Aberdeen Does Sales Contracts

What better time than end of quarter to reflect on the fun of writing sales contracts in a mad rush. The sales team wants to close the deal. They don't want to wait two weeks for legal and miss their quarter-end target. They want their bonuses. Can't we just delete that pesky clause and sign?



Such are the challenges of sales contract management, on which the Aberdeen Group recently had this to say:

• Sales contracts are highly labor-intensive, requiring frequent drafting, review, negotiations and approval.
• It's difficult to ensure that standard language and pricing structures are followed, and to keep track of clauses used, especially if sales teams have a hand in the drafting.
• Enforcing terms and clauses pre-approved by legal can significantly reduce risk, but is hard to do when a company is using only partially automated processes.
• Best in class companies that do automate the process can lower their contract cycle times to the point where they are three times faster at closing deals than their competitors.
• 46% of companies see the enforcement of standard contract terms as a top strategic action for contract management.
• Companies are looking primarily toward the on demand, hosted model, which is lower-cost, more user-friendly and works well for sales teams scattered across different regions.

Who knows, with a bit of automation, next quarter might be your biggest yet.

For more details, get yourself a copy of The Contract Management Benchmark Report: Sales Contracts, April 2006.