That is, you don't need to demand ASAP, or pay exorbitant express fees!
So, how does it work?
This requires a solid grasp of your project requirements. Need pointers on this fundamental issue? Take a look at the highly recommended Professional Japanese Translation Guide Overview (modular & short, easy read).
Ok, so you’ve identified the right Japanese translation service.
Now for the quote. Professional translation project quotes are free, or at least they should be. (There was a time -not too long ago mind you- where prospective clients had to pay for the quote. While there is logic to this model, which by the way is still used in many industries today, you, fortunately, do not need to worry about this additional cost any longer).
You should note, however, that a “free quote” does NOT mean that translation companies give out quotes freely. It simply means that once you get a quote, it is absolutely free. That is, since there’s a cost to the company in generating a quote -somebody needs to do the work- they tend to carefully consider a number of internal criteria in deciding to generate a free quote, or not. I’m sure you understand that there is no ROI to be had in writing up a quote for an inquiry that will probably not lead to a firm order…
In fact, the truth of matter is translation companies simply can’t recoup the vast majority of these costs. I’m sure you can, therefore, see that companies follow a well-established process in deciding when and to whom to issue translation estimates and quotes.
If you’ve followed the logic laid out above, then you know that translation service Japan only issue quotes for serious inquiries that’ll likely result in a firm order. The question then becomes,
What is a “serious inquiry”?
The answer to that question has already been hinted at above – Can you identify it?
In the next couple of posts I will show you how not only to get that quote you need, but also how doing the quote right produces an efficient, fast translation project turnaround for you.
