considerations, you cull the list down to 10 candidates. The surviving candidates bring the exact same qualifications and benefits to the table. At this point you do an in-depth analysis on each potential candidate, and the material you have gathered on that candidate. So, here is the question: Who do you commission to take on your translation project?

Part 3 of this article series answers that question.

Applying the lessons of part 1 & 2 of this article series will put you in the final line up. However, although you may be the most accomplished professional in the business, it does not necessarily ensure that clients will contract your services. It is as simple as that-brutal to be sure, but the truth none the less! Here is where you get to ensure that you are not one of the “other nine.”

Let Your Reputation Precede You

We are all somebody’s client-no pearl of wisdom there, I am afraid. However, think about the time-and we have all experienced this at one time or another-when you made a major purchase decision for a particular product or service without the usual angst. It just seemed the most obvious thing to drop the “green”, or money, on the table. You were totally comfortable with your decision. Why was that? Dell (computers) was my experience, and not because Dell produces the best computers, either. For me, it was because their reputation for quality, and quality of service preceded them. What is the lesson that can be applied to translation style?

Deliver on the promise. Always deliver client projects on time. Better yet, don’t just beat the deadline-deliver the project with time to spare. If for some reason, an act of God hopefully, you will not be able to deliver on time, let the client know in advance. The response may not be pretty, but it will be appreciated. And, whatever you do, do not come up with a lame excuse!

Of course, nobody sets about a project intending to miss the deadline, and yet many do. You can avoid the “unavoidable” by not accepting projects with unrealistic or impossible deadlines. Negotiate a more reasonable deliver date, or simply refuse the job altogether-your reputation will not suffer. Working within your abilities is important, too. Do not accept material that you have little or no expertise knowledge about because then you will definitely end up making lame excuses. And finally, always make sure that you will be working within your abilities by evaluating the source text before you accept the project. Check it out yourself-do not take somebody's word that it is a business text.

Take a page from Dell’s operations manual-make your clients feel comfortable by developing a reputation for delivering more than you promise. You are already standing tall in that line up.

Operate like a Professional to be a Professional

Start by knowing your client. That is, do some preliminary research on your client before submitting your material. This is important for a couple of reason. First, your research will manifest itself in the proposal submitted, and the client will definitely pick up on it. The message is powerful: this candidate is interested enough in the job to “go the extra mile!” Second, you are playing at a psychological level-you are appealing to a universal sense of vanity. Everybody likes to feel important enough to be "researched."

I recently received an email from a freelance translator. This person had skillfully worked an original phrase from an article that I had written into the resume. Now, you just have to know that I took a closer, longer look at that resume! What can I say, I'm only human.

Too much sweat? Apart from the obvious benefits, you may discover some interesting information. For example, your research may turn up a pierce of information that will land you at the head of the line up. Alternatively, you may discover that your client has a history of not making payments in which case you probably want to remove yourself from the list. A word of caution is in order. When working research into your proposal, be subtle and forego the flattery.

Professionals know how to listen to the client to understand what is required. Have you ever thought about the difference between “listen” and “hear?” And the “buzz” that comes with a reputation as a good listener-pure gold! One hears it all the time: these guys knew exactly what I wanted, and they got it right! Apply your listening skills and let your reputation precede you as a professional that gets the job done right first time. You will be rewarded many times over with repeated requests for your services.

The job does not start until the paper work is complete! You need a contract that is detailed, and you need an agreement on that contract before anything happens. At a bare minimum, your contract should have clauses cover pricing, terms of payment, limitation of liability, delivery of product (service), dispute resolution, termination of arrangement and confidentiality. Now, some may think that a contract at this point will scare a potential client away-quite the contrary. It speaks loud and clear of “professionalism!” In addition to protecting yourself, you are dealing up front and honestly with an issue that is of obvious importance to the client. And, at the same time you are providing transparency. For example, the clause on pricing will tell the client upfront how much your services will cost and how those figures are arrived at. There is no greater turn-off than a “black box” pricing structure-lurking sticker price shock at its worst!

Records. There are a number of very affordable project management software packages targeted at translators that do a good job of organizing and storing business records. E-mails, faxes, invoices, contracts, purchase orders, receipts, source files and translated files should all be stored. Some would say that this is a good business practice, which it is. I would argue that this is essential to being a professional. Organizing and storing records will ensure that clients get a prompt response to inquiries. In addition to lending an aura of professionalism to your operation, stored records are a great source of information when your business grows to the point where data mining becomes feasible. Plan for the future now!

I am a repeat customer of Dell. All our hardware (laptops, desktops, and servers) are Dell machines. As our business growths, there is a continual need to upgrade. How do I know what components to purchase? I simply log into my Dell account and enter the product number of the machine I need to upgrade. Every single information record about that machine is accessible-now that is business record keeping! Of course, not everyone has deep pockets for a state-of-the-art system, but you get the message.

How long should you keep records for? In some countries, you are required by law to keep business records for a certain period of time. If you employ a project management software tool you essential have the option to store records forever (recommended). At a minimum, store records for at least one year.

Communicate like a professional. This is a vast topic that I could never do justice to, and in an article of this length, I also run the risk of losing the original message. Allow me, instead, to focus on written communication since this is probably the most common form of communication that you will have with clients, and in most cases, it will be the first communication that you have with a client. Your writing abilities either are one of your greatest assets, or one of your greatest liabilities. That’s it.

A Japanese friend found herself in the un-enviable position of having to e-mail the entire company alerting them to an error she had made on a project that she was the lead project manager for. This was a critical error on a major project on which everyone had been slaving away for months. Tempers were very short. She asked for my input. I immediately realized that she was so stressed, and in such a hurry to fire off that e-mail that she had not done the best job she could have done on format, grammar or style. I explained to her that normally people would overlook such issues as trivial, but in the current situation, she would probably be put to the stake! We re-worked the e-mail several times, took a lazy dinner, and then re-worked it some. How did her colleagues respond? In her words “Oh... it was good response!”

 Written communication is incredibly powerful. Take writing courses if you have to. Definitely re-work everything that clients get to read until it is perfect. And remember this, once it is out there, it becomes a permanent record that you have no control over (i.e. can not edit) for ever.

You can dominate the line up by projecting an image of a true professional. Researching the client, listening carefully to identify what the client wants, tying up (legal) issues that are of concern to the client, employing project management tools, and communicating in a clear and concise manner all serve to focus that image and polish your translation style.

Do Not Make Clients Look For You

Getting referrals, putting out resumes, working the phones, and pressing the flesh are marketing approaches that I am sure you are employing to stay on the client’s radar. What more can you do?

If you maintain visibility by employing any of these approaches, then like the rest of us, occasionally you drop of the client’s radar. How does this happen? Well, physical addresses change, as do phone numbers, when you move. Maybe your e-mail address changed with your new ISP that you got a great deal on. Or, simply, you changed your e-mail provider because you were unhappy with the service. Do you even remember all the places where you have posted your contact details? The point is this: your hard work at staying visible is all for naught because the client will not be able to contact you about a proposal during this transitional phase, if at all. 

An internet web site offers a permanent solution. Most professionals shy away from a web presence for a number of reasons. They assume that the cost is too prohibitive, that they do not have the technical skill requirements, or that the commitment is too great. This could not be further from the truth. Unfortunately, these misconceptions may be preventing you from harnessing the full potential of the web to grow your freelance business. A web presence is within anybody’s reach!

What are the possibilities? Your internet address, or domain name, will never change, which means that you will have a permanent sign pointing to your office door. You will always have the latest version of your material in front of the client that can be accessed from anywhere at any time. In effect, you will be open for business 24/7. A web presence will not only stabilize your income, it will provide the opportunity for growth-planning for the future.

Stay accessible to clients, stay in the line up.

Who Do You Do Business With

Let’s revisit that major purchase decision that we happily made a while back. Sure, the product (service) came with a good reputation, the operation was professional, and we did not have to look too hard for it. In other words, even before we made the purchasing decision, we were already quite comfortable with the idea of making a purchasing decision. In effect, we were already “pre-sold." However, pre-sold is not quite the same as “sold.” That fleeting interval between pre-sold and actually making the purchasing decision-laying out the green-is where it all happens. Sales people refer to this as “closing the sale." And sales people know that in order to close the sale, the client must not only feel comfortable with the deal, but must also like the person making the sale. Surprised? Do not be, you do it all the time, and so do your clients!

All things being equal, we buy from those we like. That bears repeating: 10 candidates offering the exact same qualifications and benefits, and clients will always go with the professional they feel most comfortable with and like.

I am afraid that there is not much that can be done about character-we are who we are. But, there definitely are some things that you can do to improve your "likeability” ranking.

A good, positive attitude attracts clients. Clients do not want to work with professionals; they want to work with professionals that project a positive attitude. Just as we avoid colleagues that are unpleasant to be around, so do clients avoid contracting professionals that do not project the right attitude.

Show appreciation for having the opportunity to work with a client. Send a card, nothing fancy or expensive, with a personal and original thank you message. You should try it-it works wonders.

Have a genuine interest in your client’s best interest. Share you insider knowledge of the industry with your client. When you can not take on a job (maybe you have enough work, or are not qualified for that particular subject matter), reach out to your network and forward the job to a colleague. You can also point clients to web sites that can handle their translation project. Clients appreciate these small acts of kindness, and they certainly do not forget about them!

After completing under graduate school in Japan, I returned to Zambia briefly to help in the family business. We made it a policy to recommend customers to establishments-even if they were competitors-that most likely carried the product that we could not provide. Did customers ever appreciate it! They ended up coming around more regularly and making more purchases. Not only that, but even our competitors started referring their customers to us during stock outs. Of course, we made sure not to run out of stock too often-clients also have businesses to run…

The customary caution is not to introduce the client to a nightmare. A good rule of thumb to follow is to never introduce the client to a product (service) that you yourself would not layout money for.

When clients like you, you are the line up.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the success of your translation style can only be measured by the number of your clients, and the number of projects that those client entrust you with. That is very much a function of how successful you are in making your clients feel comfortable with your deal-as defined by reputation, professionalism and visibility-and by climbing in the “likeability” rankings.

About the Author:

Ivan Vandermerwe is CEO of Saeculii, LLC., the owner of Saeculii Professional Translation Service. Visit Saeculii Professional Translation Service for the latest translation articles and news.

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