Getting started with your startups first contract negotiations is always are hard thing to do. Once you build a product and move people down though the sales process you’re often faced with a limited amount of legal knowledge on what to do to make that lead into an actual paying customer. It doesn’t help that a lot of legal teams aren’t great at explaining the process to people with non-legal backgrounds. This can mean that you end up spending a lot of money and time just to get your first customers onboard. To help out here are some of our top tips on working with legal teams.
- Know your legal needs: Understand the specific legal needs of your business and ensure that you are working with a lawyer who has experience in your industry.
- Communicate clearly: Clearly explain your business model and goals to your lawyer to ensure they understand what you need from the contract.
- Be proactive: Start working with a lawyer as early as possible, before signing any contracts, to minimize the risk of legal issues later on.
- Be specific: Be specific about the terms and conditions you want in the contract, such as payment terms, data protection, and termination rights.
- Protect your IP: Ensure that your lawyer includes provisions in the contract to protect your intellectual property rights.
- Review and negotiate: Carefully review the draft contract and negotiate any terms that you don’t agree with.
- Keep it simple: Try to keep the contract as simple and straightforward as possible to reduce the risk of misunderstandings.
- Consider using templates: Consider using legal templates as a starting point, but ensure that they are customized to meet your specific needs.
- Focus on key issues: Focus on the key legal issues that are most relevant to your business and negotiate them carefully.
- Work with a trusted lawyer: Work with a trusted and experienced lawyer who you feel comfortable communicating with and who has your best interests in mind.
- Explain your business model: Clearly describe how your software as a service business operates, including the services you offer, pricing model, and target customers.
- Provide background information: Provide background information about your industry and market, as well as any relevant regulations or laws that may apply to your business.
- Outline your goals: Explain your short and long-term goals for your business and how you plan to achieve them.
- Discuss legal needs: Clearly outline the specific legal needs of your business, such as contract review, IP protection, and data privacy.
- Provide company documents: Provide relevant company documents, such as business plans, incorporation papers, and past contracts, to help the lawyer understand your business.
- Be open to questions: Be open to answering questions from the lawyer about your business and be willing to provide additional information if needed.
- Establish a strong working relationship: Establish a strong working relationship with your lawyer to ensure that they understand your business and can provide the best possible legal support. Use an online contract tracking tool to have clear communication.
- Be clear about timeline: Let your lawyer know any deadlines you have for getting the contracts in place.
- Be transparent about budget: Be transparent about your budget for legal services so that the lawyer can provide practical and cost-effective solutions.
- Seek ongoing support: Consider seeking ongoing legal support from your lawyer as your business grows and evolves over time.
Things might be daunting to start with, especially when you are dealing with your first master service agreement but these tips should help you to get up and running quickly.
