Be prepared to work with your vendor. The magic doesn’t happen when you purchase software or hire a third-party technology solution provider. That’s when your real work begins. This is the point where you will have to find all those contracts and agreements, gather together price lists, make sure you have your organizational hierarchy complete with details on authorization levels and rights. Integration is one of the most painful parts of becoming a better contract management organization. Be prepared to cringe at discoveries you may make about the way you have been doing things or the money you may have been leaving on the table. After all this work is done,
the most painful process begins - changing your organization’s behaviors.
Get management-level sponsorship of the changes to be implemented. From headquarter executives to region managers, buy-in is crucial to getting the entire sales organization to use and follow the new program/process. When management acts as a united front in setting expectations, the new program is less likely to derail.
Create cross-functional teams to participate in the system change. If stakeholders from all key departments in the contract management process are engaged in implementation, there will be a higher level of buy-in across the board (finance, sales, IT, etc.). If you have a broker sales force, consider how this change will affect them.
Answers Systems works with brokers nationwide via the
ContractPro® module. Integration with
Answers Systems cuts down on your broker sales force's learning curve.
Develop a clear plan and communicate the time line to all stakeholders. Notify your organization of the changes that will be taking place, the time line for the implementation, dates for training, and expected new behaviors to result from the change in contract management methods. Don’t forget to include your customers in these notifications. Be sure to address with them how this change will impact the way they do business with you – this can prevent upsets before they happen. Don't forget to plan training as an ongoing requirement.
Answers Systems' clients not only receive training after integration, we also deliver online, complimentary training to users on a regular basis.