Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters

Rates


Corinne McKay

Ethical dilemma: when services cost less than you expect

Thoughts on Translation is back from a relaxing camping vacation in the deserts of Western Colorado. This vacation was completely unplugged; I didn’t take my laptop or netbook and only turned my cell phone on once a day to check my office messages. In other words, a real vacation! I highly recommend doing this at least once a year if you’re at the computer the rest of the time. Now on to more substantive issues…

A while back, I wrote a post about sticker shock: dealing with clients who are blindsided about how much professional translation services cost. Recently, I spoke with the owner of a small agency who brought up a different but related topic: how to react when a professional service costs less than you expect. In a nutshell…this agency owner works with clients in a very targeted industry that not many translators specialize in. When she landed a new client in this specialization, she needed to expand her pool of qualified translators quickly, so she posted the job on ProZ. In her words, “Not to save money in particular, but in order to widen the pool of potential translators.” This agency owner pays her current translators very fair rates, what I would consider the high end of the U.S.-based agency market (I’m guessing you can tell where this is headed!), and in her ProZ posting, she did not specify any rate at all, but left it up to the translators to state their rates.

So, the applications started coming in, and because of the way the agency owner worded her posting, the applicants were few in number and very well qualified for the job. However, their rates were generally between 25% and 60% less than what she had planned on paying. For example if she had been planning on paying 30 cents a word (this isn’t the actual figure, just an example), these highly qualified translators generally bid between 12 and 20 cents a word. In the end, the agency owner did not pick the cheapest translators, but also did not suggest to the selected translators that they raise their rates. I realize that this anecdote also brings up the issue of competitive bidding in general, translators who charge less than they are worth, and probably various other issues too. However, specifically related to the under-budget issue, what would you have done? Would you have told these translators that they were bidding half of what you were willing to pay, or would you have accepted the rates that they offered?


Corinne McKay

Responding to a request for quote

When you receive an “out of the blue” request for a quote from a potential translation client, what’s the best next step? Is it more advantageous to call the client, e-mail them, ask for more information or send them a rate sheet…or something else entirely? The beauty of impromptu inquiries from potential clients is that you, the translator, are in the position of power. Rather than attempting to sell the potential client on the value of your services, the potential client is coming to you. So, it’s important to decide how to convert this inquiry into a new client. Let’s take a look at some potential courses of action.

First, read the potential client’s e-mail carefully; note the information that they provide and don’t provide, because this will give you some clues as to the client’s level of seriousness and their knowledge of what translation involves. Look at the client’s website and/or Google them to get a sense of their business. Then, decide how to respond to the potential client; for example you might:

  • Call them or ask them to call you. I’m really not a phone person, but I do think that a phone call makes a good impression. You can get a sense of the client’s personality and they can get a sense of yours, you can chat about the project, what translations they’ve had done in the past and what they are looking for in this translation. My only hesitation with phoning a potential client is that I like to get the important project details (i.e. rate, turnaround time, other terms of service) in writing. So, if you take this tactic I think it’s important to follow up with a brief e-mail, for example, “Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me this morning. Just to confirm the details of our conversation, I will be translating the document we discussed at a rate of X cents per source word and I will deliver it to you by 5PM Eastern time on Friday. I accept payment by check or wire transfer and the full payment is due within 30 days of the date on which I deliver the translation.”
  • E-mail them and ask for more information. It’s unlikely that the client’s initial e-mail included all of the information that you need, so you might e-mail them and ask some of the questions listed above. Thank them for contacting you and let them know that in order to provide them with a detailed quote, you’ll need to get some more information.
  • E-mail them your basic information about rates and terms of service. In part, I think that your response to potential clients should be guided by how much you need or want the work. Responding with some prepared information, for example “I’m attaching my 2010 rate sheet which includes my per-word and hourly rates as well as my standard terms of service, feel free to look these over and then let me know if I can provide you with a detailed quote” may not be the most personal way to respond to an inquiry, but it saves your time and immediately weeds out clients whose budget is much less than what you charge.

Whichever strategy you choose, make sure to lay the groundwork for a successful translator/client relationship. For example:

  • Respond promptly to all inquiries from potential clients. Even if you don’t want to provide a quote on the project, respond and let the potential client know that.
  • Clarify your payment terms and methods; decide whether you want first-time clients to pay all or part of the project fee in advance.
  • Ask the client to confirm the rate, deadline and payment terms in writing. This can be as simple as a very short e-mail or can take the form of a service agreement or purchase order, but make sure that you and the client agree in writing on these important details.
  • Ask the client for their accounts payable person’s contact information. For example, “Please let me know the e-mail address and phone number of the person to whom I should send my invoice, and let me know who I should contact if I have a question about the payment.”

Any other tips for responding successfully to inquiries?


Corinne McKay

Some thoughts on rush charges

Recently, the e-mail list of our local translators association erupted with posts on the topic of rush charges, and I’m assuming that the level of interest on this topic isn’t restricted to translators in Colorado. I was really intrigued by the variety of ways in which people handle rush jobs; some charge as much as 100% extra while others don’t charge extra at all; some people apply rush charges to all of their clients while others waive rush charges for repeat clients; some consider rush jobs to be anything requiring more than 2,500 words of translation per day while others charge rush for anything due in less than 24 hours.

There are a few issues underlying the question of rush charges:

  • What constitutes rush? Is a rush assignment one that requires the translator to translate more than x number of words per day (and if so, is x 1,500 words, 2,500 words, 3,000 words or something else entirely…)? Or is a rush assignment one that requires the translator to rearrange his or her schedule in order to meet the deadline? Or is a rush assignment anything that has to be turned around in less than 24 hours?
  • Is there a difference between rush and overtime? When we receive a rush assignment, do we really translate faster or do we just work longer hours?
  • What kind of rush charge should a translator levy? Some sort of minor inconvenience surcharge like 10% or something cataclysmic like 100%? And if many workers who are paid by the unit (normally the hour) get at least time and a half for overtime, why not translators? Should the rush charge be applied to the whole project, or only to the portion that requires the translator to work extra?

Obviously, few of these questions have hard and fast answers, but it’s interesting to find out what other people’s pricing methods are. In addition, most people admitted that subjective factors (someone mentioned “tone of desperation in the client’s voice”) enter into the rush charge equation as well. In my own case, I try to avoid nickel and diming regular clients with rush charges when the job in question is a short one. If a regular client calls me and needs a few hundred words by the end of the day, I try to squeeze it in without charging extra. On the other hand, if an infrequent client or a new client calls and needs a big project done on a rush basis, I quote at least 50% more than my regular rate and often refer to it as “time and a half” to put it in perspective.

I’ll also go on the record as saying that I really dislike rush work. Everything about it, from the need to respond with a yes/no and a firm quote immediately to the pressure of having to skip steps in my normal research and QA process, stresses me out. However, rush jobs are in some ways unavoidable. Many times, clients don’t want to have their things translated on a rush basis but there’s no way to avoid it. In addition, a rush job that I do at 50%+ more than my normal rate can be a good way to work a few hours in the evening and take the next day off. Any other thoughts on the rush rate world?


Corinne McKay

Lowering your translation rates, continued

There were so many excellent comments on my last post about translation rates that I think the topic deserves another post. First, thank you to everyone who commented; I think that your insights are more valuable than what I originally wrote, because they represent the viewpoints of people in all different language combinations, geographic areas, levels of experience, etc.

A few new thoughts:
-It goes without saying that the higher up you are in the market, the easier things get (in my experience!). Once you pass a certain price point, you are almost sure to be working with clients whose only concern, or even primary concern is not price. That isn’t to say that mid and upper-level clients aren’t concerned about money, but I really think that these types of clients are more focused on quality, responsiveness, turnaround time, knowledge of their products and services, etc. than they are about badgering you for a rate cut. The highest-paid translators I know make 40something cents per word; my rates aren’t in that ballpark, but they’re high enough that I feel like I’ve progressed beyond the reverse auction mentality that characterizes the lower end of the market.
-Jill Sommer wrote a great post about rates today; it has some great advice. Jill points out that if you’re going to lower your rates past a certain point, why not do a different job all together? I have to agree with this; if I were making $20 an hour translating, I’d rather look at other careers.
-The currency issue is an interesting one, and I can really see arguments on both sides. In one sense, if I have some clients who pay more than others strictly because of currency exchange differences, I don’t see much harm in offering to harmonize the rate I offer those clients. In another sense, I agree that clients are usually more comfortable being billed in their own currency, and that the currency exchange equation goes both ways. Those of us who bill in euros and spend in dollars have been riding high for the past few years, but the pendulum may swing the other way at some point.
-I made the point about objective data because I am very guilty of this kind of nutty thinking. If you asked me if my current workload is higher, lower or about the same as last year, I’d say lower. But when I recently did my accounting, I found that I’ve actually earned about 25% *more* than I had at this time last year. Honestly, I think that this is because a) I listen to NPR too much and b) the beyond-depressing economic news is all around us. So, really really force yourself to look at *your* data, and remember that the world’s economy is not your economy.
-I really agree that you can’t blame customers for getting used to discounts if they’re repeatedly offered discounts. In a micro example of this that mirror’s Fred’s story about the mail-order business in France, I’ve found that if you buy something from Sierra Trading Post and then don’t buy anything else for a while, they’ll take the initiative to e-mail you a coupon for 20% or even 25% off. Now I don’t buy anything from them unless I receive that coupon; this probably works well for a huge retailer, but it’s not such a great business model for a provider of high-quality professional services.

-As Kevin pointed out, I also have to keep saying that I would rather work less than work more and earn less. Personally (and of course this is partially based on the fact that my husband has a stable, salaried job and thanks to our “urban Amish” lifestyle, we have a significant financial safety net), the idea of working less is actually not unappealing at all, in that it would give me time to work on some non-paying projects that I’ve relegated to the back burner. Everyone’s mileage may vary here; if you’re a single parent living paycheck to paycheck, obviously your decision may be different, but it’s good to see that others agree about this!


Corinne McKay

Lowering your translation rates: why/why not

Lately it seems that many freelancers are considering lowering their rates because of the worldwide economic downturn. In most cases, I think that lowering your rates is an unwise business decision that devalues not only your own work, but the work of other translators as well. In addition, I really believe, based on my own experience and that of other translators, that the market for high-quality translation services is still very strong. However, I’ve recently spoken with a couple of people who have lowered their rates and feel good about the decision, so I think it’s worth looking at the why/why not equation that’s at work.

First, before you make any rate-related decisions, force yourself to look at some objective data. Are you really experiencing more “work drought” periods than last year, or does it just feel that way because the economic news is so bad? How much money have you earned as compared to the same time last year? How do your existing rates compare to what other translators in your language combination charge (you can get some information about this from the ATA compensation survey or from online rates surveys)? Are your clients asking for rate cuts, or are you just assuming that your rates are too high? Do you have a track record of attracting clients at your current rates, or are your rates set too high for your level of experience or for your language combination?

Because I am really not in favor of lowering rates, let’s talk about the disadvantages of lowering your rates. Most importantly, I think that if you look for work that pays less than what you’re currently charging, you’re bound to find it. Then, you’ll be overloaded with low-paying work and you’ll be unable to take on higher-paying work when it inevitably comes in. In addition, you really want to avoid the low rate treadmill: when you charge low rates, you have to work more, which can harm the quality of your work and your enthusiasm for doing the work, but you quickly get into a situation where you really have no choice except to work very long hours because your rates are so low. If your rates are high (not ridiculously high, but high enough that you have a built-in safety margin), a few days without work isn’t a crisis, and can even be a welcome chance to catch up on your accounting, spruce up your website or update your online profiles. If you’re working for low pay, you can’t afford the luxury of even a day without work.

In addition, I just think it’s very hard to put a positive spin on telling your clients that you’re willing to work for less than you’ve been charging. No matter how you couch it, it’s hard to avoid sounding as if you’ve realized that your work is worth less than what you’ve been charging, and that’s just about the worst impression you can give to a client.

On the other hand, you have to eat, right? Especially if you’re single/the family breadwinner/have little or no savings cushion, there comes a point where low-paying work is better than no work. In addition, there are translators whose rates are optimistic given their level of experience, specializations and/or language combination. So, if you decide that you really have no choice other than to cut your rates, try to do it as pragmatically as possible. Rather than a generic “You’re right, I’m not worth it! Whatever you want to pay me is fine…” e-mail to your clients, think about how to cut your per-word rate but maintain as high an hourly rate as possible. If you have a client who sends you easy work (very little to look up, doesn’t require complex formatting, client is painless to work with, etc.), offer them the lower rate first. See if clients will take on some of the time-consuming aspects of your work (such as formatting or PDF conversions) so that you can concentrate on the translation.

So far, my work volume and rates are both higher than they were last year; I say this not to brag about my business, but to say that the bottom certainly hasn’t fallen out of the translation industry. At the same time, I think that if I were faced with a shortage of work at my current rates, I would rather work 20% less than charge 20% less, then use the extra time to market to higher-paying clients, work on some non-paying projects or just have more leisure time and enjoy it. Before you surrender and lower your rates, it’s also important to be honest with yourself about your marketing efforts. If you haven’t sent out a resumé in five years, that’s a better starting point than cutting your rates with your existing clients.