General Atomics’ Post

Here's one of the most underrated parts of your job as first legal hire at a B2B SaaS vendor: Being a good teacher to the sales team. You are not just there to manage risk when selling your product. You are there to empower AEs, get them to self-serve on negotiations and generate revenue as fast as possible. Here’s my quick guide on what to focus on so you can hit company goals FAST in a way that protects the business. Anything missing?? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PS The right CLM tool will help you do this too by empowering AEs to self-serve on contracts, automate your playbook and suggested redlines AND give you peace of mind the right templates and clauses are being negotiated - if you want to read more, I've linked a white paper I wrote on CLM tools with SpotDraft who also kindly sponsored this post! #sponsoredcontent #irishtechgc #SaaSAgreements #B2BSaaS #legaltech

Let’s assume you are asked to look at a company’s standard form contract and revamp it. And let’s assume that the company is selling a SaaS product B2B to large companies, and the company has been trading for at least 3 years.   Where do you start?   There are two places to start.   The first place to start is the sales process. The sales-contracting process (SCP – I’ve written about this in previous posts) is a process in its own right, but it’s a subset of the overall sales process. And the overall sales process’ primary objective is to get the customer (and its money), and that means signing a contract.   It’s important to understand the sales process, as experienced by the sales team, because you want to get the sales team onboard. If the sales team sets the wrong expectations with the customer, then the contract negotiation becomes painful. On the other hand, if they set the right expectations (i.e. expectations that align with the contract) the contract closes faster and everyone (including the sales team that get their commission faster) is happy.   Moral: integrate the sales-contracting phase into the overall sales process.   The second place is the company’s history of implementing the contract. If it’s been trading for 3 years, then there’s enough real word experience to draw on. When revamping the contract, you can avoid contract theory and work with what has been tested in practice.   Look at the clauses that don’t add value, and take them out.   Look at the clauses that create friction and, if they have value, adapt them to reduce friction: if they don’t add value, take them out.   What pain points haven’t been addressed in previous version of the contract (e.g. inflation protection) and make sure they are addressed this time round.   Moral: avoid legal theory, adapt for the real word. #legal #contracts #tech #SaaS

Just got a phone call from a legaltech vendor in the contract space asking me about my legal processes and trying to sell me their software 😊. I then asked if he checked my LI profile to see what I do today. He said that I am a GC and head of legal ops (which I was a few years ago before moving to product). I truly appreciate and understand the hustle of selling software but it would do wonders to you and your company if you bothered checking before cold calling people. It takes 30 seconds, saves us both time, and saves you and your company the discomfort of appearing unprofessional to a colleague in the same space. Take the time before your cold call to do some basic research on your prospect. It will do wonders to your sales call 😎

Understanding Non-Compete Agreements: Essential Knowledge for Sales Reps 📜🤝 In the fast-paced sales world, being aware of the legal landscapes, such as non-compete agreements, is vital. These agreements can have significant implications on your career trajectory and choices. Here's what every sales professional should know: Defining Non-Compete Agreements: Typically, these contracts prevent employees from entering into or starting a similar profession or trade in competition against their employer, either during or after their employment period. Reading the Fine Print: Understanding the terms of your non-compete is crucial. This includes the scope, duration, and geographical limitations that might affect future employment opportunities. Legal Boundaries: Each state has different laws regarding the enforceability of non-compete clauses. Familiarize yourself with the legalities in your region to understand how they may impact you. Negotiation is Key: Before signing, consider negotiating the terms. It's important to reach a fair agreement that doesn't unduly restrict your career prospects. Plan Your Career Path: Understanding the implications of a non-compete agreement can help you strategically plan your career moves and avoid potential legal hurdles. Remember, knowledge is power. Being informed about the nuances of non-compete agreements can help you make smarter career decisions and negotiate from a position of strength. #SalesCareer #NonCompeteKnowledge #ProfessionalDevelopment https://hubs.ly/Q02dgSQR0

If you're a legal team looking for efficiencies, stop sleeping on NDAs. If you're spending 15 minutes one one, what if it was 30 seconds? NDAs aren't terribly long or complex, and you probably already have a few pre-approved alternatives for the standard trouble clauses. Why not have your contract system automate this process for you? Two ways you can do that: 1. Conservative: Install a questionnaire that will auto-populate the NDA for you in your contract system. When the business folks fill out the form and hit send, that data can be populated within your agreement, so you don't have to copy and paste everything or type in all of the info that was sent to you. 2. Hogwild approach (Not really): Empower your business users to just grab the NDA that they need. (Are you scared yet?) You can have them answer a specific set of question which will allow THEM to populate the pre-approved language possibilities within the document. As long as the pre-approved language is sufficient for their needs, the NDA is kicked to the requestor automatically. Since it was done in the system though, legal has a record of the request, answers to the questions, and the document that was provided. A few months down the line: Wow, we spend so much less time on NDAs now! Sweet! I wonder if we can do the same thing with XX sales or HR agreement that we're drafting twice each day. (spoiler: yup, you probably can.) PS: Maybe if you do do some of this automation, sales will stop calling you and asking for their contracts all of the time. Just a thought ;)

If you're new to InnoLaw Group, PLLC, allow us to provide an introduction. We are small and mighty group of experienced consultants who ❤️ CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management). We are all about the readiness and preparation - the people and processes part, but we also love us some tech! If you're researching tech to support your people and processes, here are the essentials for a tech demo toolkit to get your started: 🛠 Requirements Questionnaire: Gather all your business objectives and requirements from your stakeholders. The people who will interact the most with the system will want to be heard. Having cross-functional stakeholders can provide additional aspects of a process that you may not be aware of. 🛠 Vendor Demo Requirements List: Communicate to potential vendors what you want to see in a demo. Have the vendor show you exactly what your processes will look like in their system. Don't have vendors waste your time on all the flashy new rollouts they have in their pipeline when you want to see basic intake or workflow functionality. You can control the narrative. 🛠 Demo Scorecard: This will be extremely helpful for your internal stakeholders to score the vendors on specific business requirements and will allow for stakeholders to provide commentary and questions. You got this! And if you don't, InnoLaw Group, PLLC is here to help. #CLM #tech #legaltech #legal #techdemo #contractmanagement #contracting #contracts #contractmanager #legalops #CLMReadiness #CLMSimplified Lucy Bassli🎗

🔍 Navigating Software Purchase Agreements: A Strategic Approach 📊 Client Spotlight: Cestomart Pvt Ltd As a Corporate Counsel at Cestomart Pvt Ltd, I recently had the opportunity to negotiate a critical software purchase agreement with a leading company which makes software as per the client requirements . Here are some key takeaways from the process: Know Your Requirements: Before entering negotiations, we meticulously identified our software needs. A well-defined requirement list aligned with our business objectives empowered us during discussions. Vendor Selection: We researched potential vendors, considering market stability and reputation. Gofrugal stood out for its robust offerings and industry presence. Scope Clarity: Our contract clearly defined the scope of services, preventing scope creep and ensuring project alignment. Pricing and Payment Terms: Negotiating payment terms was crucial. Clear pricing, payment schedules, and conditions fostered a positive working relationship. IP Rights and Confidentiality: We addressed intellectual property rights and data protection upfront, safeguarding sensitive information.

You DON'T need one legal platform for all your legal needs 🤦♂️ What problem is this kind of all-in-one platform solving? It's not clear. What is the job-to-be-done this kind of platform is being hired for? It's not clear. For sure, in general it's harder to get budget for three tools than for one tool, so for vendors it's a shortcut through the "we don't have budget for any more software" objection. A couple different ways to look at this... 1️⃣ If you only have budget for a single tool, identify the most impactful opportunity. Where is most of your time wasted? Where do you become a bottleneck for the business? 2️⃣ My belief is vendors fall back on the 'one legal platform' approach when they find it hard to quantify the value of their product AND/OR when the teams they're selling to find it hard to quantify the value of the product to their CFO. If the value of a product to the business is clear (material impact on top line), you won't have any issue getting budget... it's no longer 'just a tool for the legal team'.

Did you know? There has been a cannabis product recall this month already. Don’t let your product be next. We’re here to help you address all your QA challenges. I'm passionate about ensuring only the highest quality products reach the market, especially with growing number of recalls in more established industries like food and beverage. Let's work together to prevent that from happening. At Varde Agency, we don’t just talk—we walk the talk. I bring that mindset to everything we do here. We don’t waste time or money—just deliver quality solutions, no matter the project size. When you need QA services done right and on time, we’re the team that gets it done. #WeDeliverResults #VardeAgency #NoExcuses #QualityFirst

When it comes to outsourced vs. in-house SDR, people still have questions. Cost-wise, it's 1/4 in favor of outsourcing. When it comes to performance, there are questions for both from strategic and tactical standpoints. Jeffrey Lupo interviewed me specifically to shed light on the nuances behind the decision to outsource SDR or not. https://lnkd.in/eGd8y3M4