How do people here like to present clients with contracts? Assuming you've had a few face to face meetings, telephone and email exchanges. Is email even appropriate? I'm leaning toward having a face to face for my first contract, so I can have him sign it in front of me,
you should give them time to read all the fine print and legalese stuff so i think e-mail (or fax if you're old school) is fine .. then you can answer questions and/or revise the contract and get the signed one at the next meeting.
I almost always have a meeting or two and then send the proposal/contract via email. Seems to work just fine. if they have questions they email back. It says on the contract that if they agree they should sign it and send a copy back with the retainer. Sometimes they do that - often they will sign it & give me the retainer at the next meeting.
If you want it to be more formal you could send a hard copy in the mail.
I wouldn't just give it to them and expect a signing on the spot. Anyone signing a contract of anytime should be given sufficient time to review it and/or have an attorney review it. If you ask someone to sign on the spot they might think you are being pushy, its outside the norm for how most people do business.
I echo druf and think you should not expect them to sign it on the spot, especially if it's the first time they've seen it. I always mail or email contracts and ask them to return it with a retainer check, with a cover letter saying to please contact us if they have any questions about the contract - it's good to give them a chance to make sure they know what they are signing.
Until we get both a signature and a check we really don't do any work. Sometimes we'll measure existing conditions and get started on base plans, but generally we have a signed contract and check before we show them anything resembling design work.
we send contracts via e-mail for checking, then sign together in our office. it can take a while.
i like how you work it LB. We tend to start design before contract is signed and so far no problems. we do this because we are usually negotiating fees (working with finance people is a bitch on that end, they run circles around us) for first month. But I am not so comfortable with that method to be honest. i don't think it serves anyone very well, but we are stuck by japanese culture which seems to think this is ok. relationships not contracts are important...or so theory goes.
done it both ways, depends on the project. agree with lb with "first time" clients; agree with jump with "repeat" clients (to a point, at least).
when we receive drafts back from a client after they've marked it up, we usually have our legal folks review as well. this back/forth process can take several days, weeks...even months.
it's a process in itself (in our office, atleast).
Presenting Contracts - email or in person?
How do people here like to present clients with contracts? Assuming you've had a few face to face meetings, telephone and email exchanges. Is email even appropriate? I'm leaning toward having a face to face for my first contract, so I can have him sign it in front of me,
you should give them time to read all the fine print and legalese stuff so i think e-mail (or fax if you're old school) is fine .. then you can answer questions and/or revise the contract and get the signed one at the next meeting.
I almost always have a meeting or two and then send the proposal/contract via email. Seems to work just fine. if they have questions they email back. It says on the contract that if they agree they should sign it and send a copy back with the retainer. Sometimes they do that - often they will sign it & give me the retainer at the next meeting.
If you want it to be more formal you could send a hard copy in the mail.
I wouldn't just give it to them and expect a signing on the spot. Anyone signing a contract of anytime should be given sufficient time to review it and/or have an attorney review it. If you ask someone to sign on the spot they might think you are being pushy, its outside the norm for how most people do business.
any time that you can walk out of a meeting with a signed contract or a check, its a good thing.
Getting a retainer in addition to the signed contract reinforces the client's commitment to the project.
I echo druf and think you should not expect them to sign it on the spot, especially if it's the first time they've seen it. I always mail or email contracts and ask them to return it with a retainer check, with a cover letter saying to please contact us if they have any questions about the contract - it's good to give them a chance to make sure they know what they are signing.
Until we get both a signature and a check we really don't do any work. Sometimes we'll measure existing conditions and get started on base plans, but generally we have a signed contract and check before we show them anything resembling design work.
agree with above.
we send contracts via e-mail for checking, then sign together in our office. it can take a while.
i like how you work it LB. We tend to start design before contract is signed and so far no problems. we do this because we are usually negotiating fees (working with finance people is a bitch on that end, they run circles around us) for first month. But I am not so comfortable with that method to be honest. i don't think it serves anyone very well, but we are stuck by japanese culture which seems to think this is ok. relationships not contracts are important...or so theory goes.
done it both ways, depends on the project. agree with lb with "first time" clients; agree with jump with "repeat" clients (to a point, at least).
when we receive drafts back from a client after they've marked it up, we usually have our legal folks review as well. this back/forth process can take several days, weeks...even months.
it's a process in itself (in our office, atleast).
Agreed, xaia. I'm currently working without any contract at all, just a verbal agreement for hourly, for a repeat client.
Also I should emphasize that my contracts are never more than three pages long, so it's not like it's very complex.
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