A Must Read: The Contract You're About to Sign
Bethesda, Maryland (PRWEB) November 07, 2013 -- Rushing to sign a contract is the opposite of ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’. Instead, it could become, ‘I rushed, I signed, I regretted.’ In his latest Huffington Post article, attorney and author Jack Garson warns about the mistakes too many business people make when they sign on the dotted line.
It’s something we all do. Who hasn’t accepted the “Terms of Service” on software or iTunes without a second thought? But in business, Garson says signing a contract without properly reviewing it could be one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make. He warns that if you sign before you read and understand the contract fully, you run the risk of missing key components that could potentially hurt, or even destroy, your business.
Garson suggests these key steps when entering into a contract:
*First of all, read it. You are responsible for whatever you sign. Make sure you understand it. One bad deal can cost you money, or even your entire business.
*Do what the big companies do. Prepare your own “standard contract”, with appropriate protections for your company. This can serve as the basis for the deal, especially when you and your opponent are of relatively equal bargaining power.
*If you are dealing with a business that has far more leverage, consider preparing an addendum or supplement to their contract that contains the most important protections for your business.
*Enhance your own leverage. Your bargaining power will be vastly increased if you have alternatives. Moreover, you may very well turn to one of those alternatives if your negotiations prove to be too difficult.
*If you start the negotiations early enough, you avoid the situation where you are forced to do business with someone, or cave in on a contract provision, just because you ran out of time. The mantra of your negotiating team should be “make time your friend.” Usually, the party in a rush is the one that must make concessions.
Garson understands there are plenty of reasons to sign agreements quickly (you’re busy, you were told it’s a “standard contract,” the impressive words and fancy clauses are complicated), but he says rarely is there a good reason to dive into a bad deal. Read Jack Garson’s article titled "Read the Contract: I rushed, I signed, I regretted" in the Huffington Post.
For media interviews with Jack Garson on this and other business related topics, please contact Marc Silverstein at 202-716-9123 or at marc(at)onthemarcmedia(dot)com.
Marc Silverstein, On The Marc Media, http://www.onthemarcmedia.com, +1 202-716-9123, [email protected]
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