4 Ways You Can Make Your Contracts More Effective for Your New Business

Just having contracts isn’t enough when you are trying to build a business that reflects your positive relationships with your clients. Even if you have spent time creating a template that you are proud of, it can always help to have additional eyes look it over, and to go over the terms with your customers before the dotted line is signed.

Here are 4 ways you can make sure that your contracts can support your new business.

1. Have a solid template in place

Before you decide to give your contract to your client, you want to make sure that you have a template in place that you can feel good about sharing. A template can be a valuable tool when you are looking to provide customers with an idea of which products or services you are offering when they will be delivered. Once you have a contract that you feel confident about, you can offer it to your customers and see what their thoughts are.

2. Be open for revision

Even having the most well-written contracts can require some changes depending on the type of business you are doing and the clients you are working with. This is why it can be important to be willing to make revisions depending on the services you are offering and what industry your customers are involved in. These changes not only benefit your clients—they can also be essential to the health of your contract lifecycle management. You’ll want to discuss if there are any gaping holes in the contract and if additional clauses and terms need to be added.

3. Have a professional look over details

Once you and your customers have looked over the wording in your proposed contract and talked about any changes you need to make, you should have an expert take a look and see if everything is in place. It never hurts to have a second opinion, and you might not have thought of everything to include in your contract. It might also be worth it to have a lawyer look over the details of your template to make sure you are presenting a quality contract from the get-go. An attorney can be especially helpful if you are brokering a large deal with a client and you want to know that you are starting out on the right terms.

4. Uphold your contract

One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is not upholding their end of the contract and tarnishing their reputations with their clients. If you plan on delivering your product or service by a specific date, then it is important to fulfill your agreement and provide what you have promised. When you want to create a positive reputation as a new business, then upholding your agreements can be one of the best ways to gain loyalty from customers.

How your contracts are written can have a major influence on whether or not your business will do well. When you have some effective practices in place, you are setting your new company up for positive growth.

Guest article written by: Alex Schnee