July 24, 2017

Legalese

Did you know that if a client sued you, that it wouldn’t be unusual for it to cost you tens of thousands of dollars and untold hours meeting with lawyers, reviewing paper work, and giving depositions?

And that’s if you win.

This is why my project proposals are usually short and written in plain english. I don’t bother with lengthy “iron clad” contracts for my clients to sign. I feel it projects defensiveness, increases mistrust, and generally slows down the sales process.

Rather than try to insulate myself against risk with a pile of paperwork, I am very selective about who I work with. Specifically, I only work with people who I like. On the rare occasion that I have made an exception to this rule, I have come to regret it.

My clients are people who I enjoy being around. Folks I’d be happy to go on a week-long cruise with, or go dancing with at a nightclub, or clink glasses of bourbon with at an after-hours cigar bar.

These are all things I’ve actually done with clients. The notion of hiding behind a contract to “protect” myself from people with whom I share a mutual affection and trust seems absurd.

Do things go wrong sometimes? Of course. What happens then? We work things out. Nobody goes running for their lawyer.

!!! NOTE: Speaking of lawyers, I am not one !!!

I’m not suggesting that you should immediately ditch legalese in favor of handshake deals. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t have a lawyer (you should). I’m not suggesting that “legalese” contracts are useless in every situation.

What I am suggesting is that you ask yourself:

“Do I trust my clients?”

If not, why are you working with them?

Yours,

—J

P.S. Need help attracting clients who you actually like? I can help with this in my mentoring program -> https://jonathanstark.com/mentoring