Working!the!Room · Tobeaprosperoustranslator youneedtoidenfy,winand retaingoodclients.!...

Working the Room

Chris Durban

freelance translator

Chicata Annual Conference / May 4, 2013 / © Chris Durban 2013

To be a prosperous translator you need to iden7fy, win and retain good clients. And to do that you must have something to sell: Wri7ng skills. A specializa7on (or two). The ability to translate.


But you also need to cul7vate behaviors that your prospec7ve clients can relate to. You have to put yourself in their shoes, and get into their heads.


“I'm Mario…Freelance French Translator from French to English, I Never Ever Say No to any of my dear Customers , I Love my Job and Crazy about it…always love to translate and I really enjoy it , I think this is the reason why my customers like's my job all the Pme. I'm Quick, Accurate and Always Available for You and the most thing you will like that I'm very commitment Translator…Deadlines, quality or a specific demands …always up to your desire. Whatever your request is I will never disappoint you because I have such a Huge Experience and I can do all the kinds of work….Technical, Medical, Patent and Legal text….etc. I'm always looking to set up long term collaboraPons in order to saPsfy you all the Pme , I did a[ached a copy of my CV and I hope we will be in touch all the Pme”

“To whom it may concern, I’m a highly accomplished translator located in United States. I’ve been working as a freelancer translator from German, Dutch to English since 2006. I have a high record of success in business communicaFon, having served as a project manager in C-‐SoluFons. I have also served as a project manager for Bauhaus GmbH & Co, and this helped me gain a great command of both German and Dutch languages. My degrees in the Goethe InsFtute and Amsterdam University focused on markeFng and business communicaFons; however I also translated Mechanical documents, manual guides, contracts and some individual materials, and I’m always open to explore new areas of translaFon. I have gained a very large experience working on all necessary programs like Office pack, TRADOS and WordFast, to provide clear and stylish work for all areas of translaFon. Please find my Resume aXached. Thank you for your consideraFon.”

PRINCIPAUX DOMAINES DE COMPÉTENCE EN TRADUCTION Technologies de l’informaPon – -‐ LocalisaPon de logiciels et intergiciels, aides en ligne, interfaces uPlisateur et documentaPon associée : logicprofessionnelles (producPon et post-‐producPon audio/vidéo, infographie), CFAO, logiciels de gesPon (ERP, CRM, etc.), gesPon de bases de données, gesPon de réseaux, gesPon de contenus mulPmédias, etc. -‐ LocalisaPon de sites Web, pages Web interacPves, bases de connaissances, sites de support en ligne, moteurs de recherche, etc. -‐ DocumentaPons matériel (systèmes dorsaux et frontaux, serveurs, routeurs, concentrateurs, unités et réseaux de stockage, micro-‐ordinateurs, périphériques fixes/mobiles) -‐ MulPmédia, logiciels de bureauPque, applicaPons, etc.

•  TélécommunicaPons / réseaux – -‐ Téléphonie fixe et mobile -‐ Réseaux sans fil -‐ Câblo-‐opérateurs -‐ CommunicaPons mulPmédias -‐ etc. Internet -‐ e-‐Commerce (B2B, B2C, B2E, B2G) -‐ etc.

•  Techniques générales -‐ Électronique -‐ Électricité -‐ Avionique, automobile -‐ Énergie -‐ ProtecPon de l’environnement -‐ DomoPque

•  Médical -‐ Équipement et appareils médicaux -‐ Imagerie médicale Commercial, financier, juridique -‐ Management -‐ Plans d’entreprise -‐ Bilans annuels -‐ États financiers -‐ Fonds de placement / SICAV / Produits financiers -‐ FormaPon du personnel (présentaPons PowerPoint) -‐ Comptabilité générale -‐ Contrats divers -‐ Brevets, propriété industrielle Publicité, rédacPonnel

And that’s not all…


(cover letter)

Traducteur indépendant de l’anglais vers le français depuis dix-‐huit ans, je me suis progressivement spécialisé dans le domaine des technologies de l’informaPon et de la communicaPon, comme l’a[este le CV joint. Je n’en ai pas moins su conserver une certaine polyvalence et, grâce à l’expérience acquise et à la documentaPon rassemblée au fil des années, je suis performant dans la plupart des autres domaines (énergie, équipement médicale de pointe, techniques générales économie et finance, juridique, etc.)


On Today’s Menu

Writing skills Translation skills Specialization Attitude/confidence The importance of timing & place Pricing—getting it right

Interacting with clients


Wri7ng skills


BDÜ, Berlin — 30/09/2012 / © Chris Durban 2012

Living proof that naPve speakerhood status alone does not guarantee good

wriPng.

Transla7on skills


An interpreter working as a translator. Aargh. “Translators must be self-‐criPcal; interpreters must be self-‐confident.” This level

of *translaPon* work is unacceptable.


ATA San Diego / October 24, 2012 / © Chris Durban 2012

Specializa7on

Genuine. Knowledge kept up to date.

No flying by the seat of your pants.


5.

19

A hopeless job delivered by a hopeless company. Vocab issues alone confirm that translator had no specialist

knowledge. Chicata Annual Conference / May 4, 2013 / © Chris Durban 2013

How can you recognize a (poten7al) good client? • They’re passionate about what they do • They’ve got comfortable budgets • Ouen they will be direct clients (i.e., you are responsible for translaPon & project management from A to Z—exhilaraPng! (scary?))


Before seeking direct clients… •  Get some experience under your belt—translaPng, revising and working with peers.

•  Invest in specializaPon—and be/get passionate about your subject(s).

•  Speak your clients’ language fluently (and write it well, too).

•  Be prepared to invest some Pme & budget; this is a long-‐term project.

•  If you are not prepared to sign your work, maybe you’re not ready for this (= maybe working through an intermediary is the best opPon for you).


Do your homework •  Understand the big picture in your client industry: issues, challenges, legislaPon, technology, acronyms, etc.

•  Iden7fy likely candidates—the reading and research you do to specialize will highlight businesses or enPPes that need you and your language combinaPon. Deals shaping up. Deals ge|ng done.

•  Get a clear idea of target company structures, including who does what. Ideally you will know people’s names (and job Ptles) before meePng them.


Get out of the house •  Go to client watering holes/conferences/events. Dress appropriately. Have an elevator speech & real business cards.

•  Listen carefully to how potenPal clients talk. •  Don’t pitch right away; mingle with your prey to establish your experPse, brand & personality. (La[er should be friendly & upbeat if possible; if you are shy or geeky, aim for though}ul and thorough. CulPvaPng an air of mystery is not necessarily a bad thing).

•  Keep at it: pracPce makes perfect. Chicata Annual Conference / May 4, 2013 / © Chris Durban 2013

Get off on the right foot •  Say something nice (to organizers/speakers/other a[endees).

•  Don’t wear out your welcome; show proper respect for their Pme (and yours).

•  Don’t get pushy (arrogance, like desperaPon, is a huge turn-‐off) but don’t hide behind a po[ed plant either.

•  Make your first hooks/exchanges something your targets are passionate about.

•  Never ever complain about translators not gi|n’ no respect.


ATA Webinar Series / September 20, 2012

Note the sequence… •  Express genuine interest/passion/awe about something dear to your target’s heart. There is no be[er way to strike up a conversaPon.

•  Appeal to your target as a source of exper7se (a technical quesPon; their opinion on an industry issue, etc.)

•  Once you’ve got a li[le vibe going, consider moving over into business mode: “Do you export to [X]?” “Do you have any documentaPon in [language Y]?”

•  So^ sell is best: you want them eager to get your card, not you asking for theirs.

Read the business press


The importance of 7ming—and place


Don’t get twitchy about… •  Money. This sends out enPrely the wrong message. The hard-‐eyed, no-‐nonsense habits that have served you well with translaPon intermediaries may come across as too adversarial (or insecure) with passionate direct clients.

•  Being small. Small is beauPful (as long as it is skilled and specialized).


Pricing •  Get it right—or at the very least lay the groundwork and plant seeds so that you can get it right next Pme.

•  What about “free trial offers”? Yes, yes, yes—on condi7on that your target has the potenPal to become a good client.

•  Silence is a much neglected negoPaPng tool. •  The right price is not when a client says “OK!” (they should wince first).

•  If your bid is accepted every Pme, you’re too cheap. •  Hourly or word rate? Most good clients are accustomed to professional services billed by the hour.


Conversa7onal gambits: one on one •  “What did you think of the last speaker?”/“What’s your favorite round table so far?”

•  “I’m starPng to specialize in your industry [which is absolutely fascinaPng]. What events should I plan on a[ending in 2013?”

•  “Ah, I see your company specializes in [X]. Based on texts I’ve translated recently, some of my clients need those services; can I give them your name?”

•  “Ah, you’re the company that makes YXZ, right? Didn’t the FT run a piece on you last week?”

•  “So tell me about your business.”

Conversa7onal gambits: plenary •  “I’m Jane Smith, a [Fr>Eng] translator based in [X]. I’m ge|ng into your industry (fascinaPng industry, btw) because some of my financial clients are very interested in what you do. Here’s my quesPon: [X, Y, Z]”

•  “Jane Smith, translator based in [X]. This is a great conference—I’ve learned so much! The first speaker menPoned negoPaPng with clients in [X, Y, Z]. I’m curious: when you work through a translator or interpreter, is the main problem Pming or technical terminology/experPse?”

ATA San Diego / October 24, 2012 / © Chris Durban 2012

[off the record: Can you/should you make stuff up?]

•  “I’m Jane Smith, a [Fr>Eng] translator based in [X]. I’m ge|ng more and more texts to translate that talk about what you guys do; clearly you’re a hot industry.”

•  “Why am I here? I’ve got some work coming up in this field (which is fascinaPng).”

•  "I've read your document and it's really very interesPng; I can see what you're trying to do. And your text certainly works in [French/German/Dutch]. But English is different. I'll need to [XYZ]”


The abtude thing

Going the extra mile. Adding value. Generosity. Passion.


[A word about signing] See paragraph in red below. This is one of six bullet points in a one-page summary of “how we work” that my new and prospective clients receive. “Note that if translations are poured into new layouts or re-entered in any way, we check/revise proofs and sign off before printing, failing which a 150% surcharge is due (since the translator’s name appears in the credits for most of our texts).”

NB: for the raPonale behind signing your work, see interview at: h[p://www.catherinetranslates.com/to-‐sign-‐or-‐not-‐to-‐sign-‐chris-‐durban-‐strikes-‐again/) Chicata Annual Conference / May 4, 2013 / © Chris Durban 2013

Read what your target clients are reading •  At least one daily business newspaper •  Specialized press in the fields you are targePng

•  Books of all sorts (ouen these will be reviewed in business newspapers & specialized press)


Read what your peers are reading •  Though}ul bloggers in the language industry, starPng with www.thoughtsontranslaPon.com, www.translaPontribulaPons.com, etc. Perhaps Fire Ant & Worker Bee, too: www.translaPonjournal.net

•  Sales & business gurus: www.sethgodin.typepad.com; www.thefreelancery.com, Jeffrey Gitomer’s Caffeine Jolt, etc.


Seth Godin:



Jeffrey Gitomer:

Language services: A quick fix or a

long-‐term investment?

47


“This translaPon business is really complicated—so much so that you, Mr. Client, are never going to understand it. Don’t worry your li[le head, we’ll handle it all from A to Z.” VS “This translaPon business is really complicated—so much so, Mr. Client, that we’re going to need your input to get it right.”

48


Thanks for listening. Ques7ons?

[email protected] www.prosperoustranslator.com


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