A recent study by Indiana University, reported in yesterday’s Financial Times, concluded that in litigation between US and non-US companies, the non-US companies are more likely to lose, and likely to suffer bigger damages awards, than their American counterparts.
These findings are hardly surprising. Given that native companies will be more familiar with the legal system and have better access to high quality legal resources, we would expect them to come out better in a challenge from an overseas company. What is surprising is the degree of advantage that US companies seem to have, given that theirs is a Western legal system supposedly free of bias.
Some of our clients deal with companies in the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe, where they have concerns about the effectiveness and enforceability of contracts.
Now it seems as though the largest economy in the Western world must be added to the list of countries where a fair hearing for overseas companies cannot be guaranteed.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Trainer, train thyself!
The problem with blogging is that if you miss a week or so, all of a sudden you find that loads of stuff has happened and your blog readers are quietly oblivious. So apologies for the long silence - life has been very, very busy in Devant over the last month, with more late nights than are healthy.
Where to start? Well first, a quick update on the progress of our Commercial Contract Training Workshops. Our last workshop (26th Oct) really inspired me. I met Rob Smith, of Victor Consulting ( www.victorconsulting.co.uk), who was the winner of our B2B Thames Valley 'Guess the Weight of the Contract competition. If you've ever wondered what all those obscure menu options on your Microsoft products actually do, wonder no more. Rob and his team have the expertise to make these products 'sing'. Well, not literally - although maybe with the right sound cards... ;0) Check them out to see what unexplored potential you have in your PC, and how they can help you get the most from your software investment!
This month also saw the launch of our new Training Resources area on the web site. Thanks to Alison, who invested many hours in preparing the sample clauses, this provides an invaluable resource to delegates. Each sample clause gives an explanation of what the clause is for, what it does and what a typical example looks like. It also identifies the other clauses that are linked, and should be considered together. After attending a workshop you'll receive an attendance certificate with your username and password granting you access. And as the materials are added to and updated, you automatically gain access to the updates and additions relevant to your workshop(s).
The next Foundations of Commercial Contract workshop is on Thursday 30th November - if you're interested, email me and I'll ask Jan to send you a .pdf brochure and some registration info.
And I finally managed to upload the latest podcast, about the importance of specifying exactly 'What are we delivering'. The quality of the audio isn't great, I'm afraid - I need to play with the microphone and Garageband on my beautiful new MacBook a bit more to optimise the levels. But hopefully it's clear enough for you to get the message!
What about the 'train thyself' of the title?
Well, I've spent most of the last two days at the annual conference of the International Association of Commercial and Contract Managers (IACCM) - find out more at www.iaccm.com. This was a great opportunity to hear some fantastic speakers at the very forefront of our profession, as well as to network with other commitment management professionals. 'Commitment Management' was the buzz-phrase of the conference, reflecting the change in perspective from the contract itself to the commitment it represents.
In the middle of today's conference session I made a dash through the downpour around Royal Ascot to Bearwood Lakes Golf Club. Not for a swift 9 holes, but to speak to the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce's SHE plc group. It was a great honour to be able to talk with such a dynamic bunch of women about the importance of thinking about and documenting their commercial relationships.
And in between all this, there has been the 'real work', of course. It's been a stimulating and challenging month, and I look forward to sharing what I've learned with you over future posts!
Where to start? Well first, a quick update on the progress of our Commercial Contract Training Workshops. Our last workshop (26th Oct) really inspired me. I met Rob Smith, of Victor Consulting ( www.victorconsulting.co.uk), who was the winner of our B2B Thames Valley 'Guess the Weight of the Contract competition. If you've ever wondered what all those obscure menu options on your Microsoft products actually do, wonder no more. Rob and his team have the expertise to make these products 'sing'. Well, not literally - although maybe with the right sound cards... ;0) Check them out to see what unexplored potential you have in your PC, and how they can help you get the most from your software investment!
This month also saw the launch of our new Training Resources area on the web site. Thanks to Alison, who invested many hours in preparing the sample clauses, this provides an invaluable resource to delegates. Each sample clause gives an explanation of what the clause is for, what it does and what a typical example looks like. It also identifies the other clauses that are linked, and should be considered together. After attending a workshop you'll receive an attendance certificate with your username and password granting you access. And as the materials are added to and updated, you automatically gain access to the updates and additions relevant to your workshop(s).
The next Foundations of Commercial Contract workshop is on Thursday 30th November - if you're interested, email me and I'll ask Jan to send you a .pdf brochure and some registration info.
And I finally managed to upload the latest podcast, about the importance of specifying exactly 'What are we delivering'. The quality of the audio isn't great, I'm afraid - I need to play with the microphone and Garageband on my beautiful new MacBook a bit more to optimise the levels. But hopefully it's clear enough for you to get the message!
What about the 'train thyself' of the title?
Well, I've spent most of the last two days at the annual conference of the International Association of Commercial and Contract Managers (IACCM) - find out more at www.iaccm.com. This was a great opportunity to hear some fantastic speakers at the very forefront of our profession, as well as to network with other commitment management professionals. 'Commitment Management' was the buzz-phrase of the conference, reflecting the change in perspective from the contract itself to the commitment it represents.
In the middle of today's conference session I made a dash through the downpour around Royal Ascot to Bearwood Lakes Golf Club. Not for a swift 9 holes, but to speak to the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce's SHE plc group. It was a great honour to be able to talk with such a dynamic bunch of women about the importance of thinking about and documenting their commercial relationships.
And in between all this, there has been the 'real work', of course. It's been a stimulating and challenging month, and I look forward to sharing what I've learned with you over future posts!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Are contracts a sales-prevention tool?
In the last few weeks we've been dealing with several new clients who never previously used contracts in their businesses at all. Some were used to preparing proposals for new sales, and usually included a few words about invoicing and payment terms. A couple even used reference to 'our terms and conditions apply' - without actually having any!!
When pushed, these companies (any many others - maybe you too?) say that they've avoided contracts because they can put off potential clients. They're worried that by showing a customer their terms of business, they're putting barriers in between them and the sale. And that, as we all know, is the last thing that sales people want to do!
Another variation on this theme is the company that does a fantastic sales job and has the client biting their hand off, and then slips their terms and conditions across the table with a mumbled 'So if you could just sign here...' at the last minute. Ideally, for these guys, the client wouldn't actually read the document before signing ('It's all the usual legal stuff...just standard, really...').
So why do we do this? Is giving a client your Ts & Cs before a sale really as off-putting as making a teenage boy take his prospective mother-in-law out for dinner before he can date your daughter?
I guess there are many reasons, but they fall into a few main categories:
- the sales person doesn't understand the Ts & Cs (and doesn't think the client will either)
- the Ts & Cs bear no relation to how the business works
- there is no clear benefit to the sales person (or, in their eyes, the company) to having the client sign these terms
- the Ts & Cs are so one-sided that the sales person is worried they will put off any potential client who actually reads them
- the deal size is so small that the company is happy to bear the risk of everything going wrong
If you have thoughts on this subject, I'd be really glad to receive them - you can either post online, or email me at tiffany.kemp@devant.co.uk. Needless to say, I don't share this reluctance to use Ts & Cs, but I do think that we should work hard to ensure the perceived negatives are addressed. Because we can't expect our professional sales people to do anything that they think is detrimental to the sale - and it's up to us to show them how contracts can be a margin delivery tool rather than sales prevention!
When pushed, these companies (any many others - maybe you too?) say that they've avoided contracts because they can put off potential clients. They're worried that by showing a customer their terms of business, they're putting barriers in between them and the sale. And that, as we all know, is the last thing that sales people want to do!
Another variation on this theme is the company that does a fantastic sales job and has the client biting their hand off, and then slips their terms and conditions across the table with a mumbled 'So if you could just sign here...' at the last minute. Ideally, for these guys, the client wouldn't actually read the document before signing ('It's all the usual legal stuff...just standard, really...').
So why do we do this? Is giving a client your Ts & Cs before a sale really as off-putting as making a teenage boy take his prospective mother-in-law out for dinner before he can date your daughter?
I guess there are many reasons, but they fall into a few main categories:
- the sales person doesn't understand the Ts & Cs (and doesn't think the client will either)
- the Ts & Cs bear no relation to how the business works
- there is no clear benefit to the sales person (or, in their eyes, the company) to having the client sign these terms
- the Ts & Cs are so one-sided that the sales person is worried they will put off any potential client who actually reads them
- the deal size is so small that the company is happy to bear the risk of everything going wrong
If you have thoughts on this subject, I'd be really glad to receive them - you can either post online, or email me at tiffany.kemp@devant.co.uk. Needless to say, I don't share this reluctance to use Ts & Cs, but I do think that we should work hard to ensure the perceived negatives are addressed. Because we can't expect our professional sales people to do anything that they think is detrimental to the sale - and it's up to us to show them how contracts can be a margin delivery tool rather than sales prevention!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Power to the People
Those of you who didn't come to the B2B show may not be aware that our first 'public' training workshop is going to be on Thursday 19th October, at Soane Point in central Reading. Although we've been providing in-house training workshops for clients and for select groups of associates, this will be the first time that Devant has advertised open training events that anyone may attend. So why are we 'going public'?
The objective of our 'Foundations of Commercial Contracts' workshop is to put contracts back in the heart of the business, where they belong. When I founded Devant, over three years ago, I had not realised just how reluctant most small and medium sized companies were to deal with lawyers. The general perception was that lawyers fees outstripped their value - to such an extent that a surprising number of companies would sign something they didn't understand rather than pay a lawyer to review it for them.
While I'm no fan of overpriced legal services, I'm equally unhappy about the way that smaller companies are put at a disadvantage by their lack of access to decent legal support. Hence the training. While we're not promising to make anyone into a contract law expert, we do promise that delegates will leave our workshops understanding what the legal stuff means to them - in practical, commercial business terms. And that they'll be able to work out when they really do need professional support. And how to ask for it! After all, there's a world of difference between handing over a 25 page contract to a lawyer and asking 'What does this mean to my business?', and asking your lawyer (or us!) 'What does this clause mean?'.
If you're able to read and understand most of the contract yourself then you can ask for specific advice and assistance - which not only saves you money, it also ensures that YOU are in control of your commercial relationships, rather than the lawyers (or the other party, which is even worse!).
So if you're not among those who have reserved their places on the first workshops (19th Oct in central Reading, 26th Oct just South of J11 M4 at Wyvols Court) then drop us an email (or call on 0118 9889672) quickly to benefit from the 10% discount that applies to these first two workshops only. There are only a small number of places left on each October session, but we will be running further workshops in November and December in case you miss these.
The objective of our 'Foundations of Commercial Contracts' workshop is to put contracts back in the heart of the business, where they belong. When I founded Devant, over three years ago, I had not realised just how reluctant most small and medium sized companies were to deal with lawyers. The general perception was that lawyers fees outstripped their value - to such an extent that a surprising number of companies would sign something they didn't understand rather than pay a lawyer to review it for them.
While I'm no fan of overpriced legal services, I'm equally unhappy about the way that smaller companies are put at a disadvantage by their lack of access to decent legal support. Hence the training. While we're not promising to make anyone into a contract law expert, we do promise that delegates will leave our workshops understanding what the legal stuff means to them - in practical, commercial business terms. And that they'll be able to work out when they really do need professional support. And how to ask for it! After all, there's a world of difference between handing over a 25 page contract to a lawyer and asking 'What does this mean to my business?', and asking your lawyer (or us!) 'What does this clause mean?'.
If you're able to read and understand most of the contract yourself then you can ask for specific advice and assistance - which not only saves you money, it also ensures that YOU are in control of your commercial relationships, rather than the lawyers (or the other party, which is even worse!).
So if you're not among those who have reserved their places on the first workshops (19th Oct in central Reading, 26th Oct just South of J11 M4 at Wyvols Court) then drop us an email (or call on 0118 9889672) quickly to benefit from the 10% discount that applies to these first two workshops only. There are only a small number of places left on each October session, but we will be running further workshops in November and December in case you miss these.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Thanks for Making it a Great Event!
As you'll have seen from Simon's post below (thanks, Simon, for the pics and the funky slideshow!!) we had a fantastic couple of days at the B2B Thames Valley event this week. Lots of you attended the conferences and seminars, and we were delighted by the number of visitors to our stand who were genuinely interested in how they could improve their profitability through a better understanding of commercial contracts.
The "Guess the Weight of the Contract" competition was very popular, with over 200 entries in total! I can now reveal that the heavyweight tome clocked in at an impressive 2.475Kg!! We'll be notifying the lucky winners, who will receive Devant workshop places and champagne as prizes, over the next few days. Your units of measurement were a great source of entertainment throughout the event. Lots of you thought in 'bags of sugar' and we had several 'about the weight of my second child' comparisons. But my favourite was the lady who thought our contract weighed 'about one and a half medium-sized cats!!'
If you didn't make it to the event you can sign up to one of our first two public training workshops at a special 10% discount - only £360 for an intensive one-day learning experience that will pay for itself many times over. Contact us to book your place, and mention our BLOG to receive your special discount.
We met some fantastic people over the course of the two days in Windsor, and Alison, Jan, Helen and I would like to thank the organisers of B2B Thames Valley (and particularly Scott Hider) for all their hard work in making it such a roaring success.
We'd also like to thank:
- Simon of Hyde End Studios, and Mark of Facer Designs, for their creation of the gorgeous cake-inspired graphics that attracted so much attention to our stand,
- Christina of Tasty Catering (tel. 0118 979 7134) for her delicious cakes that were enjoyed by all, and
- Emma of I-Candi Designs I-Candi Designs for our elegant cake boxes.
The "Guess the Weight of the Contract" competition was very popular, with over 200 entries in total! I can now reveal that the heavyweight tome clocked in at an impressive 2.475Kg!! We'll be notifying the lucky winners, who will receive Devant workshop places and champagne as prizes, over the next few days. Your units of measurement were a great source of entertainment throughout the event. Lots of you thought in 'bags of sugar' and we had several 'about the weight of my second child' comparisons. But my favourite was the lady who thought our contract weighed 'about one and a half medium-sized cats!!'
If you didn't make it to the event you can sign up to one of our first two public training workshops at a special 10% discount - only £360 for an intensive one-day learning experience that will pay for itself many times over. Contact us to book your place, and mention our BLOG to receive your special discount.
We met some fantastic people over the course of the two days in Windsor, and Alison, Jan, Helen and I would like to thank the organisers of B2B Thames Valley (and particularly Scott Hider) for all their hard work in making it such a roaring success.
We'd also like to thank:
- Simon of Hyde End Studios, and Mark of Facer Designs, for their creation of the gorgeous cake-inspired graphics that attracted so much attention to our stand,
- Christina of Tasty Catering (tel. 0118 979 7134) for her delicious cakes that were enjoyed by all, and
- Emma of I-Candi Designs I-Candi Designs for our elegant cake boxes.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
B2B Thames Valley Exhibition
This annual exhibition held at Windsor Racecourse was a great success for Devant. A full report coming soon but in the meantime, turn your speakers on and click the 'play' button below for little pictorial preview of how the show went!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Cakes and Contracts
Some of you may (secretly) believe that contracts are really rather dull. You would never say so to me, of course, knowing it would hurt my feelings ;0) but the perception is out there, all the same.
At Devant, we don't think contracts are dull at all. For us, they are the DNA of a business - they define the way it interacts with its clients, its suppliers, its business partners and its staff. And, more importantly, getting them right (and, along the way, getting your commercial relationships right), will help you maximise your profits and safeguard your business. Not a bad achievement, really!
So how to help the business world see how truly exciting, essential and (dare I say it?) FUN structuring and negotiating great commercial contracts can be?
Cakes.
Yes, that's right: after much deliberation about the theme for the B2B Thames Valley exhibition (26/27th Sept, Windsor Racecourse, www.b2bthamesvalley.co.uk, in case you missed the earlier post), we've decided on cakes!
Why? Well, cakes are nice. They taste good, bring a smile to people's faces, and make the world a better place. Just like contracts. Well, except the tasting good bit, anyway. So now you're curious, aren't you? How exactly is Devant going to use cakes to make us want to be trained in the art of crafting excellent business relationships? How does a bit of buttercream help us reduce our risks and increase our profits?
Windsor Racecourse, 26th and 27th September. Be there - and find out!
At Devant, we don't think contracts are dull at all. For us, they are the DNA of a business - they define the way it interacts with its clients, its suppliers, its business partners and its staff. And, more importantly, getting them right (and, along the way, getting your commercial relationships right), will help you maximise your profits and safeguard your business. Not a bad achievement, really!
So how to help the business world see how truly exciting, essential and (dare I say it?) FUN structuring and negotiating great commercial contracts can be?
Cakes.
Yes, that's right: after much deliberation about the theme for the B2B Thames Valley exhibition (26/27th Sept, Windsor Racecourse, www.b2bthamesvalley.co.uk, in case you missed the earlier post), we've decided on cakes!
Why? Well, cakes are nice. They taste good, bring a smile to people's faces, and make the world a better place. Just like contracts. Well, except the tasting good bit, anyway. So now you're curious, aren't you? How exactly is Devant going to use cakes to make us want to be trained in the art of crafting excellent business relationships? How does a bit of buttercream help us reduce our risks and increase our profits?
Windsor Racecourse, 26th and 27th September. Be there - and find out!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
To sign or not to sign?
A recent project has highlighted for me a dilemma faced by many small and medium sized companies in business today.
Simply put, it goes like this: "We want to encourage clients to do business with us, and make it as easy as possible for them, but we're selling high-value products/services and would ideally like them to sign a contract to protect us both. "
So there are two apparently conflicting aims: to make it easy for the customer to buy, and to make it safe for you to sell.
This became apparent when we started having a discussion about our client's sales process, and how we would get the customer to sign their contract. Their concern was that requiring the customer to sign something would slow down the process and put a barrier in the way of the sale. The alternative was to consider using General Terms and Conditions, that did not require signature by the client.
The challenge here is that, particularly if you are making large sales, you want to ensure that your terms and conditions will actually be the ones that govern the sale. This can be difficult with an exchange of Ts & Cs as the customer will often return a purchase order setting out their own Ts & Cs - which, strangely enough, rarely reflect yours! If the customer actually signs your contract then the problem of the "battle of the forms" does not arise (providing your contract is well drafted!), and it's very clear which terms apply to the deal.
After much debate, we have now prepared a set of General Terms that set out a clear process for determining when a contract has been made. The next step will be working with the sales and presales teams to ensure they understand these General Terms, and know how to use them in conjunction with the proposal and sales process. This training activity is absolutely key to the value of the new General Terms, as without it they are simply another document sitting on the company intranet. And for us at Devant, it's essential to build the contract into the business rather than leaving it on the side (or in the proverbial filing cabinet!).
Given the high level of opportunities being generated in this particular customer's business, I think we'll quickly have the opportunity to put these new terms and conditions to the test - I'll let you know how we get on!
Simply put, it goes like this: "We want to encourage clients to do business with us, and make it as easy as possible for them, but we're selling high-value products/services and would ideally like them to sign a contract to protect us both. "
So there are two apparently conflicting aims: to make it easy for the customer to buy, and to make it safe for you to sell.
This became apparent when we started having a discussion about our client's sales process, and how we would get the customer to sign their contract. Their concern was that requiring the customer to sign something would slow down the process and put a barrier in the way of the sale. The alternative was to consider using General Terms and Conditions, that did not require signature by the client.
The challenge here is that, particularly if you are making large sales, you want to ensure that your terms and conditions will actually be the ones that govern the sale. This can be difficult with an exchange of Ts & Cs as the customer will often return a purchase order setting out their own Ts & Cs - which, strangely enough, rarely reflect yours! If the customer actually signs your contract then the problem of the "battle of the forms" does not arise (providing your contract is well drafted!), and it's very clear which terms apply to the deal.
After much debate, we have now prepared a set of General Terms that set out a clear process for determining when a contract has been made. The next step will be working with the sales and presales teams to ensure they understand these General Terms, and know how to use them in conjunction with the proposal and sales process. This training activity is absolutely key to the value of the new General Terms, as without it they are simply another document sitting on the company intranet. And for us at Devant, it's essential to build the contract into the business rather than leaving it on the side (or in the proverbial filing cabinet!).
Given the high level of opportunities being generated in this particular customer's business, I think we'll quickly have the opportunity to put these new terms and conditions to the test - I'll let you know how we get on!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Show's the Thing!
It's now just four weeks until the B2B Thames Valley business exhibition and seminar event at Windsor Racecourse (26th and 27th Sept). Those of you who have been involved in preparing for exhibitions will have an idea of the state of our office at the moment - sample graphics, invitations and mailing lists are jostling for space with the real work of putting together great contracts and training programmes!
It'll be the first time we've exhibited at a B2B event, and it looks like it will be great. I'm working on my presentation for the Devant seminar on Tuesday 26th September. I'll be the warm-up act for Bob Geldof, who's presenting immediately after my seminar, so it's important to make it really fun and relevant - I'm glad I don't have to follow him instead!!
If you've not received an invite yet, you can register free for the event at www.b2bthamesvalley.co.uk.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Time out
After a very hectic Summer, I took some time out this week with the family for trip down to Dorset. It's always a bit scary putting the answering machine on and leaving the office - but I'm really glad I did. We took a trip on the steam railway from Swanage to Corfe Castle - Riley, the dog, wasn't keen on the steam whistle, but the kids loved it!
My husband Simon is a photographer and he posted some more pictures on his blog (you'll need to scroll down a bit).
After an explore of the castle itself we mounted an expedition to the top of a nearby hill for a better view. It was fantastic - the breeze was so strong you felt like you could fly! Now, back to the office, and some new projects waiting in the inbox for Monday.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Small World
It's been a hectic and multi-national kind of week. When, some years ago, I quit my job negotiating contracts with telcos around Europe on behalf of a large US software company http://www.convergys.com to start Devant, I I thought I'd left my days of wrestling with foreign legal systems behind me. The world of small and medium sized UK businesses would enable me to leave my passport and my language dictionaries at home, I thought. How wrong could I be?
You're an adventurous lot, you English companies! Thanks to my clients' global interests, this week I've been learning about Swiss contract law, arbitration in India, oil exploration in Qatar and software application hosting in Eastern Europe. There is always an element of nervousness when dealing with foreign legal systems, or even doing business under English law with other countries. Fortunately, through our excellent lawyers Charles Russell we have access to a global network of legal advice in English, which truly enables us to support our clients where ever they are doing business.
And, despite cultural, legal and language differences, when it comes to business most companies want the same thing - a fair and reasonable deal that enables them to manage and understand their risks, and maximise the benefits they receive from the relationship.
You're an adventurous lot, you English companies! Thanks to my clients' global interests, this week I've been learning about Swiss contract law, arbitration in India, oil exploration in Qatar and software application hosting in Eastern Europe. There is always an element of nervousness when dealing with foreign legal systems, or even doing business under English law with other countries. Fortunately, through our excellent lawyers Charles Russell we have access to a global network of legal advice in English, which truly enables us to support our clients where ever they are doing business.
And, despite cultural, legal and language differences, when it comes to business most companies want the same thing - a fair and reasonable deal that enables them to manage and understand their risks, and maximise the benefits they receive from the relationship.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Shed Nirvana
Just a quick note - today I received my full refund from B&Q for the returned shed. They even refunded the delivery charge, which I thought was jolly decent of them. Of course' I'd asked them to - but fully expected a 'No'. So it just goes to show that if you ask in the right way, all things are possible!
And yesterday the new shed arrived. It is magnificent, and I am considering moving from Devant's elegant and comfortable offices, just to spend more time there. If you are ever in need of a good quality shed, and don't want to build it from scratch yourself, give Kevin Payne a call - 01205 480 364. He makes to order (so my shed fits my footings perfectly!) and delivers all over the UK.
And yesterday the new shed arrived. It is magnificent, and I am considering moving from Devant's elegant and comfortable offices, just to spend more time there. If you are ever in need of a good quality shed, and don't want to build it from scratch yourself, give Kevin Payne a call - 01205 480 364. He makes to order (so my shed fits my footings perfectly!) and delivers all over the UK.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Building Bridges
It occurred to me today, as I worked on a couple of new dispute cases, that there are so many different ways to voice a problem - and to respond.
You can go straight for the jugular, leaving the other party nowhere to go except to back down (and feel foolish/abused/weak) or to fight fire with fire. Result? Full scale war, bad feeling on both sides, potentially huge legal bills or stalemate.
Alternatively, you can open by stating your case in a friendly manner, making it clear that the other party, being the reasonable individual they are, will no doubt have come to similar conclusions themselves, and be keen to sort things out. Result? Because most of us like to be perceived as reasonable people (the 'decent bloke' approach), the tendency is that, if approached in an appropriate way, we'll live up to this description of ourselves. Of course, it doesn't always work - but it's often a good way to start.
I had personal experience of this last week, over (of all things!) a garden shed. I'd ordered the shed in B&Q without the chance to inspect it close-up (they have a policy of displaying them on a 20-foot high display frame). When it came to assembly, the desired shed was not quite what I had anticipated. Rather than just (!) fixing together four panels, adding a roof and floor and screwing on the doors, full-scale carpentry was required. And the wood was wonky, to boot. So what to do?
As a seasoned resolver of disputes, I started by jotting down a list of my complaints, keeping these to the facts of why what was delivered did not meet my reasonable expectations, and what I would like to have done about it. Then I called B&Q and spoke to a customer service representative. We had a pleasant conversation, after which she said she would leave a message for the store manager. I expected to hear nothing, but later that day I received a call back (yes, that's right - the very same day!!). This gentleman, Jason, listened carefully to my issues. He asked politely what I would like to do. When I requested that he arrange collection of the shed and refund my card, he agreed. Then he arranged for collection to take place. Now the shed is gone, and I have ordered a new one - not from B&Q this time, but only because I've realised that in the case of garden sheds, as with all things, you get what you pay for. The new one is twice the price of the B&Q shed, but is due to arrive and be fully assembled this week.
Would I buy again from B&Q? Happily. Jason was charming and understanding. He addressed my complaint fairly and resolved it swiftly. Yes, he lost this sale - but has left me with a more positive impression of B&Q than I started with. Not bad, really, considering the quality of the shed! Perhaps I would have received the same polite and friendly treatment if I had gone in all guns blazing. But it wouldn't have been such a positive experience. Well done, B&Q.
You can go straight for the jugular, leaving the other party nowhere to go except to back down (and feel foolish/abused/weak) or to fight fire with fire. Result? Full scale war, bad feeling on both sides, potentially huge legal bills or stalemate.
Alternatively, you can open by stating your case in a friendly manner, making it clear that the other party, being the reasonable individual they are, will no doubt have come to similar conclusions themselves, and be keen to sort things out. Result? Because most of us like to be perceived as reasonable people (the 'decent bloke' approach), the tendency is that, if approached in an appropriate way, we'll live up to this description of ourselves. Of course, it doesn't always work - but it's often a good way to start.
I had personal experience of this last week, over (of all things!) a garden shed. I'd ordered the shed in B&Q without the chance to inspect it close-up (they have a policy of displaying them on a 20-foot high display frame). When it came to assembly, the desired shed was not quite what I had anticipated. Rather than just (!) fixing together four panels, adding a roof and floor and screwing on the doors, full-scale carpentry was required. And the wood was wonky, to boot. So what to do?
As a seasoned resolver of disputes, I started by jotting down a list of my complaints, keeping these to the facts of why what was delivered did not meet my reasonable expectations, and what I would like to have done about it. Then I called B&Q and spoke to a customer service representative. We had a pleasant conversation, after which she said she would leave a message for the store manager. I expected to hear nothing, but later that day I received a call back (yes, that's right - the very same day!!). This gentleman, Jason, listened carefully to my issues. He asked politely what I would like to do. When I requested that he arrange collection of the shed and refund my card, he agreed. Then he arranged for collection to take place. Now the shed is gone, and I have ordered a new one - not from B&Q this time, but only because I've realised that in the case of garden sheds, as with all things, you get what you pay for. The new one is twice the price of the B&Q shed, but is due to arrive and be fully assembled this week.
Would I buy again from B&Q? Happily. Jason was charming and understanding. He addressed my complaint fairly and resolved it swiftly. Yes, he lost this sale - but has left me with a more positive impression of B&Q than I started with. Not bad, really, considering the quality of the shed! Perhaps I would have received the same polite and friendly treatment if I had gone in all guns blazing. But it wouldn't have been such a positive experience. Well done, B&Q.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Firm foundations lead to better dispute resolution!
I don't know if it's the hot weather, making people more tetchy than usual, but we seem to have had a rush of Dispute Resolution requests recently. These range from simple ('we don't think we had a contract, so we're not going to pay you for your work'), to complex ('Yes, we have a contract but it's so convoluted that the only people who can say for sure what the situation is are the Courts.'), and with sums involved from thousands to millions of pounds.
In all cases, though, there are two common threads that might be useful to highlight.
Firstly, the party who is suffering through the dispute is not entirely clear as to what their legal position is.
In some cases, this is just because they are not experienced at reading contracts, and understanding the ramifications of the various elements of their situation - this is relatively easy to fix, and we have been able to offer assistance in gaining a clear idea of their rights. In others, though, the original commercial relationship was not set up on a firm footing. This means that either there was no contract at all, or the contract was too high-level to be of help, or the contract was complex, self-contradictory and unclear! This is far more challenging, as we are having to pull together lots of other information (how people have behaved, what they have said in emails, etc) to try to determine what the original agreement actually was. A much tougher job than just reading through a nice, clear contract!
The second common thread is that the party who is causing the dispute believes that just by refusing to pay what is owed, they will either avoid payment altogether or at least secure a discount on what they owe through a 'negotiated settlement'.
The outcome of the situation depends on the extent to which these two threads co-exist. The more contractual clarity there is, and the better the suffering party understands their position, the more likely they are to stick to their rights and eventually to agree a favourable result. When you are in an unclear contractual situation there is the tendency to settle for less than you should, simply because working through the detail looks too difficult and expensive.
At Devant, we will always try to establish clarity regardless of the complexity of the situations our clients find themselves in. And, of course, we work hard to obtain the best outcome for the client, which means the optimum balance of time and money invested in sorting things out versus the amount at stake. But it certainly makes life easier if the original commercial relationship was clearly defined! I guess it's the commercial equivilent of the old adage 'marry in haste, repent at leisure'. I prefer to put a more positive spin on things though - how about 'Contract with care, to avoid despair'? Or 'If your contract's cute, you'll avoid disputes'? Hmmm... maybe I should stick to writing contracts, and leave the slogans to the professionals!
In all cases, though, there are two common threads that might be useful to highlight.
Firstly, the party who is suffering through the dispute is not entirely clear as to what their legal position is.
In some cases, this is just because they are not experienced at reading contracts, and understanding the ramifications of the various elements of their situation - this is relatively easy to fix, and we have been able to offer assistance in gaining a clear idea of their rights. In others, though, the original commercial relationship was not set up on a firm footing. This means that either there was no contract at all, or the contract was too high-level to be of help, or the contract was complex, self-contradictory and unclear! This is far more challenging, as we are having to pull together lots of other information (how people have behaved, what they have said in emails, etc) to try to determine what the original agreement actually was. A much tougher job than just reading through a nice, clear contract!
The second common thread is that the party who is causing the dispute believes that just by refusing to pay what is owed, they will either avoid payment altogether or at least secure a discount on what they owe through a 'negotiated settlement'.
The outcome of the situation depends on the extent to which these two threads co-exist. The more contractual clarity there is, and the better the suffering party understands their position, the more likely they are to stick to their rights and eventually to agree a favourable result. When you are in an unclear contractual situation there is the tendency to settle for less than you should, simply because working through the detail looks too difficult and expensive.
At Devant, we will always try to establish clarity regardless of the complexity of the situations our clients find themselves in. And, of course, we work hard to obtain the best outcome for the client, which means the optimum balance of time and money invested in sorting things out versus the amount at stake. But it certainly makes life easier if the original commercial relationship was clearly defined! I guess it's the commercial equivilent of the old adage 'marry in haste, repent at leisure'. I prefer to put a more positive spin on things though - how about 'Contract with care, to avoid despair'? Or 'If your contract's cute, you'll avoid disputes'? Hmmm... maybe I should stick to writing contracts, and leave the slogans to the professionals!
Monday, June 26, 2006
The first Devant podcast is born!
It may not have taken nine months to gestate, but it's probably been that long since my husband first suggested that podcasting would be a great way for Devant to 'spread the word' about how commercial contracting really ought to work. At last, after much thought and more than a few technical hitches, the first ever Devant podcast has been uploaded. I hope to be able to offer lots more resources to help you and your colleagues to develop really great commercial relationships. If you have a spare five minutes (well, eight to be more accurate!), listen to the first one and let me know what you think. And if you have any thoughts about topics for future podcasts, drop me a line.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
What kind of partners are we?
On a fairly regular basis I'm told by a client that they would like 'some sort of partnering agreement' to cement a fledgling business relationship. This week was the latest - two companies who have complementary products and services believe that they could deliver a better solution to their clients by working together than separately. They are, of course, quite right. By teaming up with another business, you can add skills and resources to your portfolio and not only provide a more complete solution to your clients but also (almost as importantly!) keep out actual or potential competitors.
The hitch comes when we start trying to figure out exactly what kind of partners the two companies are going to be. Are we talking about joint marketing? Putting links to each other's web sites, having joint stands at trade shows, and including lines like 'Powered by ..." at the bottom of our brochures? Or a reseller relationship, where one of you can resell the other's products and services? Or even a two-way reseller relationship, where each of you will take the lead in different markets/geographies/client accounts? Or does one of you want to have a full-on, well publicised and marketed relationship that allows each of you to bask in the other's reflected glory, while the other prefers a more 'behind the scenes' collaboration with the partner's staff acting under their banner?
Like most business relationships, different approaches will work for different companies at different stages in the relationship. There is no such thing as a 'right' way to work together. The only thing really matters is that you both agree what kind of partners you want to be! With this client, they and their potential partner are currently in different places - each has a different view of the best way to work together, and until these are reconciled we have to put the champagne on ice and keep the confetti boxed. I'll be working with them both over the coming weeks to see where the middle ground lies, and how they can each use this relationship to maximum benefit - watch this space!
The hitch comes when we start trying to figure out exactly what kind of partners the two companies are going to be. Are we talking about joint marketing? Putting links to each other's web sites, having joint stands at trade shows, and including lines like 'Powered by ..." at the bottom of our brochures? Or a reseller relationship, where one of you can resell the other's products and services? Or even a two-way reseller relationship, where each of you will take the lead in different markets/geographies/client accounts? Or does one of you want to have a full-on, well publicised and marketed relationship that allows each of you to bask in the other's reflected glory, while the other prefers a more 'behind the scenes' collaboration with the partner's staff acting under their banner?
Like most business relationships, different approaches will work for different companies at different stages in the relationship. There is no such thing as a 'right' way to work together. The only thing really matters is that you both agree what kind of partners you want to be! With this client, they and their potential partner are currently in different places - each has a different view of the best way to work together, and until these are reconciled we have to put the champagne on ice and keep the confetti boxed. I'll be working with them both over the coming weeks to see where the middle ground lies, and how they can each use this relationship to maximum benefit - watch this space!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
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