Hiring a couple of salespeople is not enough to change the mindset of a language service provider and make it more growth-oriented. In this report, we advise management teams on how to transition from a production-centered mindset to a sales-centric one through 32 action items to take. This transition is essential to continuous and rapid growth. Our research shows that production-minded companies frequently stumble along and fail to generate sustained growth until they become sales-focused, with an environment where all external-facing employees take an active role in the sales process.
 

Discussions about technology abound in the language services industry, whether it’s about increasing efficiency, replacing dated systems, adopting innovative products, or optimizing usage. Being such a central focus point of the evolution and future of language service providers, CSA Research sought to understand how technology affects LSPs' ability to win and retain clients. In this report, we present data on LSPs’ degree of tech-development savviness and the importance of technology to win prospects and retain clients. We also provide some examples of how LSPs leverage technology offerings on their website.

 

Digital marketing has become the preferred way for language service providers to reach new prospects. But too many take a broad-brush approach that results in unfocused lead pipelines that waste precious marketing and sales resources. They aren’t sure which prospects to pursue, so they market to a broad spectrum of buyers that cross company sizes, industries, geographies, and countless other attributes. The targeted firms have little in common with each other and may not be in line with the provider’s differentiation and strategic plan. As a result, sales are unpredictable – even more so in times of economic downturn. This report describes a data-driven, stepwise approach to market segmentation.

When selling to enterprises, language service providers usually come into contact with the procurement team, whose members are responsible for procedures related to buying services. These may not be the people responsible for choosing what must be translated, nor the people who manage the budget allocated to language services, but they likely control with whom the budget can be spent. The relationship between LSPs and the team that manages an enterprise buyer’s supply chain is just as important as the relationship with the budget-holder and buyer, even for smaller vendors who today work only with local buyers, but who want to grow.