As freelance translators, we know how difficult it is to make everyone we work with happy, in this episode we are going to talk about how we can anticipate, prevent and deal with arguments and complaints from translation clients.

In this episode, we cover the following:

Anticipating clients thoughts

Good practices for anticipating and avoiding problems before they happen

Translation practices we could have as freelance translators, that could cause possible arguments or complaints

Dealing with dissatisfied customers or clients

Common complaints that can arise and things to remember when dealing with these complaints

Ways to manage complaints to retain loyal customers

Marketing strategies that work well for Gwenydd

Useful links mentioned in this episode:

http://www.proz.com

Spanish to English DipTrans Preparation Course (also suitable for general professional development)

Gwenydd's Blog

Anticipating, preventing and dealing with arguments and complaints

It's really important to remember that every translation client is different and you can't make every customer happy, but if you know how to deal with disagreements and dissatisfied clients, you may be able to resolve the issue and retain a loyal customer and client relationship for future projects.

 

 

Gwenydd Jones is a Spanish-to-English translator and translator trainer. After starting out as an English-language teacher in Seville in 2003, her career evolved towards the world of translation. Along the way, she picked up two MAs, the first in Translation Studies and the second in Legal Translation, and passed the DipTrans (CIOL). A full-time freelancer since 2009, Gwenydd draws on her professional, academic and linguistic experience to assist other translators and translation students in their professional development. She offers plenty of tips in her blog on the Letraduct website: www.letraduct.com/en/blog and is currently tutoring an online course for Spanish-to-English translators through this agency.

 

This episode is sponsored by Translatics. Professional and beautifully designed business websites for language entrepreneurs. Think big. Jump on the right clients’ radar with your own attractive website. An investment that lasts. Book your free consult at translatics.com

In this episode we are talking about what influences the translation industry and what freelance translators can do to adapt. I am pleased to welcome a marketing specialist and VP for a leading translation productivity software company, SDL Language Technologies.

Important things covered in this episode:

What factors are influencing the translation industry most today

How translators can adapt to these factors

What SDL is trying to do - the mission

Translator education through SDL

Customer experience

Features in SDL Studio that can help translators with marketing and productivity

Useful links from this episode :

Translationzone: www.translationzone.com– our main site for Translators and LSPs. For corporations www.sdl.com/tp

The Studio Page http://www.translationzone.com/products/sdl-trados-studio/

Customer community: https://community.sdl.com/products-solutions/solutions/customer_experience_cloud/language/translationproductivity/

SDL’s Youtube channel www.youtube.com/sdltrados

SDL on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdltrados?_rdr=p6)SDL on Twitter https://twitter.com/sdltrados7

Massimo on twitter https://twitter.com/ghislandi

It was been a pleasure to discuss the translation industry with Massimo and learn what SDL is doing to help us translators.  What do you think? I would love to hear your comments on the influences in our industry and if you are a Studio user, what your favorite feature is. Please share in the comments.

Massimo Ghislandi is VP of Translation Productivity Software for SDL Language Technologies. A native of Italy, he is a business administration graduate from Bocconi University, Milano, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM). With over fifteen years of business-to-business sales and marketing experience, Massimo has held positions within product marketing management and marketing communications departments at various large international corporations including Avery Dennison and ITT Industries. He is now managing the world-wide sales and marketing activities for SDL Language Technologies where he has gained invaluable expertise on translation and terminology technology as well as managing global content.

I recently heard from many of you about how difficult it is the sustain the right mindset when it comes to being a freelance translator. We all know how easy it is to fall into the wrong mindset when building your freelance translation business. In this episode, I am going to discuss the essentials for a success mindset when it comes to freelance translating. With me today is Christelle Maignan, a translator coach and French-English translator.

Key points mentioned in this episode:

* The differences of being a freelancer compared to an employee

* The right mindset we should have as freelancer translators

* How to cultivate a success mindset

* Possible limiting beliefs we could have and how we can change them

* Actions you can take when creating a success mindset for your freelance translation business

* Marketing strategies Christelle uses for her business

Important links and URL's to take away:

* Coaching for Translators

* Future-Proof Translators

* e-Myth Revisited - by Michael Gerber (free pdf-summary)

* Seth Godin's Freelancer Cource

Having the right success mindset for your freelance translation business provides endless opportunities for building your business along with obtaining and retaining the right clients.

 

Christelle Maignan (@Coach4Tran) has been freelancing as an English-to-French translator since 2004. She is a member of the Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) and of the International Coach Federation (ICF). As a trained and qualified coach, Christelle founded Coaching For Translators to help translators and interpreters reach their goals faster and more efficiently. She also developed the Future-Proof Translator webinar series, which she will be presenting in December via eCPD Webinars, to help translators adapt more effectively and with more confidence to the changes our industry is currently undergoing.

 

This episode is sponsored by eCPD Webinars – quality continuing education for translators by translators. For more information, please go to www.ecpdwebinars.com.

 

In this episode we are talking about first impressions and why they are so vital for our business, plus how we can give a good first impression to our clients. With me today I have a translation agency owner who gave a presentation on this topic at an ATA Conference a while ago. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

 

Important things covered in this episode

* How freelance translators can make a good first impression to their clients

* 5 questions to ask every time we interact with a client

* Why small projects are so important

* How we can improve communication with our clients

* Proofreading tips

First impressions with clients is something we constantly need to be aware of and work at. Dagmar gave us some very valuable tips on first impressions, client relationships and proofreading for freelance translators.  If you like the episode and want to show it you can leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher or go to marketingtipsfortranslators.com where you can support the continuation of interviews and podcast by making a small donation.

Important links mentioned in this episode

Peritus (Dagmar's company)

Dagmar Dolatschko (M.A., M.B.A.) is President and Co-Founder of Peritus and leads the language services side of the business (Peritus) while her husband, Bernard J. Putz, Ph.D., has now joined her and is running the linguistic and cultural analysis side of the firm (www.peritus-global.com). Dagmar is a native of Germany and a translator certified by the Bavarian Ministry for Education and Culture. Prior to starting Peritus, she held positions in import, export, and worldwide marketing. Her unique skills combine a hands-on knowledge of language services with practical experience in international business. She has founded, co-founded, and served as president and on the boards of international business associations (among others, co-founder of GABA, the German American Business Association) and has shared her expertise as a featured speaker at numerous international trade and translation-related seminars. She recently served as treasurer on to the board of the Northern California Translator Association for seven years.

This podcast is a labor of love and brought to you free of charge. If you enjoy this series and would like to show your support, please consider making a small donation to ensure I can keep offering you great content in the future.

 

In this solo-episode I am sharing how to communicate more efficiently with clients and colleagues, sharing 12 tips that are important to improve your communication skills and become more successful in your translation business. It is easy to focus on just being a good translator, but if we can also become a better communicator, we will achieve a higher degree of like-know and trust among our clients and prospects, and ultimately become more successful.

Essential learning points from this episode:

* Adapting your communication style to the client

* The art of listening instead of thinking ahead

* The importance of getting everything in writing

* Anticipating questions and clarifying

* Being available and responding quickly

* Communicating online

Important links and mentions from this episode:

Communication and Negotiation Skills for Translators - Video

By now you should have some concrete strategies to improve your communication with client, to protect yourself and make everything clear when accepting a translation job and know how to have a professional image online. I hope you found some good tidbits for your business. Wishing you all the best in your translation business and see you in the next episode.

This episode is sponsored by Translatics. Professional and beautifully designed business websites for language entrepreneurs. Think big. Jump on the right clients’ radar with your own attractive website. An investment that lasts. Book your free consult at translatics.com

 

 

Do you ever feel stressed when looking at all the emails in your inbox? I know I do. My inbox also functions as  my to-do list sometimes. I have a dear colleague who frequently says she has no emails left in her inbox at the end of the day, and I wanted to find out what her secret was. In this episode I am happy to welcome back Karen Tkaczyk, a French into English translator to share some of her tips on becoming more organized and efficient with email.

In this episode we cover the following:

* Karen's system for managing emails

* Tools to manage emails

* How to get to inbox zero, where our inbox is empty at the end of the work day

* Email filters

* Flagging emails

* Following up on emails

Useful links mentioned in this episode:

* Outlook

* RescueTime

* Karen's website

* Unroll.me

I hope you found her tips useful. I have started implementing some of them already. Please let me and Karen know what you thought by commenting below and you can also share what works for you when managing emails. Thank you for all your comments and especially a huge thank you for voting for this podcast in the Proz.com Community Choice Awards. Marketing Tips for Translators won for the second year in a row. Thank you! Have a wonderful week!

Karen works as a French into English freelance translator (MITI and ATA-certified). Her translation work is highly specialized, being entirely focused on chemistry and its industrial applications. She holds an MChem in Chemistry with French (University of Manchester, UK), a Diploma in French and a PhD in Organic Chemistry (University of Cambridge, UK). She worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, then after relocating in 1999, in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in the US. She became a professional translator in 2005. Karen is the current administrator of ATA’s Science and Technology Division.

 

This episode is sponsored by Translatics. Professional and beautifully designed business websites for language entrepreneurs. Think big. Jump on the right clients’ radar with your own attractive website. An investment that lasts. Book your free consult at translatics.com