How to get a contract signed faster: 8 practical tips

Eight tips

• Make it easy on a phone. Most people open email on their phone. Send something they can sign there in a minute, with no account and no app.
• Fill in everything you can first. Names, dates, prices and addresses you already know should be on the document before it goes, so the signer only has to check and sign.
• Say why, in one line. A short message such as “Here’s our agreement for the website project, as discussed” gets opened faster than a bare request.
• Sign your own part first. If you are signing too, sign before you send, so the other person sees it is ready and only waiting for them.
• Only ask in order when it matters. Sending to everyone at once is faster. Use a signing order only when one person must go before another.
• Give a deadline. A clear date, added to their calendar, sets an expectation without you having to chase.
• Let reminders do the follow-up. Gentle automatic reminders a few days apart work better than you emailing again. Watch for when it is opened; if it hasn’t been, check you have the right address.
• Fix mistakes without starting again. A wrong email address or a deadline that needs moving shouldn’t mean sending a new document.

When you need the same thing signed by many people

For a form that lots of people sign, such as a policy acknowledgement or a consent form, send one copy each from a spreadsheet, or share one public link that anyone can use to sign their own copy. In Docket Secure these are Bulk send and public signing links.