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tranfree issue 44 - 19 December 2001
Rates Erosion - How to Tackle itBy Alex Eames Some people - particularly English-Spanish translators in the USA have suffered a fall in demand and/or downward pressure on their rates due to increased competition from South America and other countries. It's difficult to say exactly what you should do in that position. But as always, you need to focus heavily on the quality of your service, not just your output...
...and your clients will stick to you. Also in times of increasing downward...
With the Yellow Pages, pick a sector that might have need of your services one day. Ideally you'd like to get hold of a list of companies in your area that want to import/export from/to countries where your target language is spoken.
Ideal Client ListIf you've ever been given a trade show catalog to translate, you'd have found a whole bunch of people who will need translations... THE EXHIBITORS So get hold of trade show catalogs and get in touch with the exhibitors. They're red hot leads. You can usually find ads for trade shows in trade journals or magazines. For example, one we had was a catalog for a screen-printing show to be held in Poland. It's a good idea to start with subjects or fields that you specialise in/or that interest you. So if you're interested in doing work in the field of scuba diving, get hold of as many diving magazines in your target language as possible and look for dive shows. Then get hold of the catalog of exhibitors from the organiser and you've got your list of companies to approach for a specific type of work. Give it a shot. I know there's a certain amount of leg-work involved, but why not at least try it? What have you got to lose? And if you pick a subject you're interested in, you'll...
...and in doing all of this, you'll add another specialist
subject to your repertoire. Specialist subjects can command
specialist prices
Airport/Airplane AdvertisingMost translators like travelling to/from countries whose languages they translate. As I mentioned in a previous tranfree, at least one trip per year can be justified as a tax-deductible business expense. So when you're at the airport, and you see all those people...
...it's an ideal opportunity to hand them your brochure and
business card. Even if they are bilingual, these busy people may
not always have time to translate their own documents. You never
know. One good contact might just pay for your trip - and then
some.
You will never find a better way of precisely screening potential
clients thanthe airport departure lounge. The fact that they are
conducting business in the country you're flying to/from proves
that they are a potential client. If you live near an airport,
maybe you could target certain flight numbers at the check-in
desk? (As long as you don't get arrested as a suspected terrorist
like those British plane-spotters in Greece).
We tried, a few times, dropping our brochures on the
first/business class seats as we walked through the plane to our
scum-class seats. But it didn't work all that well because the
steward picked them up and gave them back to us. Hey it was worth
a go. It just depends how closely you're being watched. You could
try it too. What's the worst that could happen? They're hardly
going to kick you off the plane for being cheeky are they?
Fortune favours the brave and all that
Evangelical MarketingOver the summer I read an interesting book about evangelism (Divine Appointments - by Larry Tomczak). What's that got to do with translation? Everything. What Larry does is asks God to give him opportunities to meet with people and then he hands them a printed sheet of paper with his own personal testimony.
Do you see what I'm driving at? If you carry your marketing
materials with you everywhere you go, you'll be prepared to
pounce when you have an opportunity. So, carry your marketing materials wherever you go, then you're prepared to evangelise your translation services at a moment's notice.
Web SiteYour web site is an integral part of your marketing materials. Your letterhead and your business cards should both carry the address (URL) of your web site. There should be a consistent 'look and feel' between your web site and your other marketing materials (including brochure). This creates a perception of professionalism. Even if you have just a short site with just a couple of pages, it is worth having one. We get most of our new leads through our web site because we don't actively market our translation business any more. This is the subject of my forthcoming new ebook, which will be published within the next few months.
SummaryIf you're feeling squeezed by your existing clients, look for some new direct clients... You can do this and develop new specialist subjects by reading magazines and getting hold of trade show catalogs. You can be an evangelist for your business by always carrying your promotional materials with you. You can find really good targeted leads at airports. Your web site and marketing materials should fit together in a coherent and professional way.
Alex Eames is the founder of translatortips.com, |
...pressure on rates from agencies, it may be a
good idea to do some marketing to direct clients. Your local
Yellow Pages or Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start.
