Episode 52: Marketing for literary translators – Interview with Lisa Carter
05/11/2015How to contact agencies by email
05/25/2015Episode 53: The sales process for translators – Interview with Paul Urwin
We talk a lot about marketing at Marketing Tips for Translators, but not very much about what happens after the marketing, when you actually have to start selling your services. Some people consider this part of marketing, some people consider it a separate strategy. Today I have the pleasure of discussing the sales process with Paul Urwin, a translator and translation company owner.
 In this episode we cover the following:
- The difference between sales and marketing
- What the sales process looks like when selling translation services
- Tips for freelancers when selling their services
- How to become a great sales person
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Little Red Book of Selling – Jeffrey Gitomer
- Secrets of Closing the Sale – Zig Ziglar
- 100 Percent Languages
We are all sales people and it is important to know how the sales process work. Thank you Paul for these insights and thank you for listening! Don’t forget to check out the other resources on this site, for example The Marketing Cookbook for Translators. Just thought I would add a little selling in here. đ
Paul Urwin
Paul Urwin is a languages entrepreneur with many yearsâ experience in the fields of translations, language teaching and voiceovers. He was educated at Wellington School, Imperial College London and RWTH Aachen. He is currently CEO of 100 Percent Languages Ltd., a UK-registered holding company specializing in language services worldwide and Director of InglĂ©s BogotĂĄ, one of Colombiaâs premier Language Services Providers (LSPs) offering language instruction, translations, conference interpreting and voiceovers. Paul himself is a voiceover talent having recorded for Ford, Totto, Telmex, Claro and GlaxoSmithKline, amongst many others, and hosts two successful podcasts, the 100 Percent Business English Podcast (for English learners) and the 100 Percent Translations Podcast (for translators) both of which can be found on iTunes and Stitcher.
This podcast is a labor of love and brought to you free of charge. If you enjoy this series and would like to show your support, please consider making a small donation to ensure I can keep offering you great content in the future.
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7 Comments
That was a good interview, but it is weird coming from someone who owns a translation agency and works for another. From my limited experience in this industry, freelancers and agencies do not always see eye-to-eye.
Thank you for your comment Dorin. Would you care to elaborate? I have several agencies that I have great business relationships with so I am curious to see what you mean.
Hi Tess,
I made that comment while thinking about agencies that promote low prices and do not think about quality. It is obvious that it is not the case here. My mistake.
Hi Dorin and Tess!
I think it’s a very valid point.
Agencies do sometimes have difficult relationships with translators – precisely because they sometimes offer low payments to the translator and are not overly-concerned about quality.
Of course, the range of providers out there is huge. Some agencies provide very high quality services while others don’t (the same is true for freelance translators I would say).
I think it’s perfectly OK for translators to work with agencies, and many earn lots of money doing so, but from a translator’s point of view it’s important to be happy with the relationship and to make sure that the agency is responsible etc.
Anyway, thanks again for your feedback, a good point that we should keep in mind.
All the best!
Paul
Great podcast. Sharing it. I second the idea of having a podcast on Google AdWords!
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[…] To get an idea of who Paul is and what youâd be lisÂtenÂing to: He was a guest on Tess Whittyâs MarÂketÂing Tips for TransÂlaÂtors podÂcast where he talked a litÂtle about […]