Greg Harth
President
Harth Builders
Spring House, Pa.
Adobe DocuSign eSignature is a proven hit on our team for getting a client’s signature on a proposal, design agreement, or addendum. Even before the pandemic, it was a challenge to get two people in a room. Now, instead of waiting up to a week for clients to sign, we get approvals within four hours. The document is sent via email to the clients and it tells them where to electronically sign. The document automatically updates in the cloud and is pushed to the next person. We send it to the clients to sign first, and then we countersign. Heaven forbid they decide to make a change, we would see it.
Once all parties sign, Adobe sends out an executive document to everyone. It’s primarily a sales tool for contracts, but even designers use it for documenting design plans and cabinet runs.
I learned of DocuSign while buying a house, in which the entire transaction was done through that system. It was seamless. The application has been in real estate for a while, and I said to my team, “Wait, guys, why are we not using this?” Sometimes we have to look outside our industry for inspiration. It took one person at the office 30 minutes to set it up and give all 46 employees access. Still, one thing that you can’t do is rely only on electronic communication. You need a call with a client to set expectations and answer questions. DocuSign is just an efficient way to get homeowner approvals.