Help with profile to find more jobs Thread poster: Luis Hernandez
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Hi
I have created a new translation company and I thought it was a good idea to join prozz.com to get more clients. However after a few moths all I get is people asking me for jobs (and I will love to give out jobs if I could) and no actual clients. I think I might be doing something wrong on my profile. Can anyone help please?
Thank you
| | | | | Looking for clients | Oct 2, 2019 |
Hello, Luis. I think you need to start looking for end clients. Then, when you get big projects from them you can start looking for translators to work for your company. In my opinion, that would be a good start. Also, I recommend the webinars you have available here in Proz to complete your profile so that clients can find you easily. Hope this helps. Have a nice day!
| | | | Victor Muruet 
Local time: 13:29
Member (2003)
English to Spanish
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| Looking for clients | Oct 3, 2019 |
Hi Luis,
Hope you're well. I agree with Maria Eugenia, you may want to focus on looking to work with end clients. Rather than having a proz.com profile tailored as an agency, you may want to consider completing your profile as a freelancer and try to build up a client base that way before moving into working as an agency.
As Maria Eugenia said, the webinars and searching for tips on how to maximise your profile to attract clients can be a good start. It's a bit of trial... See more Hi Luis,
Hope you're well. I agree with Maria Eugenia, you may want to focus on looking to work with end clients. Rather than having a proz.com profile tailored as an agency, you may want to consider completing your profile as a freelancer and try to build up a client base that way before moving into working as an agency.
As Maria Eugenia said, the webinars and searching for tips on how to maximise your profile to attract clients can be a good start. It's a bit of trial an error, the more you tailor your profile, the better options you may have. For some it works immediately, for others it's a bit of trying different approaches .
Try to cover as many fields (language pairs, SEO, specialisations…)
Hope it helps. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Business pages appear in the business directory | Oct 3, 2019 |
Luis Hernandez wrote:
Hi
I have created a new translation company and I thought it was a good idea to join prozz.com to get more clients. However after a few moths all I get is people asking me for jobs (and I will love to give out jobs if I could) and no actual clients. I think I might be doing something wrong on my profile. Can anyone help please?
Thank you
Hi Luis,
Your business page appears in the search for Translation agencies & companies based on what information is included on your business page.
I would suggest telling prospects more about your business through the business page. There is an edit option below your logo. Once that is completed, you may want to look into business membership, and getting feedback on the Blue Board as a way to rise in the rankings and build trust.
Mike, ProZ.com
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| Agency or freelancer? | Oct 3, 2019 |
Luis Hernandez wrote:
Hi
I have created a new translation company and I thought it was a good idea to join prozz.com to get more clients. However after a few moths all I get is people asking me for jobs (and I will love to give out jobs if I could) and no actual clients. I think I might be doing something wrong on my profile. Can anyone help please?
Thank you
Did you really create a new translation agency, or do you offer yourself as a freelance translator? There is a difference.
[Edited at 2019-10-04 08:46 GMT]
| | | | Luis Hernandez
Local time: 04:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Should I update my profile to freelancer? | Oct 4, 2019 |
Thank you for the replies.
I have over 15 year of experience with languages, I used to worked as a Spanish translator and translator coordinator. I have a successful business offering private language tuition. So I decided to use my contacts and brunch out so I created an agency.
I am not sure if I can include the link to my site here so I wont.
I need more translations to come in, that's the reason of becoming a member ( I do not need translators as I have contacts... See more Thank you for the replies.
I have over 15 year of experience with languages, I used to worked as a Spanish translator and translator coordinator. I have a successful business offering private language tuition. So I decided to use my contacts and brunch out so I created an agency.
I am not sure if I can include the link to my site here so I wont.
I need more translations to come in, that's the reason of becoming a member ( I do not need translators as I have contacts waiting for jobs)
So should I update my profile to freelancer as suggested or should I leave as a company?
Thank you again for your help
Luis ▲ Collapse
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:29
Portuguese to English
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| Not an agency | Oct 5, 2019 |
Luis Hernandez wrote:
Thank you for the replies.
I have over 15 year of experience with languages, I used to worked as a Spanish translator and translator coordinator. I have a successful business offering private language tuition. So I decided to use my contacts and brunch out so I created an agency... I need more translations to come in, that's the reason of becoming a member ( I do not need translators as I have contacts waiting for jobs)
Luis
You're not an agency if you don't have:
1. A sales department
2. A business development manager
3. A finance officer
4. I assume you are supposed to be the Translation Manager and the Key Accounts Manager?
You need a BDM and a sales team to go out and find you clients. And it takes months of negotiations and meetings to bring in key accounts. And what can you offer them? What standards, processes or solutions?
You are a freelance translator so keep working for yourself.
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 23:29
German to English
| Passive customer acquisition not a path to agency success | Oct 5, 2019 |
I agree with Ms. Coada. Relying on a web site will not attract the dozens of customers you need to keep an agency going. You will need active measures to acquire well-paying customers, including a sales force (if only one person doing it full-time) making cold calls, contacting companies known to use translation agencies and visiting trade shows. In addition, you will need to place ads in trade journals in the areas in which you plan to specialize. In addition, as Ms. Coada, indicates, you will ... See more I agree with Ms. Coada. Relying on a web site will not attract the dozens of customers you need to keep an agency going. You will need active measures to acquire well-paying customers, including a sales force (if only one person doing it full-time) making cold calls, contacting companies known to use translation agencies and visiting trade shows. In addition, you will need to place ads in trade journals in the areas in which you plan to specialize. In addition, as Ms. Coada, indicates, you will need back office support to manage all the balls you need to keep in the air and handle the day-to-day activities of bookkeeping, responding to translators' problems and potential customer complaints. Unless you have a large customer base of direct clients to support an agency, I would strongly suggest that you avoid the heartbreak of starting a business. I won't even go into issues such as market positioning/competitive advantage and the downward rate spiral caused by a surfeit of translation agencies.
From time-to-time friends have asked why I don't start an agency, since I've been at it for a long time and know quite a few excellent translators. My response is always the same: it's too much work, and I couldn't make as much as I do translating, given the amount of effort involved. Occasionally outsourcing work or including colleagues in larger projects gave me a taste of what running an agency would be like, and I realized it wasn't for me.
I should mention that I have a modest web site for my translation business that pays for itself, as it only costs about $40/year.
[Edited at 2019-10-05 14:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Luis Hernandez
Local time: 04:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | I will update my profile | Oct 7, 2019 |
Hi,
Thank you for your comments, I have taken them on board. I think I will update my profile to freelancer ( as it was from the start) and see if a can get more jobs that way.
Any other suggestions will be always welcome.
Thank you again.
Luis
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:29
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| 18 language pairs? | Oct 7, 2019 |
Luis Hernandez wrote:
I think I will update my profile to freelancer ( as it was from the start) and see if a can get more jobs that way.
Any other suggestions will be always welcome.
Just to note that offering 18 language pairs will be extremely off-putting to many potential clients who would rather a specialist handled their text.
| | | | Luis Hernandez
Local time: 04:29
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | 4 language pairs then? | Oct 9, 2019 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
Just to note that offering 18 language pairs will be extremely off-putting to many potential clients who would rather a specialist handled their text.
Yes I think you are right, I will update my profile perhaps to four language pairs
Thank you for your advise.
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