Getting a deal hammered out is just one way in which a contract can actually be legal proof that a deal has been created. A contract, in fact, is much more than just a legal document. It is an agreement of trust between both parties that needs to be followed in order to facilitate that trust and make the business relationship a long-term one. However, a contract that is poorly worded, not legally reviewed, and has boilerplate terms of clauses that do not apply to the current business deal do not actually engender trust. To create that trust, a contract cannot cause confusion and needs to be created with care and effort.
In order to do this, a contract needs to follow a strategy and make sense within the business relationship. Terms should be clear and straightforward, and should establish a clear working relationship with the other party. To do this, you’ll need to make sure that your contracts are both simple enough to understand, and are also readily available for both parties to access at any time so in case any questions or concerns arise. With that in mind, here’s how you can use a contract to build trust.
Make contracts simple to understand
While there is a certain amount of legalese required to make a contract precise enough to work, it does need to be clearly understood by other parties. When going over a contract that you drafted yourself with another party, you should sit down and actually review the legalese and other language that may be unclear so that you understand that the other party signing the contract with you actually understands what they are singing. You should also make any key KPIs that are needed to make sure that the business relationship is successful very clear and straightforward within the context of the contract.
To do this, you should make sure that all of your contracts go through the contract lifecycle management process. This process governs the entire contract process, including creation, negotiation, signing, analyzing, compliance, and renegotiation. By starting with the actual language of the contract, and making sure it is simple and that the other party clearly understands what they are singing, you will help to build trust and make sure that the business relationship can last for years to come.
Make contracts easy to access
After the other business has signed a contract with you, you should make sure that you give them the ability to view the contract any time they need access to it. While this can be done through cloud storage, it is recommended that you use contract management software or another secure way to store these contracts for online viewing. Otherwise, you risk a cybersecurity breach, which can have the opposite effect of building trust through your contracts. This can help you and the other business stay in compliance of the contract and make sure that it is working as intended.
Of course, any business needs to create other contracts with other businesses to survive, from suppliers, to vendors, to physical and digital service providers. However, those contracts need to serve both businesses and make sure that one is not taking advantage of the other. The intention of a contract should never to be deceitful or dishonest, and making sure that contracts are simple and reasonably available will help to allay this concern and build trust between both businesses for years to come.