Sessions

Upward mobility on the translation food chain tends to be difficult after translating for a few years. Many translators appear to reach what they feel is their natural or perhaps inevitable position after about five years. The presenter senses that belief in a number of myths about operating as a tier-one translation provider keeps many people from trying to evolve into selling to translation consumers as a tier-one translation provider.

These myths include the belief (or excuse) that selling to direct translation consumers is “too much trouble.” Another myth is fostered by the ability to work at a distance because of global connectivity, which can lead to the notion that it is a given that translators work at a distance and never meet the consumers of their translations. The first myth (too much trouble) is sometimes heard when a translator has made or wishes to make some life decisions making entry into tier one impossible or difficult. If your target client demographic is a Japanese entity, living at a distance and not visiting prospective clients will rarely be effective, as is not being able to sell in Japanese. The second myth (everyone works from a distance via tier-one providers) also need not be accepted, as demonstrated by those translators who do indeed serve translation consumers. The presentation will provide some specific strategies for overcoming and evolving beyond the received wisdom, which clearly does not apply to everyone.

Speakers

William Lise

Plenary