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Need help asking for higher rates
Thread poster: Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Canada
Local time: 10:51
English to French
Feb 5, 2021

Hello everyone!

I have been working with the same translation agency for 7 years now. Up until a year ago, I was mainly focused on doing proofreading jobs, but I recently started doing mainly translations.

I'm reading from a few posts here that I might not be paid quite high enough when I compare my rates both for proofreading and translating. I really enjoy working with this company, I think they are very fair and are very flexible when it comes to work schedules. ... See more
Hello everyone!

I have been working with the same translation agency for 7 years now. Up until a year ago, I was mainly focused on doing proofreading jobs, but I recently started doing mainly translations.

I'm reading from a few posts here that I might not be paid quite high enough when I compare my rates both for proofreading and translating. I really enjoy working with this company, I think they are very fair and are very flexible when it comes to work schedules.

My question is: How do I go about asking to review my rate without sounding like an ass? I already asked for an increase I think 2 years ago and they were wonderful about it (probably cause I'm underpaid lmao!), but I think that's something freelancers all eventually have to face...

All your help and advice is welcome
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Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 15:51
English to German
In memoriam
Make it a professional message Feb 5, 2021

Something that has worked well for me in similar situations was this: "Dear agency, I enjoy working with you very much and appreciate you as a business partner. However, in the last few years my overall workloads have risen and I was able to negotiate much higher rates with new agencies and clients, and I often found that I had to decline your jobs in favor of other work that paid better. At the same time, I believe our cooperation was great and we delivered good value to the end clients. I woul... See more
Something that has worked well for me in similar situations was this: "Dear agency, I enjoy working with you very much and appreciate you as a business partner. However, in the last few years my overall workloads have risen and I was able to negotiate much higher rates with new agencies and clients, and I often found that I had to decline your jobs in favor of other work that paid better. At the same time, I believe our cooperation was great and we delivered good value to the end clients. I would therefore suggest to change the rate for [insert service here] to [insert amount here], to make sure that I can continue to accept your assignments at all times. If that does not work for you, I would have to decline your assignments more often and could only accept them if there is no other work on my list, but due to the increasing demand in [insert your specialisation here] this does not happen very often."

Delete and edit as applicable. You get the idea: you are applying a little market power here. The agency is not your family, it is your business partner. They will not raise your rates out of friendship or general philantropy, they will treat this as a business decision. Of course, if they have a long list of alternative translators that could do the same work as you do, you have no leverage here. But if you are their preferred proofreader, they obviously appreciate your work, so that there should be some leverage. Good luck!
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Antoine Wicquart
Matthias Brombach
Katrin Braams
Sheila Wilson
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Dan Lucas
ATIL KAYHAN
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:51
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
The goose that lays the golden eggs, etc. Feb 5, 2021

Anne Tremblay wrote:
I have been working with the same translation agency for 7 years now.

From the way you write, it sounds to me as if you are, in effect, working for one agency. If so, your negotiating position is, ah, sub-optimal. If you are indeed working for only one company, I would expend my efforts on trying to contact new agencies or direct clients. This is never easy, but it is less damaging than requesting higher rates from your sole (or main) existing customer, and being turned down. If that were to happen, and you continued to work with them, they would know you don't have an alternative, and might try to push rates down again in future.

Regards,
Dan


Sheila Wilson
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Matthias Brombach
Esther Dodo
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Philip Lees
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:51
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Don't ask; inform Feb 5, 2021

Kay-Victor has set it out really well. You aren't asking them for a raise -- you aren't an employee; you're informing them that your business needs to charge more from now on.

Andrée Anne Tremblay
Matthias Brombach
Philip Lees
ahartje
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Vladimir Filipenko
Emanuele Vacca
 
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Canada
Local time: 10:51
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you! Feb 5, 2021

Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:

Something that has worked well for me in similar situations was this: "Dear agency, I enjoy working with you very much and appreciate you as a business partner. However, in the last few years my overall workloads have risen and I was able to negotiate much higher rates with new agencies and clients, and I often found that I had to decline your jobs in favor of other work that paid better. At the same time, I believe our cooperation was great and we delivered good value to the end clients. I would therefore suggest to change the rate for [insert service here] to [insert amount here], to make sure that I can continue to accept your assignments at all times. If that does not work for you, I would have to decline your assignments more often and could only accept them if there is no other work on my list, but due to the increasing demand in [insert your specialisation here] this does not happen very often."

Delete and edit as applicable. You get the idea: you are applying a little market power here. The agency is not your family, it is your business partner. They will not raise your rates out of friendship or general philantropy, they will treat this as a business decision. Of course, if they have a long list of alternative translators that could do the same work as you do, you have no leverage here. But if you are their preferred proofreader, they obviously appreciate your work, so that there should be some leverage. Good luck!


Thank you so, so much for this! You phrased it in a much less complicated way than I was going to, and much more elegantly !

You are right, they are business partners, and I tend not to be able to separate the business aspect from the personal one. That's why it's so difficult for me!

Thank you again, and have a fantastic day.


Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
 
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Canada
Local time: 10:51
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Totally agree Feb 5, 2021

Dan Lucas wrote:

Anne Tremblay wrote:
I have been working with the same translation agency for 7 years now.

From the way you write, it sounds to me as if you are, in effect, working for one agency. If so, your negotiating position is, ah, sub-optimal. If you are indeed working for only one company, I would expend my efforts on trying to contact new agencies or direct clients. This is never easy, but it is less damaging than requesting higher rates from your sole (or main) existing customer, and being turned down. If that were to happen, and you continued to work with them, they would know you don't have an alternative, and might try to push rates down again in future.

Regards,
Dan


You are right! I just have grown extremely comfortable with this agency, the process of getting contracts is super simple, I have a (somewhat) regular schedule, etc. So I have become "lazy" when it comes to broadening my clientele.

Thank you for your input


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:51
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Anne Feb 6, 2021

I agree with everything Kay-Viktor, Dan and Sheila said but I wonder if, due to Covid-19, now is the best time to do this. If I were in your shoes I’d wait until all this is over…

Viviane Marx
Andrée Anne Tremblay
 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:51
French to English
Security and danger Feb 7, 2021

Sometimes the line between security and danger can be much finer than we imagine. When things work well with a client who is providing a lot of work, it can feel quite comfortable. It is quite comfortable in a way but working almost exclusively with one client, agency or not, is not a safe position to be in. If this is your case and if this situation has been in place for quite some time, then you may be in quite a vulnerable position.

When an independent worker is working almost ex
... See more
Sometimes the line between security and danger can be much finer than we imagine. When things work well with a client who is providing a lot of work, it can feel quite comfortable. It is quite comfortable in a way but working almost exclusively with one client, agency or not, is not a safe position to be in. If this is your case and if this situation has been in place for quite some time, then you may be in quite a vulnerable position.

When an independent worker is working almost exclusively with one client, the relationship in fact resembles one of employer and employee. The relationship is one of dependence, heavily tipped in the client's favour. The client can cease providing the freelancer with work from one day to the next and that source of income comes to an end. The freelancer can also just decide to stop working for the client of course, but is unlikely to do so unless he/she has some other form of income. In a true employer-employee relationship, the employee has obligations but also rights and various forms of protection. A freelancer has to cover his/her own protection.

It can be awkward putting up your rates but you are not asking your boss to increase your salary. Discuss the matter with the agency and see how open they are to your increasing your rates. In any event, look for other clients so you don't have too many eggs in one basket.

As has been pointed out above, you do have some power here. The client has been working with you for a number of years and so are happy with your services. Use that to your advantage. I once worked briefly with an agency who told me that they were happy I was available as one of their long-standing freelancers was about to retire. She had been working with them - almost to the exclusion of all other clients - for nearly 20 years. The agency seemed really pleasant to start with but when I refused some work because I had other better-paid and more intersting work with other clients, they seemed to take it personally. I ceased working for them at altogether. I did wonder whether the person who retired has managed to build up a decent retirement for herself. Considering the low rates they paid, I think she would have had a better pension if she had been employed to make the coffee.

Good luck with the negotiations!

[Edited at 2021-02-07 01:01 GMT]
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Marina Taffetani
Christine Andersen
 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:51
French to English
Yes and no Feb 7, 2021

Teresa Borges wrote:

I agree with everything Kay-Viktor, Dan and Sheila said but I wonder if, due to Covid-19, now is the best time to do this. If I were in your shoes I’d wait until all this is over…


This does make sense but I think there are also arguments to try anyway and precisely because of the current crisis. Handled well, presented with tact, a slight increase might be possible.


Thayenga
Dalia Nour
 
Michael Newton
Michael Newton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:51
Japanese to English
+ ...
Higher rates Feb 7, 2021

In this Covid economy it could be treacherous asking for a higher rate (remember Oliver Twist? "Please sir, I want some more"). I would look for new clients and propose the higher rate you want with them. You could start from a position of strength.

Sheila Wilson
Dalia Nour
 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 15:51
English to German
In memoriam
Demand depends on the subject Feb 7, 2021

Teresa Borges wrote:

I agree with everything Kay-Viktor, Dan and Sheila said but I wonder if, due to Covid-19, now is the best time to do this. If I were in your shoes I’d wait until all this is over…


This will probably depend on the demand situation in the field. For example, in the fields of video games and cloud computing, demand for translations has surged in the last 12 months. I could imagine other fields (medical?) where this is also the case. If there is more demand, there is nothing wrong with asking for higher rates. Of course, if you are in tourism or other fields that have suffered, your chances for higher rates will be poor.


Robert Rietvelt
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:51
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Better way of managing it Feb 7, 2021

Michael Newton wrote:
In this Covid economy it could be treacherous asking for a higher rate (remember Oliver Twist? "Please sir, I want some more"). I would look for new clients and propose the higher rate you want with them. You could start from a position of strength.

It's always better to find new clients at a higher rate than raise them for your best client. There's no risk attached with new clients. Then raise your rate for the lowest-paying or otherwise "worst" client -- the one you can most afford to lose. Once you have lots of work coming in at a higher rate, the risk associated with losing what was your best client isn't so high.


Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Philip Lees
Carolina Finley
Christine Andersen
Dalia Nour
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Just do it Feb 7, 2021

Michael Newton wrote:
In this Covid economy it could be treacherous asking for a higher rate (remember Oliver Twist? "Please sir, I want some more"). I would look for new clients and propose the higher rate you want with them.

Sheila wrote:
It's always better to find new clients at a higher rate than raise them for your best client.


Have to disagree. It takes a long time to find new clients. It's far more effective to charge existing ones more.

An existing client knows your value and so is more likely to accept an increase so that they can keep using you.

So unless you are an interchangeable, below-average translator selling yourself as a commodity, there won't be any problem with you putting your prices up every year by a bit more than inflation.

And if they are unhappy for some reason, they'll say so, and then you can consider negotiating. But you can cross that bridge if and when you come to it.


Arkadiusz Jasiński
LIZ LI
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:51
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Find new clients in any case Feb 9, 2021

Clients come and go, and they can go very suddenly.
My in-house employer went through a rough patch, and had to let translators go, but some of us continued working for them as freelancers.
For a fair while they and one other agency provided a very large proportion of my income, but on average I had one new client every month. At different times, both big clients dropped me at very short notice. My former employer picked up for a few years, then went bankrupt, and the other suddenly
... See more
Clients come and go, and they can go very suddenly.
My in-house employer went through a rough patch, and had to let translators go, but some of us continued working for them as freelancers.
For a fair while they and one other agency provided a very large proportion of my income, but on average I had one new client every month. At different times, both big clients dropped me at very short notice. My former employer picked up for a few years, then went bankrupt, and the other suddenly decided they would only work with translators who lived in the country where their target language was spoken.
Other clients get bought up or merge, or your favourite PM moves on.
Or the agency's end clients move on - and suddenly you are not the preferred translator any more.

In these Covid times, you never know how solid a client's economy is, and even if they seem to be all right, they can lose a big end client and get into trouble.

Marketing is not easy at the moment either, but try anyway!
Try asking cautiously and diplomatically for a higher rate too, as others suggest, but spread your risk over other clients and raise your rates too.
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Giovancy Hubbard
Josephine Cassar
 
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Canada
Local time: 10:51
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
thank you Feb 9, 2021

Thank you everyone for your input, it's very appreciated. I think I will wait a bit, or see how the situation progresses.

 
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