Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires?
Thread poster: Katrin Hoelscher
Katrin Hoelscher
Katrin Hoelscher  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
Mar 18, 2021

Hi everyone,
so it happened again. I got contacted by an agency who said they'd found my profile and found it interesting and wondered if I was at all interested in a collaboration.

Well, yes, I'm always interested in a (good) collaboration. So they ask me to fill out a loooong questionnaire with all my personal details as well as what fields would I like to translate in, and rate myself in the respective field from 1 (expert) to 4 (basic skills) and then of course, my rate pe
... See more
Hi everyone,
so it happened again. I got contacted by an agency who said they'd found my profile and found it interesting and wondered if I was at all interested in a collaboration.

Well, yes, I'm always interested in a (good) collaboration. So they ask me to fill out a loooong questionnaire with all my personal details as well as what fields would I like to translate in, and rate myself in the respective field from 1 (expert) to 4 (basic skills) and then of course, my rate per word and my hourly rate.

So it all looks quite professional and I comply and they get back to me saying it all sounds very interesting to them, but could I agree to a (much!) lower rate (I quote: Regarding the rates, we work for global translation agencies and we have a very limited leeway.). I say "no", they come back to me with a slightly higher rate, but still a lot lower than what I usually work for.

So I'm new to the freelancer business and even though I won't complain because there have been a lot of jobs coming my way and I thought it would be a lot harder to make contacts, I still thought that it couldn't hurt to have one low price agency for times with less volume from the nice agencies . So I agreed to the low rate.

Next thing they want is a short test translation. Okay, sure, we need to prove that we are capable... (next time I hire someone to paint my house, I'll ask them to paint one wall for free first, so I can get an impression of their work ). So I agree to a short test translation. It turns out to be three excerpts of highly scientific content (IFU, clinical trial, White Paper), word volume almost 800 words. And nothing I can "just translate", but something that actually needs research - I may be a pharmacist, but I'm not a surgeon, and not an oncologist, so for a good translation, I have to look stuff up. So now I'm wondering - is this quite extensive translation test worth it?

Long story short - to save yourselves from being in the pickle I find myself in with this translation test - do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires?

Thanks in advance
Katrin
Collapse


 
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 18:51
English to Dutch
+ ...
Absolutely Mar 18, 2021

Of course I ask about rates. In fact, when an agency approaches me, my first reply is always something along the lines:
"Thank you for your message. I would be interested in a collaboration, but to save both you and me time and effort, please confirm that you will be willing to pay my rates of €0.12/sw for translation, €45/h for review, €25 minimum charge."
More often than not, I never hear from them again.


Robert Rietvelt
Philippe Etienne
Barbara Carrara
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
John Fossey
ahartje
 
Agnes Fatrai
Agnes Fatrai  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
Member (2018)
Chinese to German
+ ...
I do not ask them, I tell them Mar 18, 2021

Dear Katrin,
In order to avoid superfluous work, I have meanwhile taken to informing the agency of my rates in advance and asking if they are still interested. Some never get in touch again, but I can do without them.


Philippe Etienne
Barbara Carrara
Christopher Schröder
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
ahartje
Emanuele Vacca
 
Eva Stoppa
Eva Stoppa  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
English to German
+ ...
To rely to qour question Mar 18, 2021

No. I give them my rates first and if theirs are significantly lower than mine, bye-bye, bye bye bye.

800 words are also far too much for an unpaid Translation test. I don't do them anymore. If they contacted you, they somehow must have been convinced that you are a good fit.


Philippe Etienne
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Robert Rietvelt
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
ahartje
Thayenga
 
Katrin Hoelscher
Katrin Hoelscher  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all... Mar 18, 2021

...for your valuable input.

This is exactly what I'll definitely do from now on - and I also think I'm going to tell this agency bye-bye (maybe they'll find someone else to do their test).

Thanks again!

[Edited at 2021-03-18 10:51 GMT]


Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:51
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Always Mar 18, 2021

Katrin Hoelscher wrote:
Long story short - to save yourselves from being in the pickle I find myself in with this translation test - do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires?

If you don't, you'll end up wasting time registering with lots of agencies who have no intention of accepting your rates. By the way, you're not "asking" them: you are negotiating to find out what is mutually acceptable. There may be room for compromise on both sides, but they don't control the interaction.

So, yes, start that process very early on. [EDIT All the more so because your qualifications should put you in a strong position.] Some will try to twist and turn and get out of it: they're usually the ones with something to hide. In other words, they are the agencies with rates that are so low that the agencies themselves are well aware that most candidates will not accept them.

I take the same approach with NDAs and SLAs. Last year a well-known LSP approached me about working with them. They wanted me to do a test before they would give me sight of the agreements they wanted me to sign. That is, they wanted me to commit the time and effort of the (unpaid) test without knowing whether the terms of the agreements were acceptable or not.

I suspect this was in part a psychological ploy intended to get me invested in the process so that I would be less likely to refuse to sign the documents. Instead I withdrew my interest. You will not be surprised to learn that this was a very large US firm...

Regards,
Dan

[Edited at 2021-03-18 10:47 GMT]


Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Robert Rietvelt
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Philippe Etienne
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Philip Lees
 
Katrin Hoelscher
Katrin Hoelscher  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Dan, Mar 18, 2021

that is probably one of the points I still have to learn and work on: I'm not asking, I'm negotiating. I'm qualified, and my translations are worth every cent/penny!

Thank you


Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Sheila Wilson
Philip Lees
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Christine Andersen
 
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 18:51
English to Dutch
+ ...
There is a name for this Mar 18, 2021

Dan Lucas wrote:

I suspect this was in part a psychological ploy intended to get me invested in the process so that I would be less likely to refuse to sign the documents. Instead I withdrew my interest. You will not be surprised to learn that this was a very large US firm...


This is called 'the sunk cost fallacy' - the mistake people make to continue with something bad, just because they have already invested so much time and effort in it.
There's a Dutch saying: "Beter ten halve gekeerd dan ten hele gedwaald" - it's better to turn around halfway then to get lost all the way


Dan Lucas
Nena Perovic
MollyRose
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Hans Lenting
Katya Kesten
Christine Andersen
 
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 18:51
English to Dutch
+ ...
Test too long Mar 18, 2021

Eva Stoppa wrote:

800 words are also far too much for an unpaid Translation test.


Definitely agree here. 250-300 is reasonable, but anything over that is just not on.


Katrin Hoelscher
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Nena Perovic
Sheila Wilson
Philip Lees
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:51
French to English
Same old... Mar 18, 2021

You are asking yourself the right questions.

If you get no access to a discussion about rates before doing the paperwork, the chances are you will be wasting your time. The first question is that this also takes time for them, so if they are bothering, there is a reason. The most simple one is that your profile is indeed a good match and you may indeed receive offers from them. This could be the start of a beautiful (business) relationships! Who knows?!

There are some
... See more
You are asking yourself the right questions.

If you get no access to a discussion about rates before doing the paperwork, the chances are you will be wasting your time. The first question is that this also takes time for them, so if they are bothering, there is a reason. The most simple one is that your profile is indeed a good match and you may indeed receive offers from them. This could be the start of a beautiful (business) relationships! Who knows?!

There are some excellent agencies out there, providing interesting work, respecting the professional upon who they rely to do the work and without which they would have no business. Then there are the others.

Some of these "others" track down freelancers who may have the profile type they need to have on their registers in order to bid for big contracts. No contract, no further contact. Contract won, the possibility of them contacting you, but not necessarily. They may simply be playing a numbers game.
Collapse


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Nena Perovic
Katya Kesten
Christine Andersen
 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 13:51
German to English
Rates upfront Mar 18, 2021

If an agency isn't interested in paying my rates, I'm not interested in working for them, and I'm not interested in a lot of negotiation, either. I have found that agencies requiring a lot of paperwork upfront also require it down the road. For a while I took on both editing and translation tasks for a an agency with a good Blueboard rating, mainly editing because I suspect that my translation rates were higher than what others were getting. I had to submit the completed edits to both the PM and... See more
If an agency isn't interested in paying my rates, I'm not interested in working for them, and I'm not interested in a lot of negotiation, either. I have found that agencies requiring a lot of paperwork upfront also require it down the road. For a while I took on both editing and translation tasks for a an agency with a good Blueboard rating, mainly editing because I suspect that my translation rates were higher than what others were getting. I had to submit the completed edits to both the PM and their Plunet system, with a QA report going to yet a third recipient. The net effect was that I was spending more time reporting the work than actually doing the work. Plus I often had to chase them for payment ("our accounting assistant quit" "had a baby" "is on vacation") so I was making less than minimum wage, given the time expenditure.Collapse


Katrin Hoelscher
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Katrin Hoelscher
Katrin Hoelscher  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:51
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Nikki Mar 18, 2021

Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:

Some of these "others" track down freelancers who may have the profile type they need to have on their registers in order to bid for big contracts. No contract, no further contact. Contract won, the possibility of them contacting you, but not necessarily. They may simply be playing a numbers game.



That is a concept I hadn‘t thought of. Interesting, yet sad to know. You learn something new every day!


 
Aakash5555
Aakash5555
India
Local time: 23:21
Member (2014)
English to Hindi
+ ...
It depends upon company Mar 18, 2021

If company is registered on Proz, then I check its rating and don't ask. If it's some new company then I first ask rate and other terms.

Edward Potter
 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 18:51
English to French
+ ...
Exactly what Jan Willem says Mar 18, 2021

It saves a lot of troubles to state your rate from the start. Of course you'll face rejection a lot (the majority of the time, actually), but it would be even worse if it came after a test and days of waiting.

Katrin Hoelscher
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 19:51
Greek to English
State your terms Mar 19, 2021

If I'm approached by an agency that starts reeling off a list of forms, questionnaires, etc., I tell them it's not my policy to spend time on a lot of paperwork unless there is a specific job on the table: so is there, or isn't there?

I also tell them my rates and payment terms. If they choose not to proceed after that, that's fine by me.


Dan Lucas
Katrin Hoelscher
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Barbara Carrara
Edward Potter
Katya Kesten
ahartje
 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires?







Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »