Driving Agency Profitability Through Smarter Contracting, With Tiffany Kemp

May 14, 2025

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1:14 – 2:53 – Introduction: Marcel introduces Tiffany, who explains her firm’s mission to help agencies use contracts as strategic tools rather than just legal formalities.
3:06 – 4:08 – Why Contracts Get a Bad Rap: Many agencies view contracts purely as legal protection, missing their potential to strengthen client relationships and reduce future conflicts.
4:38 – 6:02 – Misguided Legal Focus: Agencies often waste time on low-risk legal scenarios instead of focusing on practical issues that more commonly disrupt projects, like miscommunication.
7:01 – 8:56 – Real Risks Are Operational: Most issues arise not from lawsuits, but from unclear responsibilities and client misunderstandings about what’s required to get good results.
9:02 – 11:07 – Contracts Should Reflect Reality: A "Goldilocks" contract—just right for the business context—is more effective than copying generic templates that don't fit the agency’s operations.
11:13 – 13:13 – Understand Common Failure Points: Agencies need to identify real-world issues (like IP problems or client-supplied content) and structure contracts to prevent and address them clearly.
15:31 – 17:00 – Matching Pricing Models to Scope: Marcel introduces the Pricing Model Quadrant to explore how pricing (time-based, deliverables, outcomes) should guide how scope is documented.
18:01 – 20:21 – Miscommunication in Scope Documents: Flexible contracts often fail when salespeople write scopes conversationally, leading to misinterpretation by delivery teams or clients.
21:11 – 22:47 – Internal Clarity is Just as Vital: Clear scopes benefit internal teams too—so account and project managers can make aligned decisions without relying on secondhand info.
23:00 – 24:49 – Scope Creep and Change Requests: Knowing the pricing model helps teams respond consistently to client requests—whether that means upselling time or renegotiating scope.
26:27 – 29:30 – Trust Reduces Contracting Pain: Tiffany shares that as client trust grows, they move from demanding rigid scopes to preferring flexible, time-based arrangements, simplifying collaboration.

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