"Ineffective contract management costs businesses up to 9.2 per cent of annual revenue"
- Tim Cummins, president, IACCM- Tim Cummins, president, IACCM
Given that dizzying statistic, you'd think that getting buy-in for better contract automation software would be a breeze. But at Juro, talking to in-house legal teams every day, I can tell you that's unfortunately not the case.
Find out more in our free guide, 'The bulletproof business case - how to build a business case for contract automation'. Download now.
Every business is different, and people buy contract automation software for different reasons. It might be to get better visibility of the contract workflow, or to reduce the risk of human error; it might be to increase velocity in sales, or make onboarding run more smoothly. Potential users making a case to their business might come from the legal, procurement, sales, finance, or HR teams; and the features they care about could be anything from device-optimized eSignature to contract analytics.
When I look at the challenges people face in trying to make a business case for contract automation software, common questions always emerge. How can I show ROI in a way that decision-makers will understand? How can I emphasize the urgency of my problem, and convince people that of all of the solutions available, this one is the best fit? What are the key risks in implementing this software, and what's my plan to mitigate them? How do I present this information in a way they'll all understand?
This is why we took our learnings, gathered from selling to all kinds of businesses - from scaleups like Deliveroo and Nested, to corporate giants like Reach plc and Estée Lauder - and created The bulletproof business case: a guide to creating a business case for contract automation software, in just 12 steps.
This guide covers the whole end-to-end process, but particularly focuses on a few issues that always trip up would-be buyers:
Proving ROI
This is often the only point that will really impact the GC or C-suite decision-makers, but it can be tough coming up with variables that will generate both time and cost savings and make the difference. In this guide we explore some ROI examples, pulling out the key information you can use to show your colleagues the upside of investing in your chosen solution.
Tailoring your message
The pain points and solutions that are compelling for one group of stakeholders might not be to a those that would convince their colleagues. In our guide we identify the pain points that tend to matter to certain stakeholders - whether that's the GC, VP of sales, the CIO, or any other roles that are investing in better contract automation.
How to be a salesperson
Typically, the individual pushing the business case for contract automation isn't in sales - they're usually lawyers or operations managers. This means they often need a little guidance on how to be the 'internal salesperson'. In our guide we share tips on creating urgency, selling a vision, foregrounding benefits (even the non-financial ones) and calling out and anticipating key risks. We even include an archetypal sales asset in the form of a cheat sheet, helping you defeat common objections.
Elsewhere in the guide you'll also learn about scoping your problem, storytelling, showcasing how contract processes impact the whole company, planning, and forecasting your adoption timeline. We even provide the skeleton structure for your PowerPoint deck when it's time for you to put the business case together. For all this and more, check out our guide on building a bulletproof business case - and if you have any other tips on how to convince stakeholders to take the plunge, we'd love to hear from you.
Get in touch to see how Juro can help you agree and manage contracts in a unified workspace.