1. Lack of stakeholder alignment
One of the most common reasons CLM initiatives stall is the assumption that contract management is primarily a legal responsibility. While legal teams play a central role, contracts affect far more than legal workflows.
Sales, finance, operations and customer success all rely on accurate, accessible contract information to do their jobs effectively. Without early and ongoing alignment across these functions, CLM risks becoming a siloed system with limited business impact.
Before committing to a CLM solution, organisations should clearly define who is involved, who owns what and how different teams will interact with contracts throughout their lifecycle.
2. Underestimating integration challenges
CLM does not operate in isolation. Contracts are closely tied to commercial decisions, customer relationships and operational processes, which means integration is critical.
A common pitfall is treating integration as a technical checkbox rather than a core part of the overall process design. When contract workflows are disconnected from where business decisions are made, adoption suffers and value is delayed.
Organisations should evaluate how a CLM solution fits into existing systems and workflows and whether it supports continuity rather than creating additional handovers or manual work.
3. Overlooking user adoption in favour of features
It is easy to focus on feature lists during the buying process. However, even the most powerful CLM solution will fail if users do not adopt it in their daily work.
Training alone rarely drives sustained adoption. Solutions must be intuitive enough to fit naturally into existing ways of working. Otherwise, users often revert to spreadsheets, email threads and shared folders, undermining the purpose of the investment.
When evaluating CLM, it is important to consider usability from the perspective of all users, not just power users or administrators.
4. Insufficient change management
Introducing CLM often requires changes to established processes and behaviours. Without a clear change management strategy, resistance is almost inevitable.
Successful change management goes beyond communication and training plans. It is ultimately about trust. Users need confidence that the system reflects how the business actually works, not how processes look on paper.
Clear communication, realistic expectations and ongoing support are key to ensuring that CLM becomes part of everyday operations rather than an additional burden.
5. Unclear ownership and accountability
Contracts without clear ownership quickly become a risk. Missed renewals, unmanaged obligations and lack of visibility can all have financial and operational consequences.
Organisations should define who is responsible for contracts at each stage of the lifecycle and how accountability is maintained over time. CLM should support governance and oversight without adding unnecessary complexity or bureaucracy.
Clear ownership structures make it easier to realise value from contracts and reduce reliance on ad hoc processes.
Conclusion
Successful CLM adoption is not defined at the moment of purchase. It is shaped over time by how well the solution is embedded into the organisation’s ways of working.
Organisations that focus on cross-functional alignment, practical integration and real user adoption are far more likely to realise long-term value from their contracts. By addressing these common pitfalls early, CLM can evolve from a document repository into a reliable foundation for better business decisions.
