tranfree issue 3 - 29 May 1999

Why Translation Agencies Don't Always Reply

By Alex Eames

When you write to an agency - whether by email or snailmail a large proportion of the companies you write to will not reply. In online discussion groups I have often seen people asking...

"Why don't I get (m)any replies?"

The sad fact of life is that many agencies work on incredibly tight deadlines and don't have time to be polite. In my experience an outstanding offer, made at the right time, is always kept. If you make your offer a masterpiece you will get a lot of responses and a lot of work.

I wrote a bunch of (about 200) snailmail letters in March 1996. In September 1998, one of the many people who never replied telephoned me and gave me a project worth 4500 pounds (~$7000 USD). So 18 months later this person still had my details on file and they met the requirements for the project in hand.

From conversations I have had with other translators this situation is not unusual. Some people will follow up your application and call you 'out of the blue' even 2-3 years later. As with all good marketing, if you have good records of what you sent, when you sent it and who/where you sent it to, you will be able to trace which strategies worked and which didn't. This all seems a little bit long-term doesn't it? Would it surprise you to learn that some of the top Japanese companies are working to a 100 year plan?

The mistake most people make is in expecting instant results. The general consensus is that it takes anything from 3-6 months for a translation agency marketing campaign to actually bear fruit in the form of work. You might get some forms to complete, a few tests to do etc, but there may not be any actual work until you have been 'processed' - until you have been incorporated into the agency's 'system' - even then it depends on what work they get and how many translators they've got. The system may be a pile of papers, a file or a database - depending on the size and sophistication of the agency.

Don't let this put you off though! If you can get 'on the books' of as many agencies as possible this will maximise your chances of getting work without having to go out and market yourself to direct customers.

Marketing is a numbers game - pure and simple. The more of it you do, the more work you will get. Also the more experienced you get, the more 'feel' you will have for what actually works and what doesn't.

Conventional wisdom states that in a direct mail marketing campaign you can expect about 2% positive response. Conventional wisdom also states that an email marketing campaign is even less likely to bear fruit. Wanna know what I think? I think you ought to be aiming for much higher success rates. I think 2% sucks! If you can really work out what people want to hear and then...

... say it to them, you can expect as much as 10% and more.