Scotsman Guide - June 2012 Residential Edition

By george rimalower
president
iSi translation Services

Breaking the Language Barrier
grow your business with successful cross-cultural communication

Mortgage brokers constantly are looking for ways to expand their client bases and removing a communication barrier is certainly a step in the right direction. A company that communicates with clients in their native languages immediately can set itself apart from the competition and win clients’ loyalty.

One way for a company to attract a particular group of non-English native speakers is to translate its financial services and marketing materials into this group’s language and in addition, perhaps have one or two staff members who speak the language fluently. This will help eliminate any concerns clients may have regarding the company’s services or processes.

credit consequences in case of default.

If a Spanish-language brochure sends a potential client to an English-only website, you probably will lose this client. Similarly, if you don’t have a staff member who can take a phone call in this particular foreign language, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

• • •
Having a successful bilingual team and
well-translated material can be reward-
ing for everyone involved. Borrowers will
have better understandings of the pro-
cess and will be in a better position to
make knowledgeable decisions regard-
ing the type of loan products they take
out. Mortgage originators and compa-
nies also can reduce the cost of account
maintenance and attract more loyal
customers who eventually may turn into
reliable sources of referrals. •

growing market
Many mortgage companies recognize
the role that the Hispanic community
plays in the recovery of the housing
sector. This past March, the national
Association of Hispanic Real Estate
Professionals reported that Hispanics
increasingly were driving growth in
housing demand. For instance, in third-
quarter 2011, Hispanic homeowner-
ship increased by 47. 6 percent, making
up more than half of the total growth
in homeownership nationwide in the
same period, according to the report.

Translation tips

When a mortgage company decides to produce marketing or financial services information in a foreign language, the trick is to begin with high-quality written material to make the translation process more efficient and more accurate. Keep in mind the following points:

• Typos and incorrect punctuation can alter the meaning of a sentence.

• Ambiguous writing forces a translator to decipher what the writer is trying to say.

• Some languages use more words than English. A translated document can be 25 percent to 35 percent longer, which can cause problems and delays when the text has to fit into a designed brochure.

• Date and number formats, colors and symbols vary in use and meaning from one culture to another.

In addition, don’t forget to examine the entire chain of communication.

george rimalower is founder and president of ISI Translation Services ( ISItrans.com), a language-services company founded in 1982 that specializes in financial services, health care and other industries. ISI was one of the first translation companies to address the special linguistic and cultural needs of both non- and limited-English-proficient communities in the United States. ISI is based in Los Angeles, with hundreds of translators in the United States and worldwide. Reach Rimalower at grimalower@ISItrans.com.