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Playbook template for contract negotiations (free)

Authors

If you’re building your first contract playbook or updating your existing one, we crowdsourced all the best practices of playbook creation into one template for you.

Download our Word document template (.docx), then follow the framework in the document to pinpoint issues, fallbacks, and other resources to help your team negotiate their contracts.

Here’s a few best practices tips from our founding team:

Do

  • Be concise!
  • Design for readability: Use ample white space, clear headers, and a table of contents. Color and varied formatting can make navigation easier.
  • Actionable guidance: Provide direct, practical advice for using the playbook.
  • Visually distinct explanations: Use formatting to differentiate explanations from actionable steps.
  • Incorporate examples: Include examples of redlines and suggested language.
  • Clarify ownership: Specify who is responsible for each section to streamline approvals.
  • Emphasize critical terms: Mark "must-have" terms to prioritize in negotiations.

Don't

  • Paste in large clause snippets: Emphasize important parts of clauses, rather than including them in their entirety. This is especially true when including text already in your standard language. This keeps the playbook concise and focused on key elements.
  • Avoid information prone to change: Do not include details that frequently change, such as exact wording from your Master Service Agreement (MSA) or section numbers. These elements quickly become outdated, leading to confusion.
  • No legalese or technical jargon: Steer clear of unexplained legal terms or technical jargon. Aim for clarity and accessibility to ensure the playbook is useful for a wide audience.
  • Don’t include every single clause: Prioritize essential clauses. Identify and document only the most critical clauses, distinguishing between non-negotiables and negotiables with clear alternatives. Omit clauses that are not essential or not negotiated.
  • Don’t bundle multiple ideas: Separate issues for clarity. Instead of grouping multiple issues under a single clause (e.g., "1.1 Confidentiality"), break them down into main topics and sub-issues (e.g., "Confidentiality" and its specific aspects). This not only enhances clarity but also allows for the reuse of sections like "Confidentiality" in other playbooks, such as those for NDAs.

Still feeling overwhelmed? We’ll build your playbooks for you (and first one’s on us). Find out more at pincites.com, or contact us for a free trial.