Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters

Clients


Corinne McKay

Breaking up with a client: how and when to cut the cord

Breaking up with clients–agencies or direct clients–is sometimes painful, but it’s a necessary part of a thriving freelance business: if a client treats you poorly, a breakup is a must. If you’re ready to move on to better-paying or more interesting work, a breakup may be in your best interest. Whatever the case, you want to think ahead of time about how to end the relationship in a way that leaves you feeling like you did the right thing. Let’s dig in.

When to cut things off right away
In some situations, you don’t want to worry about diplomacy or sugar-coating or not burning bridges: you just want the client out of your life. These include:

  • A client who does not pay you, or who unilaterally reduces your payment
  • A client who unfairly criticizes your work
  • A client who treats you in a way that feels abusive or harassing

In those cases, just cut the cord. “Effective immediately, please remove me from your roster of available freelancers. Please do not contact me for future assignments with your company. Thank you.” That’s it; you don’t need to say more than that.

When to give the client an ultimatum
In some situations, the client has just one problematic behavior. Perhaps they always pay in 60 days rather than 30. Perhaps they check in with you six times a day during a project. Perhaps they try to downwardly negotiate your rate when you’ve been firm about what your rate is. In those cases, it’s worth giving the client one more chance, but that chance must come in the form of an ultimatum that you are willing to stand by. Such as:

“Thank you for contacting me about this project. As I’ve mentioned before, your company has repeatedly paid me more than 30 days after the agreed-upon due date on my invoices. I value my relationship with you, but my payment terms are net 30, not net 60. I am willing to take on this project, but if I do not receive your payment within 30 days, I will not accept work from you in the future unless you pay in advance. Thank you.”

“Thank you for contacting me about this project. As we’ve discussed, my base rate is X cents per word. To save your time and mine, you don’t need to contact me for projects for which your budget is less than that amount. If this happens again, I will have to ask you to remove me from your roster of available freelancers. Thank you.”

“But they’re such nice people!” The worst reason for sticking with a client
If you, like me, have a bit of a doormat streak when it comes to breaking up with clients for purely economic reasons, stop what you’re doing and read this blog post by Carol Tice, on her blog Make a Living Writing (but it applies to translators too).

In this post, Carol mercilessly dissects the misplaced loyalty that a lot of freelancers have toward their clients–clients who don’t pay well, but are “such nice people.” She’s better at giving tough-love advice than I am, so I’ll quote her here:

“Don’t delude yourself that nice people who underpay you are still good clients. They’re not. They are sucking the life out of your business and putting your freelance writing business at risk of failure.”

That’s pretty blunt, but I agree: if you’re sticking with low-paying clients out of a sense of loyalty, you’re being loyal to the wrong side of the equation. You’re valuing your relationship with a low-paying client over your own financial security, your kids’ future, and your relationship with the people in your life who depend on you. That’s who you should really be loyal to–and that means working only with clients who will pay what you need or want to earn.

When to be eternally unavailable
Sometimes, breaking up with a client is unnecessary. In my experience the #1 reason that freelance translators or interpreters want to break up with a client is because they’ve moved on to work that pays better, is more interesting, or both. And that’s what should be happening over the lifecycle of your freelance business.

Before you write the breakup e-mail, as yourself if it’s necessary. With a direct client, it may be; most direct clients are not going to wait for you to turn them down 15 times before they find another translator. With agency clients, you may be able to just dodge their inquiries–or only accept their projects once in a while–while keeping the door open to working with them if you have a slow period or lose a major client. As an example, I know at least two translators who have taken in-house assignments that kept them busy full-time for six months or more. They decided that rather than burn bridges with their agency clients, they would simply respond, “Thanks for contacting me about this project; unfortunately I’m not available, but please keep me on your list!” And it worked; those agency clients enthusiastically sent work once those translators were available again. The same technique would probably not work with direct clients, but agencies (hopefully) have other translators to choose from.

Unilateral rate raises: make sure you mean it
Another situation that falls on the spectrum of client breakups is unilateral rate raises; when you inform a client, “As of January 1, my base rate will increase to X.” This is a fine–if abrupt–technique, as long as you mean it. As long as you are willing to stop working with the client if they won’t agree to the increased rate.

Problems arise when you backpedal. Let’s say the client responds, “Thanks for letting us know. That’s outside our budget for your language pair, so we won’t be able to work with you anymore. Just let us know if you change your mind.” That’s not at all out of the question, so envision that situation before you send the e-mail. The issue is that if you backpedal, the client knows that you were bluffing all along; it’s completely legitimate to tell a client that you are busy all the time at your increased rate, so you won’t have room for them in your schedule if they can’t pay more. But you really don’t want to pull a “just kidding” with a client once you’ve put a higher rate out there.

Annoyance fees: also worth considering
Another common situation is high-maintenance clients–clients who pay well and pay on time, but who take up a disproportionate amount of your time with phone calls and e-mails and special requests that exceed the bounds of what would normally be expected in a freelancer-client relationship. If you hate working with these types of clients, don’t do it. Life is too short and your time is too limited to work with clients who cause you to cringe every time their number pops up on your caller ID. However, another option, particularly with direct clients, is to find a way to charge the client enough that the annoyance is worthwhile.

I speak from personal experience when I say that this technique can work with clients whose budgets are ample and whose need for personal attention is high. For example, you might tell the client that your rate includes one five-minute phone call per day, and all additional phone calls will be billed at your regular hourly rate, in 15-minute increments. If you read this and think, “My clients would never, in a million years, agree to that,” I say, simply, “Try it.” If your direct clients work with attorneys or accountants or auditors, those people do not sit on the phone for 45 minutes without charging for it, and neither should you.

Readers, over to you: have you broken up with a client recently? Let us know how it went!


Corinne McKay

How to ask clients for feedback

Working as a freelance translator means working in a bit of a vacuum. The upside: no pointy-haired boss! The downside: no on-location colleagues off whom to bounce ideas, and very little feedback on how you’re doing. If you work as an in-house translator, your work is probably reviewed by a senior translator or in-house reviser. Hopefully you receive a performance review now and again. But as a freelancer, you’re often on your own when it comes to soliciting feedback on your translations.

Sometimes, a client’s behavior speaks for itself. A client who sends you a steady flow of work is mostly likely very happy with your translations. A one-and-done client, perhaps not so much. Freelancers often work with little to no meaningful feedback from clients, for various reasons. Perhaps the client doesn’t read the source or target language; perhaps they don’t want to get in the middle of a translator-editor UFC match; perhaps they’re simply too busy.

You can’t force a client to tell you what they thought of your translation. Some people are personally or culturally allergic to giving feedback that isn’t glowing. Still, feedback is an important element of keeping clients happy and becoming a better translator, so let’s look at how to at least encourage feedback from clients.

Set the tone at the start of the relationship. I tell every new client that:

  • I want to build a long-term relationship with them, and honest feedback is part of that (from them to me and from me to them).
  • I really value their feedback, even if it’s negative or critical. I really appreciate any client who takes the time to thoroughly read and review my work.
  • I never want a client to be afraid of hurting my feelings: if they have feedback about the translation, positive or negative, they should just say it.

If you add one element to your feedback-solicitation process, I think it should be this: at least tell your clients that you value their feedback and you’re open to it.

Reiterate the request for feedback every time you return a translation to a client. In my experience, direct clients are much more willing to provide feedback than most agencies are. Still, even if you work exclusively with agencies, put the offer out there. “Thank you for contacting me for this, and I look forward to your feedback so that I know what worked well in this translation and how I can better serve you in the future.”

Agency-specific tip. If you think you can stick to it, offer to read the final version of the translation without responding to it. Here’s where things get tricky. In my experience, many agencies provide almost no feedback other than something cursory (“The client was happy with it”), and generally do not allow the translator to see the editor’s changes or the final version of the document. My guess is that they don’t want to get in the middle of a dispute between the translator and the editor–the changes get sent to the translator, the translator objects to them, gets angry, and insists that the agency reverse the changes, or fire the editor, or whatever. Some agencies might be amenable to showing you the changes or the final document, if you promise not to respond. Before you propose that type of arrangement, you have to think it through: what will you do if you see that the editor introduced an error or made stylistic changes that you don’t agree with? Still, it could be worth a shot.

Add a customer satisfaction survey to your process. I gleaned this tip from a student in my Marketing to Direct Clients class; it’s fast and basic, and gives clients a little nudge to comment on your services if they want to. Start by creating a very simple survey in a tool like Survey Monkey, so that it can be anonymous. The translator who taught me this technique used three questions:

  • On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied were you with my services?
  • On a scale of 1-5, how likely would you be to recommend me to a friend or colleague?
  • Would you like to offer any comments about my services?

Then, include a link to this survey when you return a translation to a client: “If you’d like to offer any feedback about my services, I have a very short customer satisfaction survey that you can complete.” This gives clients an easy way to provide feedback if they want to.

Ask for a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile. This is more in the testimonial category than the feedback category, but it’s a good way to ask for client input in a way that is not pushy. If you e-mail a client directly and ask for a testimonial, it’s somewhat awkward if they don’t want to provide one. Some clients just do not provide testimonials or references to freelancers, end of story. And, as long as they pay the bills, that’s their prerogative. Asking for a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile has a few advantages: it’s not pushy (the client just doesn’t do it if they don’t want to), and, if the client does do it, it’s public, so it’s easy to show to potential clients.

Ask for feedback from all of your clients once a year. You could apply one of the techniques above, but frame it as “an end-of-year request for feedback from all of my clients.” Again, part of the goal is to encourage your clients to provide feedback while not stressing them out if they don’t want to say anything. Making the request seem like part of your standard client relations process can help in that department.

Readers, over to you: any other ideas on asking for feedback from clients?


Corinne McKay

How to move up in the translation market

This post originally appeared as a newsletter to my mailing list; I’m reprinting it here while taking some time off from blogging this summer!

Lots of us have heard the advice that “it’s time to move up in the translation market,” in response to changes in our industry brought about by–among other factors–technology and globalization.

“Move up in the market” is great advice, but what does “moving on up” entail? You’re unlikely to double your rates with your current clients, so you need a new strategy. Let’s take a look.

Tip 1: See and believe that it’s possible. This sounds a bit new age-y, but mindset makes a huge difference when you’re trying to up your game. Think of it this way: behaviors, just like illnesses, are contagious. If you’re surrounded exclusively by translators who are struggling to make ends meet, it’s not surprising that you see that as the norm. If you’re surrounded by translators who have a full stable of high-paying clients, and who have a similar level of financial security to people with salaried jobs, you start to see that as the norm too. And there are clients out there who will pay high enough rates for you to earn a six-figure income, but you need to be actively looking for them, not waiting for them to find you.

Tip 2: Attend professional development events for successful translators. In about 2008, I decided that it was my time to “move on up” and start working exclusively with high-end agencies and direct clients. In 2009, Chris Durban and other premium-market translators launched the Translate In… series (that year, we translated in the Catskills), which has continued and expanded, with summer master classes in France and Quebec. That first session was such an eye-opener to me; to see the changes that I needed to make in my translation skills, workflow, and business model in order to move up. Whatever your language pair, you need to start attending those types of events: being a better translator is an often-overlooked element of moving up in the market.

Tip 3: Set a red zone rate and don’t budge. Because we generally price our work in cents per word, discounts can seem inconsequential. It feels petty to argue over a cent, or half a cent. But…those cents add up when you translate hundreds of thousands of words a year. Those cents show clients what you think your work is worth. Those cents make you feel devalued and demoralized before you even start the project. Rather than negotiating on a case-by-case basis, you need a rate below which you never go. I recently heard a colleague say, “I don’t turn on the computer for less than…” That type of policy can help you avoid making those small concessions that add up over time.

Tip 4: Fish in smaller ponds. For lots of translators, aiming higher means targeting huge companies. But the Microsofts and Sanofis and Deutsche Banks of this world aren’t usually the best place to start. It’s difficult to know who to contact. Some–although certainly not all–large companies aren’t willing to work directly with freelancers. You’re often better off targeting smaller companies in your specializations, where you can find the name of the appropriate person to contact, and send them a personalized e-mail, paper letter, or LinkedIn InMail.

Tip 5: Watch for new trends. One key to moving up in the market is to look for hidden gold mines; types of clients who are–perhaps suddenly and urgently–in need of a good translator. As an example, I enjoy translating content marketing materials like blog posts and e-newsletters. I’ve recently started working with two environmental foundations that feel–perhaps correctly–that in order to broaden their base of fans, supporters, and donors, they must be on social media in English. These clients generate a steady flow of work; each project may be small, with a 500-word blog post here and a 750-word e-newsletter there, but I hear from them at least twice a week. I’d call this a micro-trend, but it’s prompted me to consider actively looking for more of these types of clients.

Tip 6: Thicken your skin. Again, another mindset shift, but an important one. It’s hard to up your game if you feel broken and demoralized after every interaction with a client who won’t pay your rates, or every marketing contact that goes un-returned. You simply have to keep plowing forward until you have the base of clients that you want, and you have to adopt the mindset that it’s better to find out up front that a client won’t pay what you want or need to earn.

Bonus tip: be realistic about what you need or want to earn. This is a real struggle for a lot of freelancers. When you add up the amount of money you want in your bank account every month, plus taxes, health insurance, vacation time, professional development, computer hardware and software, retirement account contributions, etc. etc., it’s a big number. But in order to make freelancing sustainable, you need to earn an income where you have a similar level of financial security to someone with a salaried job.

Readers, over to you! Tell us your best tips for moving up in the translation market!


Corinne McKay

“I get too much work from one client”: problem?

“I get too much work from one client. Should I be worried?” This is a question I often hear from freelancers, especially those who work for agencies. Is a client that/who provides 50%, 60%, or even 80% of your income a problem?

On the one hand, someone with a full-time salaried job earns 100% of their income from one “client,” their employer. And, these days, many salaried jobs are not much more stable than a freelance client. That employee could be let go with minimal notice and minimal severance pay, and be left with no income at all. In an ideal world, we’d all have 20 clients, each providing 5% of our income so that we’re nice and diversified, but the real freelance world doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you have a client who sends you tons of interesting work, and pays well, and is easy to work with; letting them become dominant in your client portfolio might make sense. Additionally, fewer clients generally means more billable time. You get to know the client’s processes, so you spend less time negotiating rates and turnaround times, figuring out the client’s preferred style, etc.

On the other hand, a dominant client puts you at risk. Here’s a situation that happened to me last year. I started out in about 2010, translating small projects for a direct client, and over the years the work increased into the five figures. They weren’t a dominant client, but they were a substantial client. And then one day (can you hear the ominous music playing the background?), they e-mailed me to say that in the course of hiring an employee for a half-time position, they had found a native English speaker who had also worked as a translator. They decided to hire that person full-time and include translation in the job. So, literally overnight, that client dropped from five figures to a couple of hundred dollars a year (when the in-house person is away or overloaded).

Other risks of having a dominant client include:

  • Being asked to lower your rates, and worrying that your income will decrease if you say yes, but you’ll lose the client if you say no.
  • A sudden decrease in work volume, if the dominant client is an agency and they lose the major end client you work for.
  • Becoming overly comfortable with that one client; not updating your marketing materials or plan, because the client feels so secure.
  • Losing the client entirely, if they go out of business, retire, your main contact leaves, etc.

So, what to do? Here are some suggestions, and please add your own in the comments.

  • If you have a dominant client, make sure it’s a deliberate decision, not a passive one. If you’re intentionally saying, “I choose to earn 80% of my income from this client for reasons X, Y, and Z,” that’s a lot different than “Holy… How much did I earn from them last year?? And now they’re going out of business?”
  • Build up a rainy day fund for your business. When I lost my substantial client, I actually didn’t panic. It was a bummer because I really like their work, but I knew that I could draw money out of my business savings account if I needed to (because I force myself to pay into that buffer fund for just such an occasion). The rainy day fund can save you from the dilemma I mentioned above, where you feel trapped in a bad situation with a client who won’t pay your rates.
  • Have a plan B. If your dominant client dropped you tomorrow, what would you do? Are your marketing materials in order? What kind of client would you want to replace them with? If you were rebuilding 80% of your work flow from scratch, what would you want to be doing?
  • If the dominant client is an agency, pay attention to where your work is coming from. Is it from one end client, or from multiple end clients? If it’s from one end client, you’re in a doubly risky situation, because you’re subject not only to the agency’s vicissitudes, but to their potential loss of that end client. If you work for multiple end clients, things are little safer.

In sum, I’m not totally opposed to the idea of a dominant client. But it needs to be a purposeful decision, not a passive one, and you need a) some buffer money to tide you over if you lose that client, and b) a plan for how to find new work when/if that happens.

Readers, over to you? Any dominant client stories to share?


Corinne McKay

Why don’t more translation agencies…

I wonder a couple of things about translation agencies. And when I say “I wonder…,” I mean that honestly. Not as in “most agencies do it this way, and that’s clearly the wrong way.” As in “I honestly wonder.” Here we go:

Why don’t more agencies have in-house translators?

The knee jerk answer to this is cost and flexibility. When agencies use freelancers, they pay only for the services they need, when they need them. No benefits, no office overhead, no providing computers and software, no caffeine-addicted translators draining the coffee pot all day, and so on.

But here’s the other side of the coin: I’m guessing that most mid-sized agencies, and certainly all large agencies, have enough work to keep at least a few in-house translators busy full-time in their most commonly requested languages. And then, the agency has a few advantages:

  • Those translators can work for the same clients all the time, which the agency can’t guarantee when it uses freelancers.
  • Those translators are on salary, so the agency can charge a markup for rush projects without paying more to have them translated.
  • Confidential projects are never sent outside the office.
  • It’s easier to monitor the quality of a translator’s work when they’re right there in your office.
  • A small team of translators would get used to working together, which would probably raise the quality of their translations.
  • The agency could cut its administrative overhead significantly. Instead of having to find an available freelancer, negotiate a rate and deadline, deal with snafus like the project being late or the translator having a computer crash, the project could just be assigned to one of the in-house translators with no back and forth.

Why don’t more agencies specialize?

One of the first pieces of advice given to any beginning freelancer is: specialize. Become the expert. Don’t try to be all things to all clients. Yet, the vast majority of agencies do not specialize *at all*, and even use “translating all subjects, all languages” as one of their selling points. Just Google that and you’ll see what I mean.

There are exceptions: I work with a couple of agencies that only do one subject area, and I can think of a handful of agencies that only do one language. But again, that’s the exception. It seems to me that by specializing, agencies could reap many of the benefits that specialized freelancers do:

  • Become the go-to agency for their language or specialization.
  • Fish in a smaller pond when it comes to marketing.
  • Get to know one subject area really well, thus producing better translations.
  • Know who to market to, rather than anyone on Earth who needs a translation.

Agency owners? People with insights into this? Any thoughts here?