Starts: January 21, 2016
Ends: January 23, 2016
Entrepreneur. English-Russian Translator. Founder of The Open Mic. Video game localization specialist. Helping small and medium-sized businesses go global.
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Questions: 2
Comments: 10
Votes: 4
Nate Hill
What strategy have you found to be most successful when it comes to raising your rates? For example, do you only raise your rates on repeat clients, or did you raise your rates according to your experience level?
Votes: 4
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Hi Nate!
Firs of all - thank you so much for creating this Q&A session. I absolutely love the format and it's really nice to have a place where we can have such discussions. I hope that my thoughts and ideas will be useful to at least some of the awesome TM-Town members :)
I'd like to say that the topic of rates have many layers and variables and I'm afraid there's no such thing as one-fits-all advice on rates because each and every one of us have absolutely different business models. We have different clients. We work in different markets. We live in different countries. All of that affects the way we approach pricing strategies. Plus each of us have completely different perception of such notions as money, quality and value.
What I've noticed that works best for me is increasing my rates with every new client. I think many of us are doing the same thing. Well, at least I hope so :) It's a great strategy because it allows you to gradually decrease your work volume while maintaining the same (or a higher) level of income. This helps me transition from a "work more for less" to a more sustainable "work less for more" kind of mindset.
It should be noted though that big price jumps rarely work, well, at least this is what happened in my business. It's really hard to jump from, say, 8 cents to 18 cents per word overnight. It's a very slow and time consuming process. But in my humble opinion it is worth it. Granted, it won't work on all the prospects that knock at your door, but some of them might accept your new rate if you're good enough at communicating your value and your unique service proposition (which is probably a topic for another Q&A).
Things are little bit more complicated with existing clients. Because here it all depends on the type of a client you have, your relationship with them and how they perceive you as a professional. Logic tells us that we should indeed ask for a raise as our experience grows. And this is what happens in many other professions. The more experience you get the higher your rates should be. As a rule I try to re-negotiate my rates with my existing clients once a year. And this is where the type of client plays a major role. As someone who works both with highly specialized video game localization companies and game developers, I can say that it's really hard to negotiate your rates with agencies. Some of my agency clients have very slim margins and when I'm putting pressure on them it means that they have to put pressure on their clients to keep their margin. Sometimes it works sometimes it's not. I can't really say that I was extremely successful in that sphere.
Whenever I have to have the "rates talk" with existing clients I always try to thank them for everything they've done for me and for my business and politely point out to the fact that my experience grows every year, that I'm dedicated to continuous professional development (for example, I took a 1-year small business entrepreneurship course in George Brown College). I'm also trying to emphasize how I helped them or their clients.
But more importantly negotiating rates doesn't mean that you have to burn bridges if you fail. You can still continue your relationship even if the client declines your new terms.
Votes: 3
Samuel Sebastian Holden Bramah
What I've noticed that works best for me is increasing my rates with every new client. I think many of us are doing the same thing. Well, at least I hope so :) It's a great strategy because it allows you to gradually decrease your work volume while maintaining the same (or a higher) level of income. This helps me transition from a "work more for less" to a more sustainable "work less for more" kind of mindset.
This is what I have been doing for the last couple of years, and it really does work. Of course, initially you have to get yourself out there and get working... I have heard so many times "Oh, but my rates are in line with the market and my expectations of what I am worth" but I see them day after day, sitting around doing nothing, with no work at all, complaining. I have always prefered 100 clients at 1 cent than 1 client at 1 dollar... And that way you get the ball rolling. You raise your prices as you get better. You get better clients as you raise your prices, but you hang on to the ones that have been paying you less untill you find that you have more better paid work that covers that former client with half the effort.
It is totally self-regulating: as bigger fish come in, you just let the smaller ones go, always in a good and healthy way, without burning bridges, because in this world you never know when you might have to get back in touch with them because you need a boost!
Votes: 1
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Exactly, Samuel!
I agree that this is totally self-regulating and when you're still young and growing (both professionally and as a business) it will take some time before you "get there" or "make it". I'm certainly not quite there yet, and I feel like I've barely screeched the surface.
Everyone have to start somewhere, but most people just too afraid to move forward, in my humble opinion. I know that some people prefer to choose stability over progress. Frankly, I don't understand them. Isn't growth and taking risks the whole point of being an entrepreneur?
Votes: 2
Nate Hill
Thanks, Dmitry! There are a lot of little nuggets in there.
Granted, it won't work on all the prospects that knock at your door, but some of them might accept your new rate if you're good enough at communicating your value and your unique service proposition
Since that is a huge topic in and of itself, do you have any key takeaways that you can share with us on how you effectively communicate your USP?
Whenever I have to have the "rates talk" with existing clients I always try to thank them for everything they've done for me and for my business and politely point out to the fact that my experience grows every year, that I'm dedicated to continuous professional development
I really love this approach. Do you have an example of how to bring up the topic of rates? I feel like a lot of people with little experience are worried that they'll lose business if they do this. So maybe an example of something they could try that has worked for you would help them out.
Thanks again!
Votes: 3
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Hey Nate,
My USP is all about the client and what they want. I don't try to show how I'm different from other translators. No, I try to focus on what they need and where they want to get with their translation and how I can help them get there. I also emphasize that I'm in it for the long run and that I don't want to work FOR them but WITH them.
When working with clients being a good translator is often not enough. You have to kick ass at customer service, you have to walk that extra mile, you have to understand their needs, their market, their goals and aspirations. I try to forge partnerships instead of employee/employer type of relationship.I think that this is my USP.
I'm also trying to narrow my audience/services and focus on a specific niche (video game localization). Which gives me an opportunity to have a better focus and find the type of clients I want to work with. I also try to bring my personality into the game.
I think I'm lucky because I work mostly with the people who have the same interests as I do, who are in the same age group as I am and generally have the same easy-going kind of attitude towards work and doing business. I'm mean, isn't nice to have a client that pays your invoice on time, then sends you an email confirmation and then you can just send them a GIF with Tom Cruise high-fiving them (from Top Gun) and they'll have a good laugh and send another GIF back? :)
This gives me so much pleasure because I can just be myself when I talk to them and basically build something more of a friendship rather than a standard cold and formal business relationship. It's a very non-standard approach indeed, but it works for me and my business, and I think my clients value me as service provider because of that.
Talking about rates is not easy. Especially when you want to get a raise, that's why I like building friendships with my clients. That's why I rally enjoy doing a great job at customer service (maybe it might have something to do with the fact that I worked in customer service field when I was a student. I worked as a server at an up-scale restaurant/pub and at a front-desk in a hotel). I've learned a lot from those first 2 jobs. I learned how to listen to people, how to understand them and how to help them get what they want. I've learned how to be respectful and how to show people that you care.
I try to use this past experience in my work as a translator and as a founder/developer of The Open Mic. Customer is king after all. This helps me build a strong relationship where we trust each other and can be honest and have those tough "rate" talks.
I think the best time to bring the subject of rates up is when you helped your client in a major way. For example, you come through for them with an urgent request and this saved them a lot of headache and helped them launch their game/promotion/product on time, or if you're working with an agency client you might ask them for a feedback from their end-client. If it's good, and if it results into new projects and more work from the same end-client, then you can mention that as well. You did your best job, you helped them secure a great end client and more work, I think it's fair to ask for a raise, right? :)
Votes: 2
Kevin Dias
Hi Dmitry,
Thanks for doing this Q&A! Rates are a tough subject with many different variables and I'm sure there are many translators ready to ask you questions.
What is your opinion on publishing your rates? Do you publish your rates? What are the pros and cons?
Votes: 2
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Hi Kevin,
That's a tough topic indeed, I certainly hope that we'll have a 2-way conversation here and I encourage other members of TM-Town to share their experience with us. :)
I choose to publish my rates, but I have a little side-note that this is just a ballpark figure and there are many variables that affect translation rates and encourage any prospects to contact me for a more detailed quote. Many translators believe that when we publish our rates we turn our services into a commodity. Although I understand where they're coming from and I have similar feelings, I think we also need to think like consumers.
The rise of e-commerce websites and various job-bidding websites had led to a situation where consumers expect to see a price tag before they buy anything or perform further actions (such as filling out the contact form). As someone who regularly buys products AND services online I know that there's nothing more annoying when I can't figure out how much the service that I'd like to buy is going to cost me. We live in a very fast-paced world and unless you can answer all your incoming emails within 10 minutes 24/7, I'd say that 9 times out of 10 I'd go with a service provider who at least gives me a ballpark figure. Because that way I can tell whether I can afford him or not. No one likes waiting a day for a reply to a request for quote. No one even likes to wait for an hour. It's a 21st century after all. We need to be more dynamic and accommodating.
If I put my developer hat on, I'd say that the ideal solution both for service providers and service buyers would be to have some sort of a price-calculator that could magically factor in all the variables of an average translation quote. But it's not that easy to develop something like this. I've seen a few attempts by translation agencies, but they're not perfect.
I just hope that in the future we'll all be able to focus on what our clients need and reflect this on our websites or different platforms that would simplify and streamline the whole quoting and purchasing process. We have to make it easy for our clients to find us, request an instant quote from us and purchase our services. In the ideal world that should happen instantly. Or within a very short time-frame. This is one of the challenges that I'll be trying to solve on The Open Mic :)
Votes: 3
Carina Balbo
"I choose to publish my rates, but I have a little side-note that this is just a ballpark figure and there are many variables that affect translation rates and encourage any prospects to contact me for a more detailed quote. ..... I think we also need to think like consumers. ....... "
This is a very good point, Dmitry. Thinking like customers/clients is vital in any business. But, what happens if, let's say, me, brand new client, find your rates on your website, contact you, but then, with your strategy of increasing your rates with every new client, I find out that your rates are actually higher than those you published on your website.... I would feel betrayed, for example.... How, or what would you say to convince me that you are THE ONE, that I should trust you and shouldn't go somewhere else?
Thanks a lot for your time in contributing to this topic!!
Votes: 2
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Thank you so much for your question, Carina! That's a very good point. The rate that I choose to display in my online profiles or on my website is normally 4-5 cents higher than my current average rate. By doing so I allow myself some wiggle room during negotiation with a brand new potential client. That way we can meet in the middle. I can still increase my rate a little bit from my current average, while client can get a rate which is most of the time is lower that was originally promised on my website or in my online profile (if they contact me though Proz, T-Town, The Open Mic or any other platform for translators).
To be honest, I don't know why I decided to do this, maybe it my gut tells me that this is the best approach, maybe I've read about it somewhere. But after 2 years of using this approach, I've noticed that I have better chances with every new prospect that comes to me. Of course, you can't win them all, that's why before we can even start talking about rates with this new potential client I try to access whether I'm a good fit for them. Sometimes their budget expectations can be too low to afford me, sometimes they work in a completely different field that I'm not familiar with. In those cases I try to find the best solution for them: refer them to a colleague or send them to The Open Mic or TM-Town where they might be able to find translators who would be a better fit for them.
I never try to win clients over, I think I'm pretty bad at persuading people :) But I do try to explain why I'm doing this and then put all focus on them. Ask them questions, try to understand their needs and show them that I care. When clients contact me I'm making it all about them, not me. I think this is the best approach.
People really enjoy working with people who care about them and want to help them. I've learned it from building The Open Mic. As a lead developer, sometimes I have to hire people who could help me with the development, or solve problems I cannot solve myself and I've noticed that I'm more inclined to work with people who offer great customer support. People who follow up, people who ask questions before doing the job, people who have a great positive attitude towards their job, people who are not afraid to admit their mistakes and go an extra mile to solve any problem I might have. And what makes it even more interesting, as someone who buys services from them, I don't really mind to pay top dollar for that. Because I know that it's worth every penny and then some.
I think that experience of being on different ends of a problem really helps me understand my own shortcomings and improve my own process. I think translators could learn a lot from other members of freelance economy.
Votes: 1
Kevin Dias
Thanks for the great answer! The way I have approached it on TM-Town is to let translators publish a rate range (if they so choose). This way hopefully both sides can benefit. The client is not totally in the dark and can quickly get a feel for the translators within their budget, and translators are only giving a range so it leaves them the flexibility to price the project accordingly once they have more details.
We are always open to feedback though and looking to improve so any ideas from yourself or the community would definitely be welcome. There are probably still too many steps in the process though, so I'm interested in brainstorming on ways that the quoting and purchasing process could be simplified and streamlined without forcing translators to turn their services into a commodity.
As you put it though - it is definitely a challenge! :-)
Votes: 1
Dmitry Kornyukhov
Yep, I did the same thing on The Open Mic. Members can set their own rates when editing their profiles and then add a little side-note explaining that there are many different variables and that's it's always a good idea to contact them in order to get an exact quote. But at least clients can see an average rate and use it as a starting point for further actions.
As a consumer I understand that this is very far from ideal. In an ideal world all I'd like to do is to click one button and be done with it. I wouldn't even mind paying in advance if I was 100% sure that I'm buying services from a trusted service-provider. That's why one of the major ideas behind The Open Mic will be building trust between service providers and service buyers. We have a few different systems in place from profile verification to Reviews and Testimonials.
I have no idea at the moment how it will play itself out, as you can imagine we don't have any clients registering at The Open Mic yet (because I still need to develop separate profile for clients, agencies and project managers), but I've seen a lot of interest in the community both from translators and agencies. I know that some people have even been contacted by potential clients :)
I agree that we need to do a major brainstorming, I guess this is something I'll have to do with my community, but one thing I know for sure: The Open Mic and TM Town are probably the first true, next-generation communities for translators. We have different approaches to development and a different set of features and technology, but there's one thing we have in common: we want to make this industry a little bit better and build communities we all deserve. Communities where we can be proud of what we do, communities that we'll help us work together on solving common problems and not bid against each other on the auctions.
I think we're pioneering a new trend and a new movement and the level of engagement both here and on The Open Mic really shows that we need something like this. I'm really excited about the future of The Open Mic and TM Town. I think that we can bring a lot of value to the translation community and revolutionize the way people look for translators. Your approach is through the power of amazing technology, my approach is through the power of building trust, streamlining and simplifying communication via awesome networking features. :)