How To Employ Salesforce CLM To Get Sales Agreements Signed Faster

Contractual agreements are the lifeblood of any business. Whether it is vendor, employee, or sales contracts, they define relationships, protect the company’s interests, and strengthen business deals. That is why sales contract management is such a vital activity for the sales department. The sales team can lose profitable deals due to incompetent and complicated contracting processes. Therefore, Salesforce CLM is a strategic choice for organizations to boost sales through an accelerated contract lifecycle.  

Integrating Salesforce with contract management software paves the way to utilize CRM (Customer Relationship Management) capabilities to optimize contract lifecycle. When firms quickly produce sales agreements, salespeople have more time to concentrate on leads. Thus, they can keep working on bigger deals without being deterred by a delayed contracting process. It empowers businesses to achieve all their revenue goals. 

How does sales contract management affect the sales process? 

There is nothing more important for the sales team than sales contracts. Because revenue from a deal is only realizable when the agreement is signed and sealed. If the contract turnaround time is lengthy, it is harder to close deals and make profits. Moreover, incompetent sales agreements and processes mean enterprises lose out on potential leads and sour customer relationships.  

Consequently, the efficiency of contract lifecycle management deeply affects the outcome of the sales process. The contract review and approval procedure can significantly impact an organization's capacity to reach a sales quota. Hence, it is given that the salespeople have a lot riding on sales contract management. To guarantee they achieve the desired results, they must be involved in the sales contract workflow. 

How does Salesforce CLM accelerate the sales contract lifecycle? 

Sales contracts, both in terms of content and process, dictate the outcome of a sales process. Incorporating salespeople in the sales contract lifecycle allows them to ensure the competency of the legal agreement and workflow. Salesforce CLM comes with a centralized platform for the sales team to oversee the contracting process without switching platforms. They can stay on top of contract creation, negotiation, execution, and management within the Salesforce CRM platform. And consequently, accelerate the sales contract lifecycle. 

• Standardized content 

The key to convincing potential customers to sign the dotted line is to offer a persuasive and competent sales agreement. The content of a sales contract can make or break a deal. No matter how many contracts an enterprise must deal with, it cannot compromise the quality and legitimacy of any one of them. Thanks to Salesforce CLM, salespeople can self-serve sales agreements within the CRM platform.  

The integrated system provides easy access to contract templates, clause libraries, and digital repositories. Thus, the sales team can ensure that the sales agreements meet the necessary standards without constant intervention from the legal department. Additionally, the salesperson can modify the agreements to meet the needs of the customers. When the generated legal documents are compliant and client-driven, they are much more likely to pass through the negotiation and approval process. Thus, with Salesforce-integrated CLM software, organizations can guarantee quick execution and conversion.  

• Transparency  

All necessary parties must have immediate access to the sales contract workflow to proceed without hiccups. With Salesforce CLM, the salespeople can keep track of their sales agreement as it progresses through the contract lifecycle. Visibility into the contracting process empowers the sales team to develop a contract and process that fits their requirements.  

They can track the status of sales agreements to ensure that it reaches approval without any unnecessary delays. The salespeople can identify roadblocks and take essential actions to mitigate them. They can oversee contract negotiations, reviews, and approvals to guarantee a mutually beneficial sales agreement. In the end, organizations can get executed contracts in less time with Salesforce-integrated CLM software. Also, cross-departmental means the sales team gets to monitor major milestones and deadlines to ensure contractual compliance and performance.  

• Scalable contracts 

Businesses often do not have the time and resources to handle their ever-growing contract portfolio. Also, legal can devote too much time to individual agreements when prioritizing high-value and complex contracts. Involving the sales team in the contracting process can minimize the burden on the legal department.  

With Salesforce CLM, the sales and legal team can import customer data from the CRM platform to generate contracts. Consequently, there is no need to manually enter data during contract creation. All the relevant fields can be auto-populated with CRM data to eliminate unnecessary errors and delays. Consequently, making the contracting process effortless for the organization and they can produce countless sales agreements in little time. Accurate contracts increase the chances of approval and signing, resulting in shorter contract lifecycles, and finalized deals for firms. 

• Legal and sales collaboration 

For scaling businesses, contract lifecycle management must be collaborative. Salesforce CLM offers organizations a centralized platform to foster cooperation and communication among sales and legal departments. They can join forces to manage the sales contract lifecycle without stepping on each other’s toes.  

With Salesforce integrated contract management software, salespeople can oversee each phase of contract management within the CRM platform. They can access obligations, milestones, contract data, and executed contracts without appealing to the legal team. It gives them the freedom to contribute and improve the contracting process. Whereas the legal still gets to establish compliance with the sales agreement. Also, Salesforce CLM comes with user permissions so there’s accountability for every implication.  

• Accessible data 

Analyzing the data that is easily obtainable in your sales contract process also promotes an atmosphere of ongoing improvement. It also helps organizations to work out where the process is lacking or harming the business. Thus, the enterprise can take the necessary action to allocate its resources and personnel accordingly. Traditional contract management systems perpetuate information silos in businesses. Departments function in a vacuum without real collaboration or information sharing.  

Salesforce CLM creates an environment for open communication and transparency. Through the integrated system, the users can easily access relevant customer and contract information on either platform. The legal department can utilize CRM data to generate sales agreements. Whereas the sales team can easily obtain essential contract data to better serve customers. Moreover, Salesforce CLM comes with live-sync functionality, so that any alteration in one platform can immediately reflect on the other. Prompt access to current information means that the sales contract lifecycle progresses without bottlenecks or errors.  

What are the benefits of a speedy sales contract lifecycle? 

An accelerated contract lifecycle is a need for every business. Whether it is sales or the legal department, no one has the time for a long and convoluted contracting process. Apart from being a waste of time and resources, drawn-out processes also affect the company’s business relationships. Hence, adopting Salesforce CLM is a priority for any organization dealing with an abundance of sales agreements.  

• Meet sales quota 

With a reduced sales contract lifecycle, the sales team has ample time to focus on potential leads. Overseeing the sales and contracting process through Salesforce CLM empowers salespeople to close more deals in less time.  

• Long-term client value 

When a company guarantees a seamless contracting process, the overall customer experience improves. The clients can review, negotiate, and sign contracts within a single platform. Moreover, Salesforce CLM also ensures that only competent sales agreements make it to the final stage, so there are no unnecessary complications. Satisfied customers make for long and healthy business relationships.  

• Sales productivity 

With Salesforce CLM, the sales team does not have to wait around for sales agreements. They can initiate and monitor the sales contract lifecycle within the CRM platform. Thus, it improves the sales team’s productivity and conversion rates.  

• Upsell and cross-sell 

It is much easier to convince a satisfied client than to scout for new leads. A shorter sales contract lifecycle and better customer experience through Salesforce CLM mean the sales team has a better chance of upselling and cross-selling to them. 

Conclusion  

Although the sales contract lifecycle is often the overlooked part of the sales process, it is essential to gain leads, revenue, and clients. Hence, efficient contract management is a valuable need for the sales department. Through Salesforce CLM, the sales and legal departments can effectively collaborate to get sales agreements signed faster. They can share data and responsibilities to ensure sales agreements progress through the contract lifecycle without any roadblocks. With a shorter sales contract lifecycle, they can open new opportunities to improve productivity and sales.  

Schedule a live demo with our Dock experts to learn about contract management solutions.