How to get started with a CLM platform 

Legal operations professionals are no strangers to complexity. From managing high volumes of contracts to ensuring compliance to minimizing risk and improving efficiency, the modern legal team is tasked with doing more – with less time and fewer resources. 

That’s where Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platforms come in. 

Modern CLM platforms, especially those that emphasize flexibility and adaptability and feature built-in AI capabilities, are transforming how legal teams manage contracts. They automate routine tasks, improve visibility across departments, reduce errors, and help organizations unlock insights hidden in their agreements. 

According to the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), contract management software has become the most used legal technology among in-house legal departments, with nearly two-thirds (65%) now using it. In-house legal professionals also rate CLM software as the most effective legal tech tool, according to the report. 

Read on to learn everything you need to know to get started with a CLM platform – without overwhelming your team or your current systems. 

What is a CLM platform? 

A CLM platform is a centralized system that helps legal teams manage the full contract process, from initiation through execution, performance, and renewal.  

Core features typically include: 

• Contract analysis that uses pre-built and custom AI models to convert unstructured documents into actionable data  

• Review and redline by comparing to internally built or community sourced playbooks. Agiloft’s Screens provides an innovative approach to contract review with customizable playbooks designed to assess contracts against defined standards, without requiring the creation of a bespoke clause library.  

• AI capabilities so you can ask your contract for, no matter how nuanced  

• Ability to use your own LLM to automate any manual task anywhere throughout your contract workflow  

• Speed through contract review of large volumes of contract using uniquely-trained labels  

• Alerts and notifications of needed actions to move a contract along or respond to an obligation  

• Record management, visibility, and distribution of contracts through access and functionality levels for every stakeholder  

• Automation of contract creation, approval, execution, and renewal processes with no-code, configurable workflows  

• One source of truth for all contract data with point and click no-code integrations so that stakeholders can work with data in the applications they use every day  

• Inform all stakeholders with flexible reporting dashboards that everyone can customize to stay up to date on all contract reporting 

Many modern CLM platforms now incorporate AI capabilities, which can automate key tasks such as extracting terms, detecting risk, and providing data-driven insights into contractual trends. Agiloft’s industry-first AI on the inside ™ CLM platform delivers fully configurable AI at every stage of the contract lifecycle, seamlessly enhancing efficiency and business performance. 

How to get started with a CLM platform 

Implementing a CLM platform can be a big undertaking. More than just a tech project, CLM implementations change how your organization handles one of its most critical business functions.  

Here is a step-by-step guide to starting strong. 

Step 1: Assess your current contracting process 

Begin by understanding how your organization currently manages contracts: 

• Where do your contracts live today? (Shared drives? Email inboxes?) 

• What are the most common bottlenecks? (Slow approvals? Version confusion?) 

• Which teams are involved? (Legal, Sales, Procurement, Finance?) 

• What metrics matter most? (Cycle time, compliance rates, contract value?) 

This baseline will help you identify your most pressing pain points in your contracting workflows and help define what success looks like. 

Step 2: Define your CLM objectives 

Clarify the goals for your CLM implementation.  

Is your end goal to: 

• Reduce contract turnaround time? 

• Improve compliance and audit readiness? 

• Enhance visibility into contractual obligations? 

• Increase control over contract templates and standardized languages? 

Don’t worry – you can pick more than one. Defining measurable outcomes ensures alignment across stakeholders and helps evaluate platforms objectively. 

Step 3: Choose the right CLM platform 

When evaluating vendors, look for platforms that offer: 

• Focus on the big things – Can the solution eliminate busy work, automate everyday work, and liberate your contract data? 

• Freeze third-party contract risk – Does it have AI review and negotiation capabilities to spot risky terms and clauses, automatically and predictably? 

• A community of support – Do you have a team of partners that are always there to support and guide you, with expert playbooks ready to deploy? 

• Human-centric pragmatism – Is every AI contract management software feature designed to solve a real challenge? 

• Storing & tracking – Can the CLM create a smart repository with accurate, standard, and actionable data, empowering teams beyond Legal to join the contract process? 

• Reviewing & negotiating – Can it use company or market standards to create mutually beneficial redlines, allowing you to agree faster and strengthen relationships? 

• Risk assessment – Can the CLM platform reduce overall risk with unprecedented insight to, and control over, data and language you’ve deemed risky? 

• Analysis & reporting – Can it uncover trends and opportunities in your contracts and contracting process for continuous improvement and impact? 

• Management & optimization – Can the CLM improve workflows, introduce guardrails, and leverage AI to reduce routine contracting tasks? 

Ask for real-world use cases and customer references. A live demo with your actual documents can also be eye-opening.  

Step 4: Prepare for implementation 

CLM implementation is part technology, part change management. The Harvard Business Review highlights a key challenge, stating, “Top management and ultimate users have to buy into the innovation to make it succeed, but marketing an idea to these two groups requires very different approaches.”  

Therefore, build a project plan that includes: 

• An implementation team with legal, sales, procurement, IT, and leadership 

• A phased rollout, starting with high-volume or low-risk contract types 

• Success metrics and KPIs tied to your original objectives 

• Internal communications to guide users through the transition 

Even with the right software, adoption only happens when users understand and believe in the value. Therefore, look for a vendor that can be a true partner, not just a software vendor. Agiloft offers a 96% renewal rate, a sure sign that customers feel we continually deliver value. Last year, Agiloft’s satisfaction rating for implementations sat at a full 100%. 

(Read on to learn how Susan Zagorski, Legal Operations Director at FMC, implemented a global phased CLM rollout in the agricultural sciences space.) 

Step 5: Migrate existing contracts 

Data migration is often the most time-consuming step, but it is the most critical for realizing value. CLM platforms that can make it easy to connect your contract repository to over thousands of enterprise integrations, saves you time and makes the process simpler, quicker, and more intuitive. Many CLM vendors offer migration support or partner with legal service providers to streamline this process. 

Step 6: Train and support users 

User adoption hinges on clear, relevant training. Offer role-based training for your legal, sales, and procurement teams, providing quick-reference guides and recorded demos. Creating a central support channel or helpdesk opens an avenue to support those experiencing issues. Lastly, solicit feedback and adjust training based on real-world usage from your team. A CLM platform only delivers ROI if it is used consistently across the organization. 

Step 7: Monitor, measure, and optimize 

Once your CLM is live, keep improving. Track key metrics such as contract cycle time, approval turnaround, contract compliance rates, and obligation tracking. Use your platform’s reporting and analytics tools to identify opportunities for refinement. This could be streamlining workflows or revising templates. 

Leveraging CLM as a strategic advantage 

Contracts sit at the intersection of legal, business, finance, and compliance. How you manage them affects everything from revenue recognition to supplier performance to risk management. 

By investing in a data-first, flexible, AI-enhanced CLM platform, legal and contracting teams can do more than automate a few workflows; they can transform how legal supports the entire business. 

Start small. Focus on a key use case. Choose a platform that fits your organization – not the other way around. And be ready to iterate as your needs evolve. 

Interested in seeing a data-first CLM with AI on the inside™ live in action? Check out our on-demand webinar to learn how you can streamline your contracting processes.