And, it all starts with the translation estimate, or quote, request.
If anything, understand that translation companies:
Will only issue quotes for serious inquiries that will likely lead to a firm order.
(Companies are, by their very nature, for profit entities and they have plenty of experience spotting quote request that lead nowhere. Indeed, they get dozens of such quotes each and every single day that they need to work through!)
Therefore, you need to communicate your project requirements clearly so that the translation folks take your request seriously. Here's the kind of quote, which unfortunately happens way too often, that’ll probably not even get a response:
"I need Japanese translation. Can you issue a quote for cost and turnaround?"
This is the whole request! There are no documents attached to base the request on, no project information, nothing! Why would this quote request not get a second look?
Well, obviously, the inquiry speaks volumes for the lack of project requirements understanding and/or clear communications. This will lead to endless emails & phone calls teasing out the project requirements. Professional translation companies start thinking costs, costs & more costs. Indeed, we have on many an occasion found the actual translation turn-around of the project was a mere fraction of the time compared to teasing out all the project requirements! After running a cost-benefit analysis, it became clear there simply wasn’t a case for engaging these kinds of vague requests.
(I hasten to add that folks that genuinely need a hand are engaged and guided through the quote requesting process.)
So, in communicating your requirements clearly when requesting a quote or estimate not only will translation services respond to your inquiry, you'll get a faster turnaround on that Japanese translation project. And, you also reap additional benefits. That is,
since the translation folks know exactly what you want, they will be able to get the job done right first-time round -- Quality improves, and costs go down!You can only win with clear, succinct communication when requesting a quote from the Translation Services Tokyo
