Challenges Addressed by Clm Solutions

We recently found out we weren’t down-selected by a prospect that was evaluating CLM tools because we asked too many questions. Let me explain… They had a large volume of legacy contracts they planned to migrate into a new CLM. During our discussion, we asked questions that, in our view, are non-negotiable for a successful implementation: ✅ Where exactly is the legacy data stored—shared drive, legacy CLM, contract folders, or inbox archives? ✅ How far back do the contracts go, and are they all still relevant or in scope for migration? ✅ What specific metadata is needed—and how will that data actually be used downstream in workflows, approvals, and reporting? ✅ Does the team expect perfect metadata, or is lower accuracy acceptable with fallback manual review? The prospect told us no other vendor had even scratched the surface of these questions. This isn’t about overcomplicating things—it’s about doing the foundational work up front to avoid migration disasters later. If you’re evaluating CLM tools and planning a legacy data migration, here are the questions your vendor should be asking: 🔍 What role will AI play—and is anyone manually validating extracted metadata for accuracy? CLM vendors often tout AI-powered extraction, but rarely clarify if the output is being checked by humans. That distinction matters—especially for renewal dates, obligations, and clause-level data that trigger automated workflows. 📂 Are we cleaning and enriching data—or just moving bad data from one system to another? Dumping PDFs into a new CLM without organizing them or applying meaningful metadata is a glorified file transfer, not a migration. ⚠️ Who owns data validation and upload and how much support will the vendor provide during that process? If your team is expected to fill out templates or map metadata fields without help, be ready for delays and rework. 🧠 Is your vendor aligning the metadata strategy to your actual business use cases? We’ve seen teams extract 50 fields, only to use 5. Good scoping aligns data capture with decision-making, not just data storage. A successful CLM implementation starts long before kickoff. It starts with asking the right questions, especially about your legacy data. #CLM #ContractManagement #LegalTech #DataMigration #DigitalTransformation #LegalOps #CLMStrategy

Change Management is too often overlooked in #CLM implementations, but it’s the difference between a system that’s adopted and one that’s abandoned. Launching a new system is good news, but it is not THE news. Adoption and actual value are the success measures everyone should monitor. What make change management the )not so secret sauce to successful CLMS implementations? ✅ Stakeholder Alignment It ensures everyone understands the goals, the process, and their role in it. It also gives teams a chance to voice concerns early—before they turn into roadblocks. ✅Overcoming Resistance People naturally resist new systems. Change management helps address that resistance with clear communication, training, and support—so adoption isn’t left to chance. ✅Communicating Policies It ensures that new processes and expectations are clearly conveyed and understood, reducing confusion and increasing compliance. ✅Avoiding Failure Many CLM projects fail not because of the technology, but because people weren’t prepared for the change. Change management helps bridge that gap. Planning isn't sexy or exciting. Everyone rushes to by tech, but without effective change management - there is VERY low likelihood of success. That is the cold, hard truth. #legaltech #legalops

If there is one hill I’m willing to die on it’s this: Legal tools fail for 2 reasons: 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Let’s break this down: 1/ Poor implementation Most legal teams don’t have: ↳A codified playbook of accepted terms ↳No central repository of past contracts ↳Defined metrics for success One GC at a global brand said: “We don’t have codified fallback positions so we rely on institutional knowledge.” Without this baseline, AI tools can’t help you redline faster. There’s nothing to learn from. Nothing to scale. How to fix it: ➔Start by mapping one contract type (say NDAs or vendor contracts). ➔Define standard clauses, fallbacks, deal breakers. ➔Make it searchable and repeatable. ➔That becomes the engine your tech can build on. 2/ Poor adoption ↳You roll out a CLM or AI tool. ↳Legal loves it. ↳Sales and finance: still emailing “Final_v4_ReallyFinal.docx” How to fix it: ➔Let sales generate low-risk docs like NDAs from templates ➔Track adoption across teams (not just legal) (e.g., Ask: are other teams providing approvals through the tool?) ➔Tie results to business goals (e.g., Integrating the CLM with Salesforce let sales close deals faster, Flag risky vendors by tracking indemnity clauses across contracts) Bottom line: Good tech fails in bad systems. What challenges did you face while implementing a new tool? #LegalTech #CLM #AI #InHouseLegal #LegalOps #Leadership #LegalInnovation #BusinessEfficiency

🚨 Hot Take: Sales should be the loudest voice pushing for CLM adoption. The #Sales team should be pushing hard for your organization to implement a #CLM system. 💼 And yet...they’re often nowhere near the conversation. And when they do get pulled in, it’s late like “here’s your training deck, enjoy” late🙄 I’ve heard these frustrations directly from Sales execs and frontline leaders: 🧨 “We miss quarterly targets because contracts get signed too late.” 🧨 “Prospect bail when they decide we’re too difficult to work with.” 🧨 “Contracting is a black box, I submit it and then chase Legal ghosts.” 🧨 “Legal slows down deals. They’re not a partner, they’re a blocker.” 🧨 “I missed my bonus because the contract didn’t get signed in time.” Here’s the thing, a well-implemented #ContractLifecycleManagement platform, especially one with #ArtificialIntelligence, can fix this. Or at least, dramatically reduce the pain. So why isn’t Sales in the room❓ 🤖 Culture: Contracts are seen as Legal’s burden, not revenue-linked, enterprise-critical facet of the customer relationship. ⏳ Resources: Sales is buried in activities, there’s no capacity to fix the system that makes hitting quota harder. 🧱 Leadership: Legal and Sales operate in silos, often adversarial instead of aligned. "Sales = reckless" "Legal = obstructive". That narrative kills transformation. 🔒 Trust: There’s a fundamental disconnect in goals, urgency, and understanding. And that breeds friction. So if you want faster sales cycles, cleaner closes, and a better customer experience, bring Sales and Legal together early and often. CLM is not a legal tool. It’s a business acceleration engine 🚀 (yes #rocketemoji I was using it before it became cliche and I'll die on this hill😇) 💬 Sales folks, what’s your biggest CLM frustration or victory? #LegalTech #InHouse #LegalOps #ContractManagement #AI #SalesOps #RevOps #EnterpriseSoftware #CLMSuperpowers #Legal #LeadershipAlignment #CLMHeroics