Is there a way for you to find out competitors' quotes? Thread poster: Coreano
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Coreano
United States
Korean to English
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I want to charge lower than my competitors rate to have a chance of getting a client because I don't have any experience (except for translations for personal use here and there.)
| | | | Katia Perry 
Brazil
Local time: 02:16
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
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| Stephen Franke
United States
Local time: 22:16
English to Arabic
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| May be more useful for your business practice to learn some initial factors. | Sep 29, 2009 |
Greetings.
Rather than get into a flailing exercise about seeking a competitor's rate (which normally would be hard to acquire), it may be more useful to your business practice to ask that requesting customer about these initial points:
1. What is the customer's allocated budget for a production?
2. What is the customer's method of payment?
3. When, and in what format, does the customer need delivery of your product into his/her hands?
... See more Greetings.
Rather than get into a flailing exercise about seeking a competitor's rate (which normally would be hard to acquire), it may be more useful to your business practice to ask that requesting customer about these initial points:
1. What is the customer's allocated budget for a production?
2. What is the customer's method of payment?
3. When, and in what format, does the customer need delivery of your product into his/her hands?
-------------------------------
Another suggestion: You might query the international business association/committe/section or trade promotion division of your city's chamber(s) of commerce . Ask for the names of local companies which do business in countries where your language pair fits, then contact those companies to introduce your services as a means for them to enhance their bilingual efforts in international marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Stephen H. Franke
English - Arabic,
Kurdish, and Persian
San Pedro, California
[Edited at 2009-09-29 23:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rick Henry
United States
Local time: 00:16
Italian to English
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| Instead of trying to lower your rates... | Sep 29, 2009 |
Coreano,
Instead of trying to lower you rates, why don't you take the time to fill out your Profile here on Proz? It's nearly empty right now and tells nothing of what you do.
If you are looking to bid on jobs here on Proz, you should try to be a bit more visible, meaning participating in Kudos, forum participation, and of course, have a profile you can refer people to.
Truthfully, lowering your rates won't get you far.
Perry's suggestion of... See more Coreano,
Instead of trying to lower you rates, why don't you take the time to fill out your Profile here on Proz? It's nearly empty right now and tells nothing of what you do.
If you are looking to bid on jobs here on Proz, you should try to be a bit more visible, meaning participating in Kudos, forum participation, and of course, have a profile you can refer people to.
Truthfully, lowering your rates won't get you far.
Perry's suggestion of doing a volunteer translation or two is a good one.
R.
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| Wrong approach | Sep 30, 2009 |
Coreano wrote:
I want to charge lower than my competitors rate to have a chance of getting a client because I don't have any experience (except for translations for personal use here and there.)
I am wondering what kind of responses you expect to get?
This is what you are asking:
"I would like to undercut you guys, could you tell me how to do it? I have no experience, but I want to snatch away your clients..."
Look, I understand that you need to build up experience, and it is hard to get serious work without any projects listed on your resume.
However, as others pointed out, undercutting the market will do no good.
It is not good for you, as it is hard to raise your rates once you "box yourself in", and it is not good for the entire market, as your action lowers the average rates: you are contributing to the downward spiral in prices. Needless to say, it will affect you, too, sooner or later.
The real question is: can you offer professional quality translations?
If yes, then there is no need to lower your rates. You need to develop a good resume, highlighting what you can offer, what makes you a better candidate for a job than anybody else. If you still want to give away your work (charging cheap rates is about the same) just to gain experience, why don't you offer translation work for some NGOs, or other community services that help society some way? You can list those projects on your resume, or include links if the texts are on websites. Some of these organizations may agree to publish your name along with the translation, so you could get some exposure that way, too.
If you are not yet at the level of producing professional translations on your own, then you should find a good editor who is willing to help you by editing/proofreading your work. You should pay this person properly, that means you need to charge professional rates to the client, pay your editor and keep the rest for yourself. In the end, you will get a lower compensation, which is in line with the lower quality you are offering. On the other hand, the client receives professional quality at the appropriate price, so you are not pushing down the prices.
If you can develop a working relationship with an editor like this, that would serve you on the long run much better than trying to find an agency by offering dirt cheap rates.
Do you think agencies that go for cheap translators would mentor you in any way? I doubt it.
If you are aiming at clients who look for low rates, it is very likely that you will have some unpleasant surprises instead of valuable professional experience.
Good luck
Katalin
[Edited at 2009-09-30 13:05 GMT]
| | | | Nathalie Allaire (X)
France
Local time: 07:16
English to French
| Wrong approach | Sep 30, 2009 |
Coraneo,
I totally agree with Katalin. I have nothing more to add.
Good luck!
Nathalie
| | | | Coreano
United States
Korean to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | even if I charged the same after hiring an editor | Oct 3, 2009 |
Even if I hire a professional Editor (how do you do that anyways), I still don't have experience so I don't know how I'll able to get a client.
| | | | Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 00:16
Greek to English
+ ...
| Here's what you will do | Oct 4, 2009 |
"I want to charge lower than my competitors rate to have a chance of getting a client "
Here's what to do: charge only 1 cent per word. I guarantee to you that this will be the lowest bid.
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Coreano
United States
Korean to English
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TOPIC STARTER | make a new account? | Jun 24, 2012 |
If I want to pursue translation freelance jobs, should I make a new account? I'm afraid this account with some threads I created like this one might not look good.
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