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Whether you work in a sales or legal department, you will know that compliance is an essential part of every company. But it is also more than likely that the end-of-quarter crisis is a well-known scenario for you. That mad rush to accelerate the sales funnel to close deals, meet quotas and increase the company's revenue. Unfortunately, the hustle and bustle of the end of the quarter can unnecessarily strain the relationship between Legal and Commercial. In the worst case, both departments work in silos and see each other as obstacles, which does not facilitate compliance at all.
Instead, by working in close collaboration with the commercial team, the legal department provides the sales team with the guidance it needs to ensure that business practices are aligned with the company's compliance. You may ask, and why? Partnering in this way reduces the risk of breaches and protects the company's reputation against all kinds of sanctions for non-compliance. Join us in this article and discover the keys to achieving this partnership that will maximise your department's compliance while boosting your sales funnel. Here we go!
In this article you will find:
- Driving the sales funnel through contract automation
- Reduction of errors in commercial proposals
- Avoid contractual deficiencies that prevent and delay the closing of sales
Driving the sales funnel through contract automation
How can technology enhance this partnership between the two departments? Let's look at some examples:
Document automation
Document automation allows anyone to create, by filling in a simple form, documents at the click of a button in a few minutes. This benefits the legal team and frees them from the task of creating and reviewing tailor-made contracts every time a commercial opportunity arises, but it also allows the commercial area to be more independent and resolute, speeding up the entire sales process. It is a way for the legal area to ensure that all documents created follow the desired parameters, because they will all be controlled by the same software.
Which contracts can be automated in the sales area?
Any legal document can be automated, regardless of its length or complexity. There are a number of commercial documents that can be automated to improve efficiency and productivity, for example:
- Confidentiality agreements
- Service proposals
- Multi-exclusive contract
- Distribution or agency agreements
- Partnership agreements
- Collaboration agreements
- Purchase orders
- RFP response documents
- Processing contracts
- KYC
Validation Module
Validating a legal document internally should not be a challenge, but it is often complicated. Technology makes this task much easier for salespeople. With legal approval, the commercial department forwards the document to the relevant supervisors for final approval. At this stage of the process, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) centralises the validation and allows the proposed changes to be on the same platform, unifying suggestions from the teams or individuals required in each case. In the commercial area, they can send the document to be validated from the CLM platform, receive notes from their supervisors, comments, and suggestions for changes to make the document perfect, and avoid costly validation processes.
Contract negotiation
Very rarely is a legal document signed at first glance. Usually associated with complex transactions, these documents go round and round and pass from roof to roof several times before the final signature. A CLM platform avoids tedious negotiation in endless email chains and dozens of versions that open a large margin for error; instead, it centralises the entire negotiation without leaving the platform and connects interested parties in contact with each other to maintain a secure, authoritative negotiation with a fully secured version history.
Advanced electronic signature
Once the document is ready to be signed, the technology allows it to be signed in a more secure, intuitive and effective way than the traditional way. An electronic signature solution, normally included in a CLM, allows documents to be stamped from the same platform, ensuring higher quality standards than traditional paper signatures and making the process much more agile for the sales department.
Reduction of errors in commercial proposals
The sales team has so many open fronts that it is sometimes difficult to maintain focus on tasks. Thanks to essential tools such as CRM or ERP, management is greatly facilitated, but when it comes to legal documents, integrating all of them with a CLM provides added security and efficiency. With this technology, the commercial director has more control over the management of the team: they can monitor and track the progress of contracts, it is easier for them to identify potential bottlenecks and allocate tasks in a way that optimises all processes.
Control of the commercial team is one of the strengths offered by CLM because it ensures control over the entire content of proposals, from pricing to ensuring that standard clauses are updated and simplified. This improved visibility during the negotiation process is one of the great advantages offered by technology.
In short, it ensures that all stages of the process are carried out as efficiently as possible. In addition, by standardising templates and legal clauses, human error is reduced and consistency in contracts and proposals is ensured.
Avoid contractual deficiencies that prevent and delay the closing of sales
Decentralisation of information and contracts vs. centralisation
By centralising information and contracts in a single system or platform, visibility, control and security of all business operations is improved.
Insecurity and errors operations vs. security and confidence in the process
By establishing a structured workflow and using appropriate automation and contract management tools, human error and operational failures are reduced. Document automation and process standardisation minimise risk and ensure consistency across all business transactions.
Uncontrolled proposals vs. bird's eye view monitoring
A CLM tool helps in proposal management and provides a bird's eye view of all cases to the commercial manager. Thanks to the metadata in the documents, it is possible to create views and reports to keep all documents in order, analysing deadlines or due dates, amounts, or the status of the negotiation in a few clicks. It is an ideal complement to any CRM, as it eliminates additional concerns that arise when contracts are not under control. In addition, it allows you to monitor any changes made to the document and manage its versions in an agile way, in order to maintain control over the negotiation to the millimetre.
Inefficiency and missed opportunities vs. speeding up processes
Laying the foundations of a collective strategy and effective collaboration between Commercial and Legal, hand in hand with the advantages of technology, leads to a sales department coordinated with the business strategy and with tools to close deals faster and with a precision that differentiates it from the competition.
Technology to streamline deals and contribute to the business
If you want to know in detail how to generate an effective and transparent synergy between the legal and sales areas, download our new ebook! In it, you will find practical examples and useful tips, plus the experience of Matthew Luzaich, commercial director of Bigle Legal.
From his experience working side by side with the legal area, we reveal with which tools and knowledge the company's compliance can be ensured while the pace of the sales funnel is the most efficient.
