| Vom Thema belegte Seiten: [1 2] > | Long-term client asking me to lower my rates Initiator des Themas: Ildiko Santana
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Ildiko Santana 
Vereinigte Staaten
Local time: 02:09
Mitglied (2002)
Ungarisch > Englisch
+ ...
Moderator/in
Happy International Translation Day to everyone around the world!
I just received an email from my 2nd favorite client, after 10 years of lucrative and mutually satisfactory working relationship. They have always been professional, great communicators, fast payers, and the translation projects have been enjoyable. So, imagine my disappointment when this morning I found this message in my inbox:
"Hi Ildiko,
I hope you are well today 😊
We appreci... See more Happy International Translation Day to everyone around the world!
I just received an email from my 2nd favorite client, after 10 years of lucrative and mutually satisfactory working relationship. They have always been professional, great communicators, fast payers, and the translation projects have been enjoyable. So, imagine my disappointment when this morning I found this message in my inbox:
"Hi Ildiko,
I hope you are well today 😊
We appreciate the work you've been doing for us on translation and revision projects thus far. As we continue to collaborate on various projects, we'd like to discuss the possibility of adjusting your current translation/revision rates. We understand the value and quality of your services, and we believe that your expertise greatly contributes to the success of our projects.
However, as you know, we work in a fast pace and highly competitive environment and in order to align with our increasing budget constraints and ensure a sustainable partnership, we would like to explore the possibility of negotiating more competitive rate for future projects.
Please note that your current rates are as follows:
English > Hungarian (Hungary): (EUR) Trans: 0.12/s-word, Proof: 0.05/s-word
Could you kindly let us know if there is a possibility of considering a reduction in your rates for translation and/or proofreading rate?"
Then they go on to explain that their request is entirely voluntary and there is no obligation for me to adjust my rates if I am not comfortable doing so. "The recent outreach to suppliers regarding rate negotiation is simply an organization effort aimed at exploring opportunities for cost efficiency."
I am beyond disheartened. I will need some time to formulate my response. In the meantime, I would be interested in your opinions and suggestions how to respond (if I should respond at all).
Thank you in advance,
Ildiko ▲ Collapse
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Yes, very disheartening.
General comment: it seems that you are on a good rate. I work with more common languages and my agency rates are lower - around 0.08-0.10 per word. This doesn't mean, however, that you have to lower your rates.
I think you need to look at different aspects: how much do you need the work? Are you willing to take on less work in the future if you keep your rates as they are? What percentage of your yearly income does this agency make up?
<... See more Yes, very disheartening.
General comment: it seems that you are on a good rate. I work with more common languages and my agency rates are lower - around 0.08-0.10 per word. This doesn't mean, however, that you have to lower your rates.
I think you need to look at different aspects: how much do you need the work? Are you willing to take on less work in the future if you keep your rates as they are? What percentage of your yearly income does this agency make up?
It's a tricky one. Maybe you lower your rates but they find someone cheaper and they go with that person. Would they guarantee to send you a regular chunk of work? Mind you, are there any guarantees in this field?
I think that in order to keep the client happy, you're going to have to budge somewhere, but not completely kill your earnings. Maybe they would accept for you to take it on a project-per-project basis - you could look at the text and decide yourself if it's worth it or not. Or agree that anything below 10,000 words would be charged at your normal rate, with a discount afterwards? This would mean that you are showing flexibility, but hopefully you won't be sent too many large texts with a discount!
Hope you find some way of "solving" it... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roy Chacón
Kolumbien
Local time: 04:09
Mitglied
Englisch > Spanisch
Sadly, we are just commodities, no matter how much we have helped or worked. Has also happened to me (and now I'm better off). But there are always better agencies and well as cheaper translators.
My advice, to cheer up, read this tiny book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Moved_My_Cheese?
Kind regards,
Roy
| | | | SirReaL
Deutschland
Local time: 11:09
Englisch > Russisch
+ ...
| Explain why you should be *raising* your rates instead | Sep 30, 2024 |
Make them a counteroffer of raising your rates for reasons such as inflation, more experience gained over the years, etc. Completely ignore their arguments.
It will only be logical for them to settle in the middle, thereby keeping your rates unchanged.
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Lingua 5B
Bosnien und Herzegowina
Local time: 11:09
Mitglied (2009)
Englisch > Kroatisch
+ ...
| Expect another attempt | Sep 30, 2024 |
If you reduce the rate, expect another reduction request after some time.
Also, they probably sent the same letter to their other collaborators, so the “winners” will be those closer to the rock bottom.
| | | | Brian Rossitter
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 17:09
Chinesisch > Englisch
+ ...
| Matching emails 😉 | Sep 30, 2024 |
I got exactly the same email in April, right down to the "fast pace environment" mistake. Looking at your profile, it seems quite possible to me that it’s the same client.
To give them their due, they were a good client who always paid quickly and seemed honest. We had cooperated on hundreds of projects over four years.
After I got the email, I did not send them a reply. Instead, I immediately de-prioritized this client. The reasoning for this was that they were also ... See more I got exactly the same email in April, right down to the "fast pace environment" mistake. Looking at your profile, it seems quite possible to me that it’s the same client.
To give them their due, they were a good client who always paid quickly and seemed honest. We had cooperated on hundreds of projects over four years.
After I got the email, I did not send them a reply. Instead, I immediately de-prioritized this client. The reasoning for this was that they were also competing to offer me a good price over other clients, and if they envisage difficulties with that, then that is a sign that I need to be open to other clients. Thankfully, I was in a position at the time to be able to do this, and I realise that others might not be in the same position.
So, what happened? In the following months, I took on only about a quarter of their offers, which were coming through at largely the same frequency as before. But after that, the offers stopped coming in, and I've had one offer these past two months. Is it because of my prices or my low acceptance rate? Looking chronologically, I tend towards believing the latter.
Are they genuinely feeling some downward price pressure and wish to let you know in good faith that more work will be open to you if you are willing to budge on price? Or are they earning handsomely already and wish to squeeze a little more out of us? In this case, I still don’t know for sure.
How you respond in terms of price adjustment (including upwards, which I was tempted to do!) depends on your assessment of your own situation and the state of our industry moving forward. Of course, we all have very different opinions on the latter, so I won’t add my thoughts on that. But I do hope my experience serves as a case study and an extra data point in your decision-making!
I would like to end by pointing out that if you weren't valuable to them, they would have gone with someone cheaper without the effort of sending you the email. Secondly, any decision is reversible. You can lower your rates with them later if you find you need it. Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Evgeny Sidorenko
Russische Föderation
Local time: 12:09
Englisch > Russisch
+ ...
Ask them what would be the volume of work they would be sending your way with the old vs. reduced rates. Bet you they cannot say because bla-bla. Anyway, they won't guarantee more work with the reduced rate, which could somehow compensate. Then, if you reduce, it's likely you will get still less (in best case the same amount) work for less money. Why bother then?
[Редактировалось 2024-10-01 05:34 GMT]
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Thank you for your email. I completely understand the price pressure you are under. I have been feeling pressure to adjust my prices in the opposite direction due to inflation in recent years (17% since 2020 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI figures). To make up for this increase, I would need to charge 0.14/s-word for translations. Because I know that my clients are under pressure to reduce their prices to be more competitive on the market, I have compromised by not increasing... See more Thank you for your email. I completely understand the price pressure you are under. I have been feeling pressure to adjust my prices in the opposite direction due to inflation in recent years (17% since 2020 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI figures). To make up for this increase, I would need to charge 0.14/s-word for translations. Because I know that my clients are under pressure to reduce their prices to be more competitive on the market, I have compromised by not increasing my prices to adjust for inflation. In effect, this means that in terms of purchasing power, my rates have decreased by 17% in the last 4 years alone.
For that reason, I will not be decreasing them nominally, as well, and will continue to charge 0.12/s-word. Again, I thank you for reaching out on this matter and giving me the opportunity to explain my efforts to keep you competitive throughout recent years, which have been economically difficult for nearly all businesses. I look forward to our continued cooperation.
Best regards,
Faithful Translator
[Edited at 2024-10-01 07:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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British Diana
Deutschland
Local time: 11:09
Deutsch > Englisch
+ ...
| Good answer, small adjustments | Oct 1, 2024 |
Good answer, I would however put the last sentence of the first paragraph higher up in the text, like this:
Thank you for your email. I completely understand the price pressure you are under. I have been feeling a similar pressure to adjust my prices in the opposite direction due to inflation in recent years (17% since 2020 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI figures).
To make up for this increase, I would really need to charge 0.14/s-word for translat... See more Good answer, I would however put the last sentence of the first paragraph higher up in the text, like this:
Thank you for your email. I completely understand the price pressure you are under. I have been feeling a similar pressure to adjust my prices in the opposite direction due to inflation in recent years (17% since 2020 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI figures).
To make up for this increase, I would really need to charge 0.14/s-word for translations.
Because I know that my clients are under pressure to reduce their prices to be more competitive on the market, I have compromised by not increasing my prices to adjust for inflation. For this reason, I will not be decreasing them nominally as well, and will continue to charge all my clients 0.12/s-word.
Again, I thank you for reaching out on this matter and giving me the opportunity to explain my efforts to keep you competitive throughout recent years, which have been economically difficult for nearly all businesses. I look forward to our continued cooperation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Inflation in the eurozone | Oct 1, 2024 |
When customers ask us to lower our rates, they almost always use the inflation argument, but I've just learnt that inflation in the eurozone is below 2%, which hasn't happened since 2021...
Ildiko,
I know you're not in the eurozone...
| | | | Lucy Chen
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 10:09
Mitglied (2014)
Chinesisch > Englisch
| My experience | Oct 1, 2024 |
I got exactly the same email as Ildiko and Brian in April. Unfortunately for me, I’ve become overly reliant on this client over the past 8 years as the work was, like Ildiko said, lucrative.
I did reduce my rates slightly, but that didn’t stop them from posting on Proz looking for new translators in my language pair. Why would it? As far as I can tell, they’ve found a few new translators and since then, the majority of the offers coming through have been proofreading projects ... See more I got exactly the same email as Ildiko and Brian in April. Unfortunately for me, I’ve become overly reliant on this client over the past 8 years as the work was, like Ildiko said, lucrative.
I did reduce my rates slightly, but that didn’t stop them from posting on Proz looking for new translators in my language pair. Why would it? As far as I can tell, they’ve found a few new translators and since then, the majority of the offers coming through have been proofreading projects (i.e., fixing the new translators’ work), with the occasional translation projects at my minimum rate. Hope my experience can help you decide whether to lower your rates for them.
It’s very disheartening. I’ve been actively looking for new clients, something I should’ve done a long time ago. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italien
Local time: 11:09
Mitglied (2009)
Englisch > Deutsch
+ ...
| compound inflation | Oct 1, 2024 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
When customers ask us to lower our rates, they almost always use the inflation argument, but I've just learnt that inflation in the eurozone is below 2%, which hasn't happened since 2021...
Inflation adds day per day and month per month = prices rise and rise and rise...
There has been high inflation between 2020 and 2024, but even assuming only 3.5% inflation per year on average for those 4 years in the US (Europe had high inflation rates too in this period), according to the tool below, you get a compound inflation of around 13%, meaning that 100 USD from 2020 now have a purchasing power of only 87.14 USD. (Use the backward inflation calculator)
Link to the tool: https://www.calculator.net/inflation-calculator.html?
This means that we would have to raise our rates by 13% in order to have the same purchasing power as in 2020.
Another tool, here for the UK: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
Goods worth £100 in 2020 cost £123,47 in 2024. This is an increase of over 20%, it's actually nearer to 25%.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-10-01 10:15 GMT]
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Tony Keily
Local time: 11:09
Italienisch > Englisch
+ ...
'The recent outreach...' I'm guessing this comes from the ghastly 'We are reaching out to you...' (Thanks, but mind the coffee!). A new low.
| | | | Ildiko Santana
Vereinigte Staaten
Local time: 02:09
Mitglied (2002)
Ungarisch > Englisch
+ ...
Moderator/in THEMENSTARTER | Thank you All for your feedback | Oct 2, 2024 |
Hi Everyone,
I am very grateful for your responses. Even just knowing that I am not alone in this unpleasant position helps, at least with my mood. : )
I will carefully consider your input and may or may not respond to my client. It is painfully apparent from their request is that they need to cut cost and nothing will stop them, not even the possibility of losing their trusted service providers. Profits over loyalty is nothing new, and "there is always someone willing to do ... See more Hi Everyone,
I am very grateful for your responses. Even just knowing that I am not alone in this unpleasant position helps, at least with my mood. : )
I will carefully consider your input and may or may not respond to my client. It is painfully apparent from their request is that they need to cut cost and nothing will stop them, not even the possibility of losing their trusted service providers. Profits over loyalty is nothing new, and "there is always someone willing to do it cheaper" (see an excellent illustration here: https://www.engageweb.co.uk/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/uploads/2017/01/do-it-cheaper.jpg.webp ).
It is never easy to let go of long-term clients, but I'm old enough to know that nothing lasts forever, so I will likely let this relationship fade out. Hopefully, I can replace them with new clients who are willing to pay at least my current rates or, preferably, more.
Thanks again for your advice!
- Ildiko ▲ Collapse
| | | | | If you say yes they will keep asking | Oct 4, 2024 |
I have made the mistake to lower my prices in the past. Once you do it, they will keep coming back and asking for more. It is a downward spiral. It never ends up in a good relationship. You will feel undervalued, work more to maybe make the same, maybe less... I came to this tread because a client asked me to reduce my min. charge in half. I have already given them a min. charge significantly lower than my usual one. And I only get minimum charge requests from them, mostly revisions. If I accep... See more I have made the mistake to lower my prices in the past. Once you do it, they will keep coming back and asking for more. It is a downward spiral. It never ends up in a good relationship. You will feel undervalued, work more to maybe make the same, maybe less... I came to this tread because a client asked me to reduce my min. charge in half. I have already given them a min. charge significantly lower than my usual one. And I only get minimum charge requests from them, mostly revisions. If I accept, I will have to do twice as many of these pesky tasks to make the same amount I am making now. So I said No. I am happy about it. ▲ Collapse
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