Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh

Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh

I was having a chat with the missus last night about something that happens in both of our professions, and we thought that I should mention it on here and see if any of you guys n gals have had similar experiences.

Elena is a pro translator. She spent 15+ years learning the language, she has more qualifications than Arsenal have points and she has worked for some of the biggest companies on the planet. It is fair to say that she knows what she is doing.

Despite this, the world of translations shares the same annoying problem that plagues the world of SEO and online marketing…… FREEBIES.

I don’t know who sung “The best things in life are free”, but I am going to hunt down that person and slap him/her with a wet fish across the face.

Let me give you some examples of exactly what I mean: The other day I was speaking to a potential client and the chat went a little something like this:

Mr X: Hi Dean, I hear that you have a 12″ willy and are a god among men, you are such an inspiration and I pray that my children look as handsome as you.

Dean: Are you sure this was our conversation? or is Dean day dreaming and typing his dreams into this chat and we are simply his conscious?

Mr X: Yes, he is day dreaming and typing this nonsense instead of what actually happened.

Dean: It is pretty hot in Madrid today, perhaps the heat has made him sleepy.

Mr X: Perhaps, he will probably wake up soon and stop writing this nonsense.

+++++DOOR BELL RINGS++++++

Dean: uuurrrggg, what happened? I was falling asleep. ok, back on track….. here is what actually happened:

Mr X: Hi Dean, I hear that you can get more traffic to web sites. I have a new site that needs a lot of traffic, could you get more traffic for xxxxxxx.com ?

Dean: I will certainly try. What sort of budget do you have in mind?

Mr X: Errrr, can you do a free sample first to prove that it works?

Dean: It is not a piece of software that I can just turn on for 15 minutes, I will need to do a lot of research before we even get started and then it will take weeks/months.

Mr X: ok, well can you tell me what you will do and perhaps I can do it myself?

+++++++DEAN CONSIDERS JUMPING OUT OF THE NEAREST WINDOW+++++++

So you can probably see what I mean now. Elena gets the same thing in translations all of the time. In the world of translations it is the agencies that are the problem. If you want to work for them you have to do one free job first, these are often disguised as samples, but more often than not they are actual jobs that the agency will make good money from.

What is the point in myself and Elena building a portfolio if we are going to have to prove ourselves and do loads of free work before we get any real work?

Imagine going for a job as a brain surgeon and the hospital saying: “Can you please just save this guys life for free and if he survives then we may hire you”

What do you think would happen if I call an accountant and ask if they can do my accounts for six months so that I can see how good he is?

Or if I went to the dentist and asked for a free filling to make sure it doesn’t hurt too much?

Or perhaps a lawyer, can you imagine asking for a freebie from a lawyer?

I always do a free quote for any potential clients, so does Elena. So it is time we stamped out this nonsense.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. What do you think is the best way to beat this problem? Is a solid portfolio sufficient? How do you deal with clients who either want your time for free or want all of your secrets?

Contact me at: contact@deanhunt DOT com or leave a reply.

Adios