To make your read more impactful, you'll find action items at each step of the process so you can go ahead and apply our recommendations to your own situation. Find them marked by a green tick box (✅) under each section.
Before going into what you can do now to fix contract-related issues before CLM implementation, and by doing so setting yourself up for a successful CLM implementation, let's define what we mean by pre-investment strategies. These are the steps you can take — before you purchase and implement a CLM tool — to clean up processes, align stakeholders, and position your team for a smooth rollout.
Why pre-investment preparation matters
The most common reason CLM implementations underperform is not the software. It is the organization. Unclear ownership, inconsistent templates, and fragmented processes create friction that no tool can fix on its own.
Preparing before you buy is what separates teams that get fast, measurable value from CLM and those that struggle with adoption. For an overview of the pitfalls to avoid, read Avoiding Common Pitfalls in CLM Adoption before proceeding.
Step 1: Audit your current contract landscape
Before selecting or implementing any tool, map your current state. Identify: how many contracts you process per month, what types they are, who creates them, how approvals work today, and where signed contracts are stored.
✅ Action Item #1: Create a simple spreadsheet of your top 10 contract types. For each, note who drafts it, who approves it, how long it typically takes, and where the signed copy ends up.
Step 2: Align stakeholders early
CLM affects Legal, Sales, Finance, HR, and Procurement. Align each function before you go to market. Understand their top pain points and what they need from a contract tool. This alignment also makes your business case stronger. For help structuring it, see Build the Business Case for a CLM: How to Secure C-suite Buy-in.
✅ Action Item #2: Run a 30-minute interview with a representative from each key function. Ask them: what slows down contract work for you today, and what would make it better?
Step 3: Clean up your templates
A CLM tool is only as good as the templates it runs on. Before implementation, work with Legal to identify your core contract types and create a clear, approved version of each. Remove outdated or duplicate versions from circulation.
✅ Action Item #3: Set a deadline to retire all contract templates not approved by Legal. Identify one owner per contract type who will maintain the approved version going forward.
Step 4: Define your rollout sequence
Start with the highest-impact use case, not the most complex one. For most organizations, this means getting e-signing and basic archiving in place first, then expanding to self-serve templates for the highest-volume contract type.
For guidance on managing organizational change during rollout, see How to Use Change Management for True Legal Transformation.
✅ Action Item #4: Map out a 90-day rollout plan. Phase 1: Legal gets e-signing and archiving live. Phase 2: First self-serve department (usually HR or Sales) goes live with templates. Phase 3: Review and expand.
