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FEATURES spend on the project, ensuring that you don't work longer hours for less money. In working out a new pricing structure we should start with what costs we need to cover and how much we would like our business to grow in terms of profit for the year. We then need to consider how fast we work, the ratio of direct to agency clients, and the rates charged to each. I have created a calculator to help with these calculations, and it can be a sobering reality check when you input the lowest rates you've worked for to see how they extrapolate throughout the year. They are unlikely to be conducive to building a sustainable business. A systematic approach to selling Understanding the client's problem is the first step towards establishing a systematic approach to selling. Meeting and talking with potential buyers is crucial at this stage, and can be done through a variety of channels: trade shows, direct meetings, case-studies, emailing a brief sheet. Once you understand your buyer's project requirements you can draw up a quote based on the tasks you expect to perform and the time they will take. If the client wants to negotiate, I recommend doing so only by removing tasks from the quote. This will ensure that you stay on the right side of your profitable time-based rate. Finding new agency clients is a somewhat simpler process than seeking out direct clients, but the same concepts apply. Find out their niche and optimise your presentation to appear to be every bit the professional they expect you to be. Being strict on negotiation, project deadlines and terms of business not only gives you this level of professionalism, but also helps you to avoid being over-worked. Vol/52 No/2 2013 Consciously separating yourself from the business can give you the confidence to justify higher rates. The idea that 'the business' needs to charge this rate and adhere to these processes in order to cover its costs and ensure growth targets are met can set your mind at ease when communicating with clients. Perhaps you, personally, would work for less, but you would be doing your business a disservice and possibly risking its longevity. Breaching this psychological barrier can open the gates to a much more profitable business. By removing a service, such as an external proofread, you ensure you don't work longer hours for less money The tools for a reliable workflow The use of productivity tools is crucial in optimising a business for sales. Calendars, project schedules, project files and conversations, evolving client requirements, and project statuses can all be tracked online with very cost-effective tools. It is in creating this infrastructure that you start to create a business entity capable of scaling from five clients up to twenty without losing the thread of which project is to be delivered to whom, at which price and when. Clients get the added value of a well-organised workflow and the translator gets the benefit of vastly reduced admin and increased capacity to work billable hours as a result. Generating interest and web hits Where to find new clients is by no means obvious, but there is a surprising number of low-cost channels available. I advise the basics of building mailing lists, being liberal with business cards, and being aware that it is beneficial to ask questions of target businesses rather than just presenting your own. A more advanced strategy might include complex online search queries to turn up local and national firms that you would be a good fit for, profiling their company and staff, and contacting the relevant decision-makers directly. Sticking to the questioning approach for market research tends to engender a warmer response than the hard sell. Press coverage is easier to get than ever. Even a single link to your website from a relatively low-readership blog pays dividends in the search engines. An email to a popular news site's editor can see you published within days, if they think your story will be of interest to their readers. This can lead to thousands of hits on your website. It is important to optimise your website for search traffic and to convert these hits to actual buyers, and then to set up a system to cycle in the best new clients and cycle out the least appealing ones. But alas, these are beyond the scope of this particular project, and I'd have to add another day to the invoice to discuss them here. Luke Spear's The Translation Sales Handbook is available at http://lukespear.co.uk. APRIL/MAY The Linguist 23