#532 Mark Sherwood Edwards - Sales Side Lawyer

About this episode

Mark Sherwood Edwards is the Sales Side Lawyer. This podcast is all about having a sales-centric approach to legal contracting.

Summary of Podcast

Key Takeaways

• Problem: ~50% of deals die in contracting, often due to lawyers acting as a "Department for Sales Prevention" and triggering buyer anxiety.
• Solution: Treat legal risk as a price point. Frame buyer requests (e.g., for unlimited liability) as commercial choices that increase the price, shifting the negotiation from legal to business.
• Tactic: Reduce buyer anxiety by offering easy-out clauses (e.g., monthly after 12 months). This builds trust and forces the seller to focus on service quality to retain customers.
• Goal: Move all deals toward "no-touch" contracting (e.g., click-through T&Cs) to eliminate negotiation friction and speed up deal closure.

The Problem: Contracting Kills Deals

• Lawyers often act as a "Department for Sales Prevention," slowing deals and creating friction.
• The "Spoon" Analogy: Lawyers often make minor, risk-averse changes that alter the deal's structure, even if the core agreement is sound.
• Key Driver → Buyer Anxiety: The primary obstacle is a buyer's personal risk ("Fear of Messing Up"), not just corporate risk.
• Why: A long, complex contracting process increases the risk of the deal failing due to external factors (e.g., strategy changes, competitor bids).

The Solution: A Sales-Centric Legal Approach

• Core Principle: Treat legal risk as a price point.
• How: Frame buyer requests for increased risk (e.g., unlimited liability) as commercial choices that will increase the price.
• Why: This shifts the negotiation from a legal debate to a commercial one, where business stakeholders are more reasonable and budget-conscious.
• The "Sales Side Setup": Prepare for this by stating upfront in proposals that pricing is based on your standard T&Cs and that changes may affect the price.
• Easy-Out Clauses: Offer flexible termination terms (e.g., monthly after an initial 12-month period).
• Why: This reduces buyer anxiety and forces the seller to maintain high service quality to retain the customer.
• Caveat: This approach may not suit deals with high upfront costs (e.g., outsourcing), where a longer lock-in is needed to reach profitability.

Practical Tactics for Small Businesses

• Contracting Spectrum: Classify deals into three types and aim to move all toward "no-touch."
• No-Touch: Click-through T&Cs (e.g., Google, HubSpot).
• Low-Touch: Minor negotiations.
• High-Touch: Significant negotiation.
• Simplify Contracts:
• Use plain English and clear headings.
• For simple deals, use a signed letter of agreement instead of a formal contract.
• Payment Terms:
• Goal: Get paid in advance to eliminate the need for legal recovery clauses.
• Response to Long Terms: Counter with a price increase (e.g., 5%) or remove scope to meet the budget.

The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from the UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham also provides an Answer Engine Optimisation solution to get your website in shape to be found by LLMs.

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com