Asking the right questions and uncovering what is most important to a prospect, are basic tenets in earning new clients. However, when a business is so busy, churning out proposals can be easy. We should never forget that each project is different and to really differentiate requires digging a little deeper into each opportunity and addressing the prospect’s hot buttons.
To that end, below we have made a list of questions as a reminder and sort of a checklist to use in interactions with both prospects and new projects for existing clients. With the list it is pretty sure that one makes more clients with winning sales translation proposals. Keep it to 10 questions and focus on what we saw as the critical points to cover. Take what you can from it and if it does nothing else but remind you to get back to basics, in whatever form that may take for your business, you will accomplish the objective:
When quoting your next translation project, ask these questions to ensure a more accurate proposal, avoid multiple communications, and best position your company to win.
- What is the “source” language of the text? (i.e. the language the text is currently written in)
- What is/are the “target” language(s)? (i.e. the language(s) the prospect/client wants the text translated into)
- Are there any variations within the target language(s)? (e.g. Canadian French, Simplified Chinese, Mexican Spanish, etc.)
- What is/are the length of the document(s) in pages or words?
- What is the subject matter of the text? (Technical, marketing, finance, medical, legal, etc.)
- Who is the intended audience/what is the purpose of the translation? (E.g. internal vs. external use, to be filed in a court of law, to be published. etc.)
- What is the necessary level of translation? (i.e. draft, reviewed, proofread)
- Any claims/Important points to be remembered?
- What is the format of the source document? (E.g. Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, Quark, etc.)
- What is the desired format of the translation(s)? (E.g. Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, Quark, etc.)
- When is the deadline for delivery of the translation(s)?
As we enter the above questions we will get the best information to achieve the quality parameter. These are the basic but the most relevant set of questions which is ignored or not taken seriously. Once you underline these facts you can easily set a time frame in the mind and prices as well.
About the Author:
Simarna is engaged in rendering professional Axis translations in various fields such as in business, marketing, scientific, and engineering. She is expert in writing blogs and articles on the same language as per the requirement of the client.