This is Part Two of a two-part blog post explaining how to research and select a contract management software solution. If you haven’t read Part One yet, which explains how to come up with your initial “grocery list” of potential vendors, you can read it here.
Ok, you’ve gotten the list of requirements for a new Contract Management software system for your company, you’ve done the initial web research, and you’ve made a list of vendors who look interesting to you. Now it’s time to contact each vendor. But what are you supposed to ask them? You obviously want pricing information, but what other questions are important to ask?
In this post, I’ll give you a list of those key questions that you should be asking each vendor.
But first you need to arm yourself with some specific information about what you need, since the vendor will also be asking you some questions.
You can prepare yourself by asking the head of your IT department what your company needs in a Contract Management system. Here are some things you should review with IT:
- How many full-access users (admins) will you have?
- How many other users will you have and what will they need to do with the contracts?
- Do you want the system to be installed on premise, or do you want it to be hosted by the vendor (in the cloud)?
- Is there a certain time frame for when the system needs to be deployed?
- Do you want a simple system that addresses the basic needs of managing contracts, or do you need a more sophisticated system that can be configured to your company’s specific needs?
- What current systems and applications are in place? (You’ll see later why this is important).
- How important is price in your consideration?
Be sure to have the answers to these questions handy when you contact your list of vendors, since these issues will definitely come up in the conversation.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to Contract Management systems because every company is going to have different needs. Your goal here is to find out right off the bat if you have any requirements that the vendor can’t meet, so you can whittle your list down to the best 3-5 options for your company.
Make sure you record each vendor’s answers to your questions. None of this information will be helpful to you if don’t have a way to reference it later when you present your findings to your boss!
Now, let’s go over the questions that you should be asking Contract Management vendors:
Was your system built in-house, or through an external vendor?
If they built it in-house, it means they know the product inside and out. If they are reselling a product that was developed by an external vendor, how closely do they work with that vendor? The last thing you want is to buy from a vendor who really doesn’t know the functionalities of their product.
How easily does your system integrate with other applications and systems?
Every organization uses a number of different applications and systems to run their business. It’s extremely important that any new system that you implement is able to easily integrate with your current systems. (This is where you’ll need that list of current systems and applications you got from the head of your IT department.)
What is your unique value message?
You probably have some idea of how each vendor brands themselves through your web research, but it’s also good to hear the answer directly from their own mouth. If the salesperson can’t articulate what makes them different from their competition, or if he or she says something that contradicts what you found through your research, this might be a red flag. They might just be telling you what they think you want to hear, and you should be cautious about believing their claims about their product.
Who do you consider to be your biggest competitors in the Contract Management space?
Every company has competition, no matter how unique the business. Don’t accept the answer, “We don’t really have competitors because we are so different from anyone else.” Frankly, that’s a lazy answer. If they really don’t know who their competitors are, it shows that they haven’t done the due diligence and research necessary for the success of their own business. If that’s the case, do you really want to trust them with your business?
What version of your product are you on?
You should compare their product version to their number of years in business. If they are only on version 2.1 and they’ve been in business for 10 years, this is not a good sign. Think of it this way: just like nearly everything in life, no software product gets it right the first time. Also, technology changes rapidly, so if they aren’t updating their software to reflect these changes in technology, their product is not going to be able to keep up with your needs in the future.
How user friendly is your product?
Contract Management software is fairly robust. This means that anyone who wants to use the product properly will need to be trained. You’re not asking if training is required, but how much training is required. You probably don’t want a product that requires a full 6 months of training before it can be used, do you?
What are the out-of-the-box functionalities of your product?
This is a fairly straightforward question. What can their product do right away, without any customization?
Are there additional modules or functionality you can add if you want to expand the system beyond Contract Management?
Let’s say you’ve adopted a new Contract Management system and you love it. You want to expand this system into other areas of your business such as License Management, Help Desk or Sales Force Automation. Can this vendor address those needs?
How much storage space is included, and how much does additional storage cost?
Some vendors don’t have a limit on storage. Other vendors designate a specific server to each customer, and then they charge a fee for any additional storage that is required. This question is especially important to ask if your company deals with a lot of contracts.
How easily is your product customized?
In other words:
- Is coding required to make customizations, or is their product wizard-based, allowing you to make customizations without having to write additional code?
- Can the product be customized in-house, or do any customizations need to be done by the vendor?
- If customizations are required to be done by the vendor, what are the consulting fees associated with that?
Do you offer both hosted (SaaS) and on premise installations?
Many vendors only offer a hosted/SaaS (that’s “Software as a Service,” or the vendor may refer to it as cloud-based) version of their product, some offer both hosted and on premise versions. There are pros and cons to each, but it’s important to know your options. Again, refer to the notes you took during your discussion with your company’s head of IT – he or she probably has a preference.
What is the average deployment time for your product?
Obviously the answer to this question depends on the size of the customer, but the salesperson should be able to estimate how long it would likely take them to deploy their software to your company. Some vendors can deploy their product in a matter of days or weeks; other vendors take several months.
How do you define your user types?
Most vendors will have 2-3 different user types. The most common user types are: full-access user, limited access user and read-only user. While the user types may be the same for a lot of vendors, their definition for each user-type may be completely different. Full-access is fairly straightforward and doesn’t really need an explanation. But what about the limited access user? What can a full access user do that a limited access user can’t? And how difficult is it to set and change permissions for these different types of users?
Talk about your pricing model.
This is a fairly complex question. You aren’t simply asking them how much their product costs, but also what factors come into play that affect the price. Here are some things to make sure to ask:
- Is pricing based on the user types and number of users, or is it based on the number of contracts that are being generated?
- Is the product subscription-based or do they charge one flat fee for the product?
- If they offer both hosted (SaaS) and on premise installations, what do they charge for each option?
- What are their implementation fees?
- What are their training fees?
- If you need the product to be expanded or reconfigured in the future (which is very likely), what kind of consulting fees will be associated with that?
Can we see a customized demonstration of your product?
Once you’ve talked to all of the vendors on your list, take a look at your notes. You can cross off the vendors who clearly aren’t going to be able to meet your company’s Contract Management needs.
For the remaining vendors, your next step is to ask for a custom demo, which is the best way to really see what their product can do. Let the vendor know that they’ve made it to your short list, and they’ll be much more inclined to agree to a custom demo.
You will not want to do this part alone, though. Set up the appointment for a time when you’ll be able to include someone who really knows your company’s requirements and who is familiar with the functionalities of Contract Management software. The head of your IT department is an ideal candidate for this.
Summary:
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, asking the above questions to each Contract Management vendor will help you separate the wheat from the chaff and you will be well on your way to finding the best Contract Management vendor for your company.
The post How to Choose Contract Management Software When You Don’t Know the Industry: Part 2 appeared first on Agiloft.