When your selling a SaaS product one of the key things you want to keep control over is providing as much standardization to your product offering as possible to help you scale. This is true for your SaaS sales contracts as much as for anything else. Allowing customers to negotiate sales contracts will build complexity, but not allowing them to negotiate sales contracts may lose deals for you.
Navigating the delicate terrain of customer involvement in sales contract negotiations is a pivotal decision for small to medium-sized tech startups in the B2B software sales arena. While fostering collaborative relationships is paramount, startups face challenges such as extended sales cycles, potential inefficiencies, and the need for effective management of legal teams. In this write up, we’ll have a quick look into the nuanced considerations and examine how you can use contract management software features to address the toss up of customization verse scale that is faced by startups.
The Opportunity of Letting Customers Negotiate Sales Contracts
Allowing customers to actively participate in the negotiation process presents an opportunity to build strong and transparent relationships. It signifies a commitment from both parties and can lay the foundation for a successful long-term partnership. However, startups must tread carefully to ensure that this collaboration does not compromise the efficiency of the sales cycle.
1. Building Collaborative Contract Relationships
Solution: Contracting Dashboard
One of the hardest things to deal with when your looking to collaborate is just sharing information of where things are at any one time. Using an easy to follow and set up dashboard is one of the key ways to clear this up. When it comes time to negotiate sales contracts you need real-time insights into ongoing negotiations, an overview of where your legal team is spending their time and trust that they are spending their time on the most important deals from a whole company perspective. Startups can actively involve people from sales, legal, product and ops while maintaining control over the contract negotiation process.
Contract Management Made for Startups
Set Tasks, Negotiate Faster
2. Negotiate Sales Contracts for Efficiency in the Sales Cycle
Solution: Contract Sent’s Kanban Board
Efficiency and speed to closing deals is often the difference between life and death for a startup company. The Kanban board in Contract Sent simplifies contract management, enabling startups to navigate negotiation stages seamlessly. This visual tool ensures a swift and coordinated process, preventing extended sales cycles and revenue delays. Set up similar to a Trello board but build specifically for legal teams so you can track your clauses, compare contracts, track versions and assign tasks.
3. Managing Legal Team Workload
Solution: Contract Sent’s Task Management System
Effectively managing the workload of the legal team is critical, especially when customer negotiations are in play. Contract Sent’s task management system assists startups in organizing legal teams’ tasks, aligning them with business objectives, and ensuring that priority items are addressed, even when deadlines loom.
4. Maintaining Senior Leaders’ Overview
Solution: Contract Sent’s Contract Metrics Dashboard
Senior leaders often lack a comprehensive overview of legal negotiations. Contract Sent’s dedicated dashboard for tracking contract metrics provides valuable insights. Empower leaders, including founders and heads of sales or finance, with real-time data, allowing them to actively participate and guide the negotiation process effectively.
5. Navigating Contract Redlines
Solution: Contract Sent’s Advanced Comparison Tool
Reviewing contract redlines can be time-consuming. Contract Sent’s advanced contract comparison tool minimizes this burden, simplifying the decision-making process for senior leaders. This feature expedites the negotiation process, ensuring that crucial details are not overlooked.
6. Post-Contract Accessibility
Solution: Contract Sent’s User-Friendly Interface
Post-signature, trapped information in lengthy PDF contracts becomes a common challenge. Contract Sent’s user-friendly interface liberates this information, providing startups with easy access to essential contract details. Say goodbye to cumbersome folder systems and welcome a simplified retrieval process.
The decision of whether to let customers negotiate sales contracts is a delicate balance between building collaborative relationships and maintaining operational efficiency. Contract Sent, tailored for the specific needs of startup contracting, offers a comprehensive suite of features to navigate this challenge effectively. By leveraging the software’s innovative tools, startups can empower their sales journey, foster collaborative relationships, and navigate negotiations with confidence. Embrace the future of contract management with Contract Sent and elevate your startup to new heights.
