When David contracts with Goliath

The potential rewards of working with large organisations are obviously enormous. Many members of The Consultancy Growth Network spend years pursuing and cultivating these contracts. But these lucrative deals can serve up pitfalls too.

Bidding for contracts with large companies

In this webinar, our founder Marc Jantzen and John Woodhouse, partner at Wallace LLP, offered their expert insight on how to work with big corporates. Because if you get it right, the rewards can be enormous.

However, there are plenty of scare stories for consultancy owners to take note of too. In the webinar, Marc related stories of members wrangling with major firms for unpaid fees amounting to six figures. And John told us of a consultancy that misread the contract and ended up having to void their fees.

Contract terms with big companies

The primary lesson from John was that once your work has started and the contract has been signed, then the horse has bolted. You need to be crystal clear on what terms you’ve agreed to. Big corporates are complex organisations, with their own unwieldy bureaucracies. Once you’re on a track, it’s very hard to get off.

In his presentation, John offered some key do’s and don’ts for consultancies aiming to work with big firms.

Do:

• Push your own paperwork – if you have T&C’s or an engagement letter that you have developed over time that you’re comfortable with – push it! You’ll be surprised by how large firms are often willing to accept your terms.
• Review your documentation – this is probably one of the scarier ones. The master services agreement you’ll receive may be a stack of papers. It can be intimidating. But remember: if things go sour, any conflict will be resolved by some variation of ‘What’s in the contract?’
• Avise o conselho - grandes empresas têm um esquadrão de pessoas para cuidar de seus interesses. Como proprietário de uma consultoria, você está muito mais exposto. Um bom contrato advogado pode fazer toda a diferença. É uma despesa, com certeza - mas pode salvar seu bacon na linha. Tome seu tempo e não seja pressionado a tomar decisões precipitadas. Você precisa permanecer firme e se compor. Por fim, eles querem trabalhar com você por causa de suas habilidades. Na realidade, não existe um contrato "padrão". Não se desfez com 'Nenhum outro fornecedor faz essas perguntas'. Na mesma linha, um feliz relacionamento de trabalho com uma grande organização começa com a definição dos parâmetros do trabalho com antecedência. Faça certo e você deve estar fazendo um trabalho lucrativo e gratificante.

Don’t:

• Just sign it – this is an obvious one, but it’s surprising how many people still fall foul of this. Take your time and don’t be pressured into making rash decisions.
• Be intimidated – big firms will throw a lot of things at you in the negotiation stage. You need to stand firm and compose yourself. Ultimately, they want to work with you because of your skills.
• Swallow the rhetoric –  As John pointed out, he’s only known one non-negotiable contract: it was with a Saudi sovereign fund. In reality, there’s no such thing as a ‘standard’ contract. Don’t be fobbed off by ‘no other supplier asks these questions.’

It’s often said that good fences make good neighbours. In a similar vein, a happy working relationship with a major organisation starts with defining the parameters of the work in advance. Get it right and you should find yourself doing lucrative and rewarding work.

A gravação completa da apresentação de Marc e John, juntamente com as gravações de todos os nossos eventos, está disponível para os membros através do CRESCH HUB. Se você deseja se juntar a nós e ampliar seus negócios, torne -se um membro ou

If you would like to join our next webinar and you are not a member of the network, try us out by registering for one of our events for free. If you would like to join us and scale up your business, become a member or entre em contato com George para saber mais. Gostaríamos de recebê -lo em nossa comunidade. Artigo