Key takeaways
- Build cross-functional requirements before implementation. Bring RevOps, Finance, Deal Desk, and Legal together to create a unified scorecard of requirements. Evaluate vendors on ease-of-use for all stakeholders—not just feature lists. Look for embedded legal workflows that sales will actually want to use, and prioritize systems that reduce complexity rather than requiring custom development.
- De-risk implementation with a phased rollout. Don’t flip the switch for your entire organization at once. Start with users already familiar with the tool or those handling lower-risk contracts. Build champions and success stories before expanding to your full sales org. Run dual processes during migration to maintain confidence that critical deals won’t be disrupted. This approach lets you focus on building a defect-free system rather than managing mass training and adoption simultaneously.
- Design your Salesforce integration intentionally. Map only the data you actually need—avoid pulling everything “just in case.” Use separate sandbox and production workflows to test changes before pushing live. AlphaSense was able to make Ironclad a contained tool that integrates seamlessly without becoming subject to every sales process change.
- Invest time in Ironclad’s learning resources upfront. Before building workflows, thoroughly review Ironclad Academy, documentation, and release notes. Set up a dummy workflow in sandbox to test features hands-on—clicking through everything helps you discover capabilities faster than reading alone. Establish a discipline of testing all changes in sandbox before deploying to production.
- Measure your impact and iterate based on data. Track metrics you couldn’t measure before—approval times, turnaround times, contracts requiring legal review. Use this data to identify opportunities for further standardization. Add common redline requests as new questions in your launch form to reduce legal involvement. Build proof-of-concepts quickly to validate ideas before full implementation. The goal is continuous improvement: use visibility to make your process progressively more self-service for sales while protecting legal oversight where it matters.
Interested in seeing how how Ironclad can help streamline your sales contracting? Talk to one of our digital contracting specialists and get a custom demo.
Ironclad is not a law firm, and this post does not constitute or contain legal advice. To evaluate the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability of the ideas and guidance reflected here, or the applicability of these materials to your business, you should consult with a licensed attorney. Use of and access to any of the resources contained within Ironclad’s site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and Ironclad.
