Offline Contracts

supermat007

supermat007

Regular Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
260
Reaction score
411
When do you need to have / use a contract when doing offline work, and how do you know you will need to use one or not?

Then who do you go to / what do you do about it?

It seems in all offline guides there's never any talk about contacts.
 
Advertise on BHW
I won't do a thing without a contract or a schedule of work to be carried out. I have everything what is expected
from them as well as the services I will perform. I have contracts pre drawn for every
occasion.
Never allow your clients legal team draw up a contract.
I make sure I have 1 point of contact within their company that I can call on who's job
it is to supply me with images, company info ect, access to their hosting if they have it
and previous webmasters who just love to try and throw spanners in your works.
all my legal docs have been looked over by a solicitor and are signed by both parties
so we both have an obligation to meet.
Edit.
No business will take you seriously without a contract.
If you check out some of the more professional consulting packages (not WSO's)
They include contract drafts, initial letters, proposals, schedules ect. I would
love to share some of the stuff I have concerning offline consulting however
they don't cover any internet marketing only how to run your business and that
is not consistent with this board.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the tips.

But would contacts come into it for one time jobs?

Say, build a site?
Or even, sell them some ad space for 1 month trail?
Or sell them a pack of 10,000 business cards?

I understand they are defiantly needed in monthly paying deals. Just not sure how to go about the one time sales.
 
its always best to get a contract for everything bro. Whether 1 time job or anything. The reason being, with this current day and age. people are suing crazy as is. And you want to make sure you know your obligations and the client know their's bro.
 
You need a contract for everything, they cannot sue you as long as you follow through on your deal. One-time sales can be with/out contracts depending on you.
 
A one time sale require basically just an itemized invoice. However, when it comes to building a site, that is usually far from just being a deliverable item. There is always edits and changes etc. You once again, will need a contact outlining exactly what they are receiving, and what other services will cost more than what they are paying for. Otherwise you are going to be blow-back clients that expected certain things were included with it.

Contacts are good for not only making your life less troubling, but to maintain a healthy relationship with the clients.

Go ahead and just invoice clients for now, see how it goes. There will be one client you work with where you will be tearing your hair out wishing you could just make them go away. It's at that point you will discover the value of contracts, and see their need. :)
 
I use my contracts to clearly define the scope of the project.

Therefore, I charge more if the client wants more stuff done, such as extra revisions, pages, etc.
 
Resources for contracts that IM Consultants could use would be really useful if anybody has those contracts and/or resources available to share.

Best,

Pool Shark
 
PoolShark said:
Resources for contracts that IM Consultants could use would be really useful if anybody has those contracts and/or resources available to share.

Best,

Pool Shark
Click to expand...
I think so too. I have Gigs of stuff relating to business and after all IM is a business. However before I start posting stuff I'll have a word with a download mod and see what's viable.
I'm in the UK and everything I do if through my Ltd company, whether offline or IM I really think people need to take a professional approach if they want to be successful. Perhaps we should make a suggestion for a offline dowload section where we can post stuff relating to contracts, positioning, cold calling, sales ect. We are selling online services but does
it fit in with the genre of the board?
 
We do have a Offline Marketing Section, but is visible only through the "Making Money" tab.
But It's not visible on the home page. You need to go through the "Main Forums" tab to see it at first.

Maybe we could request a "Offline Marketing" tab to be Visible on the "Home" page as well.


I am in (even though my vote doesn't count for s**t!):jerry:
 
I'm aware we have an offline marketing section I'm posting in it. However we don't have
an offline marketing download section where we can post things relating to running your
business rather than IM related stuff.
And I'll take your vote.
 
oxonbeef said:
I'm aware we have an offline marketing section I'm posting in it. However we don't have an offline marketing download section where we can post things relating to running your business rather than IM related stuff. And I'll take your vote.
Click to expand...

Of course I know that you know Oxonbeef, it was not intended to you.
The "GPS" assistance was geared towards new members like myself.
It took me some time to know of the existence of the section.

Thanks for taking my vote.

P.S. When I wrote "you need to go..." It meant "we, people, members"
 
Last edited:
No offence meant. I do know what you mean I even forget it's here sometimes
unless a post comes up in the main forum.
 
Don't over complicate the contract. Keep it to one page. Don't promise anything. Tell them what you're offering. Tell them how much. Put in a disclaimer that you make no guarantees to sales or profits. Keep it simple.

The longer your contract is the more likely they are to say no to it. My firm provides quite a bit of services to our clients but we can get everything into one page. Life is much simpler for both you and your client.

I agree with everyone else. Get contract for everything. Problems arise when the client expects one thing and you're offering something else. A contract simply outlines what the client can expect and how much you're charging.

Hint: Speak English rather than legalese.
 
If it is in writing, it is binding. If it was a verbal promise, doesn't mean squat. Ran into this problem.
 
Anybody willing to share sample contracts and agreements?

Thank you.
 
I write contracts for my day job. If anyone wants some written up, I can do that.
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top