How to evaluate CLM vendors like a global powerhouse

The contract lifecycle management (CLM) software market is booming, with the global market expected to more than triple in size by 2033. Dozens of solutions promise to streamline your contract processes, boost efficiency, and mitigate risk. But with so many options, how do you choose the right one for your organization?

This guide will show you how you can narrow down your options and find the right CLM solution on the marketplace, providing specific solutions for your specific needs.

Identifying pain points

Without a clear understanding of your current challenges and desired outcomes, you risk choosing a system that doesn’t adequately address your needs, leading to wasted time, resources, and frustration. Clearly defining your needs – and not just technical ones – will help you prioritize the features that matter most.

For example: What are your biggest contracting pain points? Are you struggling with the lack of a central repository, leading to lost or misplaced contracts? Are manual processes slowing down contract creation, review, and approval? Is your team having difficulty tracking obligations and ensuring adherence to regulations? Is collaborating with internal and external stakeholders causing significant friction?

Asking important questions and nailing down pain points will give you a better idea of what an ideal CLM solution for you might look like, you can start shopping around in the market for what you need.

Deciding what you need

With your organization’s struggles in mind, the features needed in a CLM platform should become clear. For example, imagine this: every quarter, your team has to manually sift through hundreds of documents to find all contracts with a specific vendor that are expiring within the next quarter, wasting valuable time that could be spent on more meaningful work.

A powerful search function within the repository, allowing you to filter by vendor, date range, and contract type, would make this task a breeze. Hence, an ideal CLM system for you should have a centralized contract repository, acting as a secure and searchable home for all your contracts. Now that you know what you need, you can start looking at CLM vendors that offer those features.

Finding the right CLM vendor

Choosing a CLM solution isn’t simply about dodging red flags or finding a system with the most features, but rather one that directly addresses your specific pain points and aligns with your business objectives. A mismatch between your needs and the vendor’s capabilities can lead to a costly and frustrating experience, resulting in low adoption rates, unrealized ROI, and continued inefficiencies.

One way to prevent that from happening is requesting specific examples from potential partners of how their system has helped others overcome similar hurdles. Moreover, the right vendor will invest time in understanding your business, offer tailored implementation and training programs, and provide ongoing support to ensure you maximize the value of their solution.

There are dozens of CLM solutions on the marketplace, but you can narrow down your options by eliminating vendors that lack experience with your specific pain points. You can also look at analyst firms that have reported on the CLM space and see which vendors are at the top of the industry.  

Seeing is believing

Now that you’ve compiled a list of potential CLM vendors based on your initial research and feature comparisons, it’s time to schedule product demos. However, these shouldn’t be generic sales pitches. To get the most value from your demos, provide them with specific scenarios and use cases relevant to your organization’s challenges.

For example, if your biggest pain point is contract renewals, ask the vendor to demonstrate how their system handles automated renewal reminders and tracking. If you have complex approval workflows, ask them to show you how those can be configured within their platform. The more specific you are, the more relevant the demo will be.

Additionally, invite representatives from different departments who will be using the CLM system. This allows everyone to see the software in action and ask questions from their specific perspective while also helps build consensus and buy-in early in the process.

Conclusion

Choosing the right CLM solution is a significant investment that can transform your contract management processes, mitigate risk, and drive business growth. Remember that the ideal solution isn’t just about checking boxes on a feature list; it’s about finding a partner whose platform and approach align with your unique challenges and long-term objectives.

If you’re looking for a reliable, trusted CLM vendor, look no further than Agiloft. Named a leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contract Life Cycle Management for four years in a row, Agiloft empowers your organization to conquer contract chaos and unlock the full potential of your agreements.

Still on the fence about which CLM vendor is right for you? Check out Agiloft in action and ask questions in real-time in our upcoming platform tour.