Negotiation
A Business Contract - Write One Yourself... It's Safer than a Handshake
Friends and Family might be the only ones whose word or handshake you can trust. There may be some who can't even risk that. As unfortunate as it sounds, it's often the case and the reality is that most deals are not with friends and family but with those you hardly know at all. Ever had a contractor drag his feet on your home repair or improvements? How about the pool man or the neighborhood grass cutting kid not showing up when you expect them? Get them to sign a personal business contract. Here's how to write one...
BUSINESS CONTRACT BASICS
1) Put the Date at top of the page;
2) Put your name and the name of the contractor, salesman, etc.;
3) Put down both parties addresses and telephone numbers (very important);
4) Write in detail the products to be transferred or the services to be performed;
5) Write down all the Buyer's agreements, for instance, Buyer agrees to pay in full when work is complete, Buyer agrees to provide all resources, etc;
6) Write down all the Seller/Contractor's agreements, for example, Seller agrees to service product if faults are found within a (state time frame, one week, one month, etc.) period, Contractor agrees to work every (state best time, Saturday at 1pm, etc.), Contractor agrees to work on (Date) and work from 9 to 5 for 10 consecutive days with one hour break for lunch, etc;
7) Create signature blocks at the bottom for both the Buyer and Seller and get signatures for each.
What won't a business contract like this cover?
Very little, but consult an attorney if your deal is extremely important or you want to make absolutely sure.
Visit www.LetterRep.com for Free Sample Business Contracts, hundreds of sample personal and business letters and Online Tools for Addressing, Dating, Editing, Formatting, Printing, Emailing and Faxing.
Rob Noyes owns and operates the Internet's premiere Business and Personal Letter-writing site, LetterRep.com. Contact Rob at admin@letterrep.com for answers and solutions to common letter-writing situations.
Robert Noyes
Similar articles
A Negotiator Needs Good People Skills
Negotiations and the people involved in them are going to be managed by someone. Managing a negotiation, all of the parties at the table, requires exceptional people skills to influence and motivate others. Read more →Basic Principles Make You A Smarter Negotiator
The way that you conduct yourself in a negotiation can dramatically the outcome. I've been teaching negotiating to business leaders throughout North America since 1982 and I've distilled this down to five essential principles. Read more →Business Negotiation Tips For Small Business
Negotiations are things we do almost every day of our lives. However, many of these negotiations do not make much difference to us in the big picture, so we tend to take them lightly. Read more →Case Study - Franchise Agreement Disputes, Negotiation and Venue Problem
Most franchise agreements require that the franchisee or franchise buyer sign an arbitration clause in case of a dispute. Of course these are hard to get out of and generally the franchisor will pick the venue, most likely the city where they are located. Read more →Aphorism
I'd be a bum on the street with a tin cup if the markets were always efficient.
Warren Buffett