Women in Leadership - Jessica Rathke

There are so many inspirational women in the localisation industry – and as part of an article series in collaboration with the Association of Translation Companies, we endeavour to introduce some of them to you. In the coming months, you will be able to read about some great women in leadership, their background, how they ended up in their current role and what challenges they face as a leader.

Every month we’ll feature one amazing woman, who will then nominate another leader in our industry who inspired them!

In the second article of the series, we asked a few questions from the one and only Jessica Rathke!

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How did you get involved in the localisation world and what was your career journey to the position you are in now?

I fell into the industry while working as a market entry consultant for a division of ICL Computers Software Fulfilment Services in the Boston area back in 1992. Software localisation was one of the services offered and I was able to generate a lot of business in that portion of the business. My first sale was an IBM AS400 project into 7 languages that we ended up outsourcing to a very young company at the time called SDL. The combination of a booming industry, learning loads about software loc and being able to travel internationally convinced me to make my career in the industry. I’ve worked for a number of different translation and localisation companies over my 30-year career. It is just amazing how many industries we touch and how our services help companies do business internationally. After numerous conversations with other LSP sales managers and CEOs about their frustrations with sales, I decided to go into business for myself as a sales trainer to help LSPs improve their ability to compete in an increasingly competitive industry, recently rebranding as FluentSales. My services have migrated more into bespoke sales consulting in recent years and bringing in additional consultants to handle the volume of work. I am also expanding into cross-cultural training and consulting to help global teams in both LSPs and end clients work more effectively together.

Please tell us a bit about your current role.

Although I still provide Sales, Account Management and Selling Skills for PMs, in recent years my services have migrated more into bespoke sales consulting and I’ve brought in additional consultants to handle the increased volume of work. I have also extended my services into cross-cultural training and consulting to help global teams in both LSPs and end clients work more effectively together.

If you had to describe your work with three words, what would those be?

Increase LSP revenue.

What are the biggest challenges that come with your role?

At first it was finding the balance between delivery and sales outreach. Thankfully my feast/famine mode didn’t last too terribly long. A related challenge was learning to outsource non-core tasks to an administrative assistant. Fortunately, a former colleague started up his own administrative support company and gave me a call. Sold! I should have invested in that sooner and focused more on sales and client development.

Selling skills and sales training in general have a very high Anglo-Saxon influence, which don’t work as well or at all in other cultures. This was part of my impetus to integrate cross-cultural services into sales consulting and training.

And what are the best things about it?

I like being my own boss. I have learned so much from starting and running my own business. I get to serve an industry I just love that has like-minded, globally-oriented people who love experiencing new languages, cultures and places. This is my excuse for all my travel to conferences and client sites. :) I also enjoy dispelling stereotypes of what sales is and which behaviours actually win/don’t win business.

What would your advice be for others who would like to work in a similar position?

Just do it! There are a fair few new industry consultants of all specialties. Given the sheer number of LSPs in the world, there is plenty of room for us all. As I indicated above, invest early in support non-core tasks. It will pay off by helping you focus on winning business rather than entering data, etc. Learn to say no. Don’t take on projects or clients that aren’t a good fit. Don’t underestimate your value!

How would you describe your leadership style?

While I don’t have employees, I do collaborate with industry colleagues and clients. I would characterise my style as participative.

What are some of the challenges for a female leader in the localisation industry?

I echo Ruth Partington’s words that the glass ceiling remains rather pervasive. It’s important for women to seek out and learn from female mentors and leaders. Speaking up, speaking out and resilience are some skills to develop to cope.

Who would you like to nominate for next month’s post?

Jennifer Vela Valido, as she has so much energy and is always working to improve her credentials! I view her as fearless, smart and a great example for the next generation of female localizers to look up to!

Thank you, Jessica, for answering our questions and telling us a bit about your life in the localisation industry.

Next month you can read about Jennifer and her background, so keep an eye on our socials if you don’t want to miss it!