What's In, What's Out

This is a guest post from Solo PR PRO Premium member, Daria Steigman.

Many years ago I was asked to develop a marketing package for the environmental practice group of a large, Washington-based, law firm. I interviewed all the partners, developed a profile of the practice, and wrote biographies that turned their experience from a listing of major cases into a description of their accomplishments. When I submitted the draft I got exclamations of delight and a promise to provide quick feedback from all the principals. It never came, and my phone queries went unanswered. So I waited, and waited, and waited—and then waited some more.

Every Solo PR pro who has run a business for a while is probably nodding and smiling right about now. Sure, I had a contract, and it stipulated that I get paid for my work. But it didn’t provide sufficient detail to protect me from being strung along for months.

The good news is that I’ve learned a lot from this and other miscalculations. Over time my contracts have gotten tighter, although I still gravitate to a plain-language document rather than a legally-drawn set of numbered clauses.

So what should you have in your contract when you’re calling the shots? At a minimum, I believe that every contract should include a scope of work, a production schedule (i.e., the deadlines), and a payment schedule.

Scope of Work

The scope of work should outline the project and spell out, in as much detail as possible, each task you will undertake. Specify, for example, whether you’re expected to provide guidance on content development or if you will draft articles from materials supplied by the client. And write out whether you will provide one or two rounds of revisions once you’ve delivered the first draft of a blog post, e-newsletter, article, or other deliverable. Do you have ancillary responsibilities (e.g., are you handling the posting? are you building the social media pieces?) If so, spell these out too.

I also specify the client’s responsibilities. Is it the client’s job to provide you with access to experts? Then say so. For example, you might include in your contact that “Company XYZ agrees to provide access, as needed, to subject matter experts for consultation, interviews (print and video), and/or clarifications.”

Production Schedule

Although a company may have a drop-dead date for finalizing all the marketing elements of its new product launch, it’s up to you (and your client, of course) to figure out what has to happen in order to meet that deadline. If you’re lucky, you’ll have some cushion. (Yes, that’s a great thought.) But too often consultants are brought in on the rush. So when is the final messaging due? What’s the timing for the graphic designer to turn around his product? How long does the client have to review the materials? When does the step-and-repeat have to be in the printer’s hands? And what happens when the schedule falls apart? Spell out if you want to include rush fees or a higher rate for working weekends.

It’s important to address as many eventualities as possible so that you don’t become a convenient scapegoat for a process gone awry. In my experience, the best contracts leave few details to chance.

Payment Schedule

As I discovered the hard way, you can wait a long time to get paid if you don’t spell out when you propose to bill a client. There are multiple approaches to payment. I tend to bill either at the end of a short project but request payment upfront (at least a portion) for longer projects and with monthly retainers. There’s no right approach, however—just make sure you spell out how much you will charge and when you will be submitting invoices.

Finally, it’s great when you can write your own consulting agreement (Solo PR has some great contract language available for its PRO members), but many large organizations insist that you sign a generic corporate contract that includes everything but the kitchen sink. In those cases, my advice is to talk to a lawyer before you sign anything with lots of legal jargon. It might be fine, but do you really want to take that chance?

You can find Daria Steigman at Steigman Communications, llc. A version of this post first ran as part of her Independent Thinking series for IABC.com.

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