It’s a translator's job to solve their clients’ problem.
Let’s say you’re looking for a professional service, perhaps accounting. Which scenario would be the most attractive to you: an accountant who shows all signs of being competent and who assures you that they’ll make the process easy for you, or an accountant whose rates are low and gives the impression that the process will be cheap?
Making Your Clients Life Easier
Very few translation clients are totally price-insensitive; however, in order to provide great customer service, it’s really important that you’re constantly aware of trying to make your client's life easier and to actively avoid involving them in the complexities of your trade.
For the purpose of our example let’s say that you’re looking for a small business accountant. You’re well aware that accountants’ rates are pretty high – anywhere between $100 and $200 per hour, so you’re already prepared when it comes to the cost involved. You give Accountant No. 1 a call and explain what you’re trying to achieve. Their response is complicated and lengthy – by the time you’ve listened to what they require you to do, you feel like you’ve been run over by a bus and you really couldn’t care less what their charge-out rate is. Their rates could well be much less than you anticipated paying, but this accountant has already demanded that you jump through so many hoops and explained in detail the technicalities of their own issues that now you don’t care. The fact is, you don’t like accounting, and now you dislike it even more!
So then you call Accountant No. 2. Their response is a quick explanation of what they can do for you, which includes other tasks that will make your life so much easier. By using this accountant’s services you’ll not only be saving time, but you’ll be able to earn more money. Now you don’t really care what their charge-out rate is because Accountant No. 2 has clearly explained how they can make your life easier. In other words, they made the whole process simple. They didn’t involve you in the intricacies of running an accounting business.
Consider Applying These Types of Scenarios to Your Freelance Translation Business –
Become a Problem Solver
It’s your job as a translator to solve your clients’ problem, not necessarily offer them a great deal; so when you receive an inquiry from a potential client you need to assure them that you’re capable of solving their problem.
No-One Wants to Hear the Ins and Outs of Your Business
Don’t involve your clients in every detail of how to complete a translation. Think about yourself here: Do you really need to hear every small detail of your service providers’ jobs? No, of course you don’t; and neither does your potential translation client. Give your client the information they’re really looking for.
