Sometimes we get those translation projects with language combinations that make us go: “English into what?!” I mean, there are over 7000 languages in the world, and some of them I can’t even pronounce. Once in a while, there comes a client who asks if we can translate a text from English into… Telugu, for example (Telugu is one of the official languages of India and, although it has a whopping 81.1 Million speakers, it’s hard to find someone who has ever heard of it.)
Roughly any translation company has a Telugu translator on speed dial and, in these cases, most agencies resort to one of the several online platforms for freelance translators. In this particular case, it was not Telugu, but I still had to resort to the online platforms.
It was a small translation but the deadline was tight. I posted the add online with “[urgent]” in the subject, set a quoting deadline of around 4 hours, then sat back and waited. The thing about posting online adds is that, unfortunately, despite the good quotes you get, you also get your fair share of spam. Luckily, since this wasn’t a common combination, most of the answers I got were useful. And I got plenty.
Then the project manager scrolls through all the CVs and service presentations and tries to choose the most suitable offer. If you want to get a good quality translation service, the careful selection of the linguists is something you can’t neglect, and you need to try to pick the best linguist for the service you need to deliver. Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t answer all the quotes. I try to do so, but the ones I don’t accept, I put on standby and reply later saying we selected a different linguist.
I had narrowed down my list of potential linguists to only two. While taking a close look at their CVs, the phone rang at the office. It was a freelance translator who had sent me his CV – one of those that I hadn’t even looked at because the email said “Dear all” instead of “Hi Bernardo” (as I said before, make it personal).
Well, this colleague made it as personal as it gets: he called me. He said he was sorry to bother and that he was just checking if I had gotten his CV and his quote for the project. I went to check and I opened his CV while doing so. (Hold on… See, what happened there? He got me to open his CV!) And then we actually had a nice chat. He seemed really honest, told me he had a degree in the area, as I could see on his CV, and that he had been a freelance translator for 8 years, always working around that same area. He even explained how he usually manages projects.
His rates were slightly higher that what I had for this particular project, so we came to an agreement: He would give me a discount for this one and I would send him a link and register him on our platform, giving him any future jobs for this language combination. And so the project started.
Delivery was on time and the file was uploaded to our platform. By the end of the project, I was quite pleased with the quality of the translation. I spoke with my fellow translator and told him how the personalisation of emails makes all the difference and that if it hadn’t been for the call, we wouldn’t had had the chance of working with him.
This goes to show the importance of personal interaction. I wouldn’t have seen this translator’s CV if is wasn’t for that call, and he wouldn’t have gotten the job. I cannot emphasise how important I think it is for all translators to go a bit outside the box when it comes to quoting and contact with potential clients. Don’t be afraid to give your client a call. Be nice, honest, polite, and expect the same in return. Of course this depends on who is on the other end. Some people will be so busy that they won’t want to lose more than 10 seconds talking to you, but in some cases, a simple two-minute phone call can be the difference between getting or not getting a job, and could also secure a lasting partnership with a potential client.
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