How to Get Clients to Sign 12 Month Agreements and Feel Good About It

If you’re an agency that asks your clients to sign a contract or agreement in order to start work, congratulations, you’re in the small minority of agencies that do so.

If you ALSO ask clients to make 12-month commitments to any monthly services that you offer, you’re in an EVEN SMALLER percentage of agencies.

The reality is, most agencies don’t make their clients sign contracts and they let everyone go “month to month” and cancel at any time.

I believe this is a short-sighted mistake and you’re not doing right by you, your company OR your client.

The reason that agencies don’t ask their clients to sign or commit boils down to beliefs…

… belief that a contract will kill the deal and be bad for business

… belief that a commitment will turn the client off

… belief that clients don’t trust us and don’t want to commit

… belief that clients want to be able to change their minds

… belief that contracts are uncomfortable, awkward or unkind 

We all tend to avoid the things we are uncomfortable with and asking a client to make a commitment or sign a contract is definitely one of those things with which agencies struggle.

In order to see commitments and contracts as not only important, but necessary, we have to change our beliefs about them.

A great way to consider a change to your beliefs is by asking a simple question:

Why might having a client sign a contract and make a commitment be a GOOD thing?

Well, let’s see, contracts and commitments…

… lay out the rules of the “game” so we know how play it

… make sure we get paid on time

… make sure you’re not always “reselling” the client

… make your monthly revenue more stable and predictable

… makes your business more valuable

… tells your clients that you take their (and your) business seriously

… show the client what commitments you are making to them

All these things are good things.  

You need to decide if you are running a real business or are you just pretending? Real businesses have contracts.  Contracts set expectations for everyone involved and increase the chance that everyone gets what they want. 

It’s these very contracts that will dramatically increase the value of your company.  In the end, is that not worth the temporary discomfort of asking a client to sign a contract?

Apply for a coaching call with our Director of Coaching. We can help you turn your agency into a real business powerhouse.