Gaia Olcese, Procurement Manager at Satispay, emphasizes the importance of visibility capabilities: “Better visibility would be amazing. We have more than 12,000 contracts, and their data is not sorted.” This highlights the need to thoroughly evaluate search and analytics functions during demos.

Assessing AI capabilities

Artificial intelligence has become a core component of modern contract management platforms. According to Goldman Sachs, AI-powered contract analysis can reduce review time by up to 80% while improving accuracy and risk identification.

When evaluating AI capabilities during a contract management software demo, consider:

1. Accuracy of data extraction: Ability to correctly identify and classify key contract elements

2. Learning capabilities: How the system improves over time with usage

3. Human oversight mechanisms: Tools for reviewing and correcting AI-generated insights

4. Specialized domain knowledge: Adaptation to industry-specific terminology and requirements

5. Explainability: Transparency in how AI reaches conclusions

Pepe Carr, General Counsel at Sand Technologies, offers an insightful perspective on AI’s role: “If your learning model can raise their hand and say, ‘I don’t know what this is, please take a look,’ then you are off to reduce legal headcount.” This highlights the importance of AI systems that recognize their limitations and facilitate appropriate human oversight.

Evaluating integration capabilities

Integration with existing business systems is critical for realizing the full value of contract management software. Research from Forrester indicates that organizations with well-integrated contract management achieve 25% higher ROI than those with isolated implementations.

During your demo, request specific demonstrations of:

• CRM integration: How contract data flows to and from customer relationship management systems

• ERP connectivity: Synchronization with financial and operational systems

• Electronic signature integration: Seamless connections with e-signature platforms

• Procurement system integration: Coordination with purchasing and vendor management tools

• Document management integration: Connections with existing document repositories

• Custom integration capabilities: API functionality for specialized business systems

Christopher Tufts, FP&A Manager at Iterable, emphasizes the importance of integration: “An integrated CLM is important so we can serve all our principal audiences from the same system.” This perspective should guide your assessment of integration capabilities during demos.

Real-world examples: Contract management demos in action

Case Study: Strategic Demo Evaluation at Pima Community College

— Julie Delayo, Executive Director for Sponsored Programs, Grants and Contracts at PCC

Case study: Feature-focused evaluation at Yates Construction

Yates Construction, with 5,000 employees across 15 regional divisions, focused their demo evaluation on addressing specific challenges:

1. Centralized repository needs: Assessing document storage and organization capabilities

2. Standardization requirements: Evaluating template and clause libraries

3. Workflow automation: Testing approval processes and notification systems

4. User access management: Verifying role-based permissions across divisions

Their strategic approach to demo evaluation led to selecting a solution that delivered $15,000 monthly savings in administrative costs and significantly accelerated project timelines.

Jenny McMullen, Corporate Contract Administrator at Yates Construction, highlights one key benefit:

“A lot of subcontractors refuse to go to work until they have a signed contract, so Concord gets our projects moving much faster.”

Implementation considerations: Beyond the demo

Assessing implementation approach

While feature evaluation dominates most demo discussions, implementation methodology significantly impacts time-to-value and adoption success. According to McKinsey, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their objectives, with implementation challenges being a primary factor.

During your contract management software demo, evaluate:

1. Implementation methodology: Structured approach to deployment and configuration

2. Data migration strategy: Process for importing and validating existing contracts

3. Training and change management: Programs to ensure user adoption and proficiency

4. Success metrics: How implementation progress and outcomes will be measured

5. Resource requirements: Internal and external staffing needs for successful deployment

David Morgan, CFO at Loop Returns, highlights a common implementation challenge: “We had to crack open the PDF because not all contract information syncs with our billing system.” This underscores the importance of thoroughly assessing data migration and integration approaches during the demo process.

Evaluating vendor partnership potential

Contract management implementations represent long-term strategic partnerships rather than simple software purchases. Research from Deloitte indicates that organizations rating their vendor relationships as “strategic partnerships” achieve 40% higher satisfaction with their contract management implementations.

Key partnership factors to assess during demos include:

• Industry expertise: Vendor’s understanding of your specific business context

• Innovation roadmap: Future development plans and technology vision

• Customer success programs: Structured approach to ongoing optimization

• User community: Peer networking and best practice sharing opportunities

• Executive alignment: Shared strategic vision and relationship management

Jamie Garfield, VP of Sales at PAAY, emphasizes the value of strong vendor partnership: “Concord has just been great for us. We adore the AI features. There’s no other contract platform that delivers this much value at this price point. Period.”