Renegotiating old rates with an agency Thread poster: Gauthier Casimiro
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Hello everyone,
I have this agency I have been working with since 2015 in the EN>FR language pair. Good client overall. Friendly PMs, paid on time, reasonable deadlines and conditions overall. And they've been a substantial part of my revenue over the years. It's a client I really don't want to lose.
The thing is: I have kept the same rates since 2015 and with current inflation rates throughout Europe, if I don't raise my rates, I'm losing money. And I can't really affo... See more Hello everyone,
I have this agency I have been working with since 2015 in the EN>FR language pair. Good client overall. Friendly PMs, paid on time, reasonable deadlines and conditions overall. And they've been a substantial part of my revenue over the years. It's a client I really don't want to lose.
The thing is: I have kept the same rates since 2015 and with current inflation rates throughout Europe, if I don't raise my rates, I'm losing money. And I can't really afford to earn any less than I have been doing over the last 2 years.
As such I would like to renegotiate my rates with the agency by about 10%, but I'm not really sure how to proceed. Do I tell them the truth? That if they refuse I'll just keep on working with them for the time being, but that if at the end of the year my revenue hasn't significantly increased compared to 2022 I'll have no choice but to leave the industry altogether?
Or do I try to let them think that if they refuse I may stop working with them altogether? (but that sounds like it's as much a threat to me than it is to them)
How do you all proceed with this?
Thanks in advance! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Overthinking? | Jan 9, 2023 |
Why don't you just say "I am putting my rates up by 10% due to inflation". Why does anything need to come to an end?
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I haven’t touched my rates since 2015 when I moved back to Portugal from Belgium (I was already on the higher end of what agencies pay and the cost of living in Portugal is lower compared to Belgium). This being said, every time I raised my rates, I just announced it a few months ahead, without offering a justification. Rates, like everything else, have to go up every so often. I suppose you’re not putting your rates up by much: something like €0.005? That would probably be easier for clie... See more I haven’t touched my rates since 2015 when I moved back to Portugal from Belgium (I was already on the higher end of what agencies pay and the cost of living in Portugal is lower compared to Belgium). This being said, every time I raised my rates, I just announced it a few months ahead, without offering a justification. Rates, like everything else, have to go up every so often. I suppose you’re not putting your rates up by much: something like €0.005? That would probably be easier for clients to swallow. Over the years, I have lost some agencies after increasing my rates, but I was always able to replace them with others without too much difficulty. There’s plenty of fish in the sea…
P.S. Anyway, nowadays I tend to quote each project individually, based on language combination, field of expertise, number of words, technicality, deadline, document type and other practical criteria. ▲ Collapse
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That's a bit touchy.
I wouldn't let them know my intend whether they accept or not. I would explain them just the way you explained to us (inflation, etc.) using a firm but friendly tone. I would sure mention that I wish to continue doing good business with them, but I would let it unclear what's going to happen if they refuse or if they increase you of only 5%... Don't close any door yet. They will know your need and hopefully they'll want to keep you too. ... See more That's a bit touchy.
I wouldn't let them know my intend whether they accept or not. I would explain them just the way you explained to us (inflation, etc.) using a firm but friendly tone. I would sure mention that I wish to continue doing good business with them, but I would let it unclear what's going to happen if they refuse or if they increase you of only 5%... Don't close any door yet. They will know your need and hopefully they'll want to keep you too.
Good luck. ▲ Collapse
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| No bridge burning | Jan 9, 2023 |
Ice Scream wrote:
Why don't you just say "I am putting my rates up by 10% due to inflation". Why does anything need to come to an end?
Because I want to avoid a reply along the lines of "I'm afraid we can't follow. Goodbye and good luck in all your future endeavor" even more than I want the raise. On the other hand it is absolutely true that if I fail to make a better living in 2023 than in 2022, I'll be forced to leave the industry.
So I'd like to be convincing enough, yet avoid doing any faux-pas or burning any bridges.
| | | | | No guts, no glory | Jan 10, 2023 |
Gauthier Casimiro wrote:
Because I want to avoid a reply along the lines of "I'm afraid we can't follow. Goodbye and good luck in all your future endeavor" even more than I want the raise.
In situations like yours, the standard procedure is as follows:
1. Start looking for new clients at the new rate you want (or even higher)
2. While following step 1, keep working for this client at the old rate.
3. Once you have enough new clients that you can keep going even if the old client walks away, raise your rate.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 01:16
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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| No bridge burning? | Jan 10, 2023 |
What's the use of preserving the bridge if you will be forced to leave the industry within a year without raising your income ? It might be useful to preserve it if your job wouldn't immediately depend on it and you prefer a slightly lower income over losing your client, but in your case ? It's like driving towards a ravine and knowing that you will inevitably fall into it sooner or later, and rather sooner.
Apart from that, if your client is that important, I wouldn't focus on rais... See more What's the use of preserving the bridge if you will be forced to leave the industry within a year without raising your income ? It might be useful to preserve it if your job wouldn't immediately depend on it and you prefer a slightly lower income over losing your client, but in your case ? It's like driving towards a ravine and knowing that you will inevitably fall into it sooner or later, and rather sooner.
Apart from that, if your client is that important, I wouldn't focus on raising my rates but rather on finding new clients. That might be easier said than done, but let's face it: finding new clients if necessary is part of our job and shouldn't be an impossible task. If a novice can build a client base, then a seasoned translator most definitely can rebuild it. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jo Macdonald 
Spain
Local time: 01:16
Italian to English
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| Rethinking it | Jan 10, 2023 |
You're not asking for more or renegotiating old rates for no good reason.
You're adjusting your agreed rate to compensate for inflation.
Send a mail along the lines of "Hello, I'm adjusting my rates this year to compensate for inflation".
If they say "no way" then (when you know their answer) you can decide whether to keep working with them for 10% less or not, adopt other strategies such as increasing your min. fee, hourly rate, rates for new clients.
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| Partners not adversaries | Jan 10, 2023 |
Gauthier Casimiro wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
Why don't you just say "I am putting my rates up by 10% due to inflation". Why does anything need to come to an end? Because I want to avoid a reply along the lines of "I'm afraid we can't follow. Goodbye and good luck in all your future endeavor" even more than I want the raise. On the other hand it is absolutely true that if I fail to make a better living in 2023 than in 2022, I'll be forced to leave the industry. So I'd like to be convincing enough, yet avoid doing any faux-pas or burning any bridges.
I get your concern but they will probably accept it. If they don’t, they’re not your friend. If they try and haggle, so be it. You have nothing to lose.
Freelance translators are too timid imo. I’ve never had a customer say goodbye just like that. They will always either say ok (90% in my case) or grumble/haggle (in which case I hold firm and they always cave).
Don’t believe them when they say they haven’t put their rates up and can’t afford to pay more.
Maybe I’m just so brilliant they can’t do without me, but I doubt it. I think at the end of the day most agencies are reasonable businesses run by reasonable human beings.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 02:16
Member
English to Turkish
If I were translating into a major language* as you do, I'd probably do the following:
If I had the feeling that I was in a favoured position, the go-to translator of a number of PMs (commended for my work, my advice sought for issues etc.) I'd have no hesitation about raising my rate (btw this agency must provide at least 1/3 of your overall income) and a good one at that.
But if I had the feeling that my position was not that secure (if I were facing fierce competition, like wolve... See more If I were translating into a major language* as you do, I'd probably do the following:
If I had the feeling that I was in a favoured position, the go-to translator of a number of PMs (commended for my work, my advice sought for issues etc.) I'd have no hesitation about raising my rate (btw this agency must provide at least 1/3 of your overall income) and a good one at that.
But if I had the feeling that my position was not that secure (if I were facing fierce competition, like wolves are at the door, ready to pounce) then I wouldn't be inclined as much to raise it (again assuming this is an important client), but would perhaps put out feelers to the VM to see if they're willing to go for it, and, as others suggested, I'd start actively looking for new clients with higher rates.
Since you're translating into a major language you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding new clients.
*Major language: Do I need to list them? A major language is essentially a popular language in which jobs are abundant in the European translation market (the best paying market) and in which PMs and clients are able to distinguish good translators from bad ones, and thereby offering some sort of measure to prevent it from being saturated. Yes you have the usual housewives, students and retirees taking up translation as an hobby to earn a few bucks, but it's not like the 'exotic languages' where clueless people can get away with murder as the PMs, VMs, clients don't speak a word of Turkish, Georgian or Bulgarian. ▲ Collapse
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You are perfectly entitled to raise your rates and explain (if you wish) that this is due to inflation. Unfortunately, I doubt that an agency will accept this without putting up a fight (such as saying that it too is struggling due to inflation). This highlights the old problem of how often you should raise your rates. Jumping by 10% after no rise for eight years is harder for a client to swallow than a smaller increase every couple of years.
Unless we're doing very specialized work... See more You are perfectly entitled to raise your rates and explain (if you wish) that this is due to inflation. Unfortunately, I doubt that an agency will accept this without putting up a fight (such as saying that it too is struggling due to inflation). This highlights the old problem of how often you should raise your rates. Jumping by 10% after no rise for eight years is harder for a client to swallow than a smaller increase every couple of years.
Unless we're doing very specialized work in a rare language pair, it seems to me that we have less bargaining power than we used to. Technology is driving down rates (although since it's supposed to make things faster, the theory is that we can compensate by becoming more productive). One factor that may make a difference in your case is the size of your translation agency. Big multinationals will normally not budge on rates, whereas smaller companies often prefer to work with the same people and so may not want to lose you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 19:16
Japanese to English
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I would remind everyone of a saying that has been posted many times in these threads: "Agencies are not friends".
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