If you run a language services company and live in the US, you are probably in the middle of an intense RFP season. No matter where you look, private and public companies are actively seeking to invest funds in language access.
Responding to an RFP requires project management skills, as it is an undertaking where you need input from multiple people from your team besides yourself, the owner/CEO.
Also, if you are a niche LSP—like I hope you are—and you are looking to grow your revenue, chances are the RFP goes beyond your comfort zone, especially in the languages department.
How can you build a pricing proposal about something you don’t know? I’ll develop a few quick ideas to help you out. Let’s go!
Building your recruitment criteria
In sales, you have to tailor your message to the needs of your prospects and leads. Likewise, you must adapt your recruitment criteria to meet the scope of services requested in the RFP.
We are not chasing low rates here, but establishing initial contact with professionals we think would do a great job if we are awarded the contracts.
The following items should help you out:
- Language pairs in scope
- Language services needed
- Translation technology proficiency
- Relevant work and education experience
- Digital footprint score
- CPD score
- Association activity score
- Professional references
In a nutshell, you will work with professionals whose mother language matches the RFP language list and whose work experience resembles the subject matter of the materials for translation.
Next, you want to ensure the person you are contacting is authentic. One way to validate this is by assessing their digital footprint and association activity.
Are they part of the ATA? Have they attended any conferences? Do you have LinkedIn connections in common?
Also, when looking at their resumes, see how much they invest in continuous professional development (CPD). Are they attending in-person and digital workshops and webinars?
The sum of the above factors will give you enough data to know whether to move forward or not with that specific professional.
Selecting your data collection tools
Now that you have your recruitment criteria, you will craft survey-like questions to obtain the necessary information and make an informed decision.
I will not tell you how to do this, as it is simply taking your criteria and turning them into questions.
Now that I think about it, there are some best practices to turn the answers into actionable insights later, but that would be beyond the goal of this blog post.
Let me tell you what we did in two lines: we built a branched Microsoft Form that we then connected to a master query sheet in Excel and used Power Pivot DAX formulas for our math calculations: min, max, median, margins, pricing, etc.
Yes, everything updates in real-time as professionals fill out the form with information about the services and beyond.
You could do the same with virtually any form service, like TypeForm, Survey Monkey, JotForm, and Google Forms.
The nice thing about building on top of Microsoft apps is that they are connected like a mesh, so it didn’t take long to build something impactful and functional.
One word of caution: Don’t go the PowerBI way like I did initially. You will spend two days to realize that you can’t make your semantic model refresh your beautiful reports instantly.
Quid pro quo in localization vendor management
Now that you have built your recruitment criteria, selected your data collection tools, and pulled out your live report dashboards…
What are you willing to give in exchange for the time and commitment of a professional translator if you are awarded the contract? Only money for their services? Think twice.
In my case, I know that a significant group of low-resource language professionals I will have the honor to work with aren’t exactly versed in computer-assisted translation tools.
They have spent most of their careers assisting refugees in camps and healthcare institutions or teaching at the university, not in front of Trados Studio in a comfy office.
The least we can do as part of the onboarding process is provide comprehensive CAT tool or TMS training that will enrich our collaboration and give them skills and competencies to thrive elsewhere.
Remember, it’s all about making others feel special and valuable.
Translation goes beyond pricing
Did you notice that I never advised on how to approach language rates? I can’t tell you what you should be aiming for. It’s your business and your reputation.
As you will get rates data through your data collection tools, you should strive to get a transparent outlook of the different translation markets per language and geography.
The greater the number of professionals who want to help you fill it out, the more accurate your data will be. So, the more, the merrier. Then, you will decide whether you want the needle to go up or down.
However, translation goes beyond pricing, as it embodies complex cultural and linguistic factors, so make sure to consider this when finalizing your pricing proposal.
A win-win proposal is also a way to celebrate and acknowledge the value people from other cultures will bring to your LSP.
All the best of luck.