We all know what lawyers job is about and we also know what sales’ or buyers’ do.
Auditors, are clear too, so are Finance and Administration staffs, or Project Managers.
And Process Engineers or Risk Managers are less frequent, but still, we understand their tasks.
Well, what then is a Commercial & Contract Manager’s job?
Actually, it’s all of these: Put them together, federate them transversally, and you get a CCM.
A Commercial & Contract Manager:
- feels at ease with both Lawyers and Project Managers; with Sales as with Auditors; with Administrative staff as with C-Executives
- understands and speaks lawyers’ dialect, as well as the IT Architects’
- translates each dialect to the other
- is very risk aware, yet remain sales oriented
- understands accountants’ tasks as well as corporations’ strategies
- is well acquainted with legal concepts, yet negotiates a deal with a definite business orientation.
Also, a Commercial & Contract Manager is also aware of its limits. And will know when to involve a specialist into the discussions.
Her/his favourite task is to negotiate. She/he loves challenges, its main trait is integrity. Her/his hobby is finding solutions and its focus is on simplification and efficiency.
How to take full benefit of a Commercial & Contract Manager?
First
Proper preparation. Discuss openly your goals with your CCM. Let her/him ask critical questions to qualify your issues. Inadequate preparation leads to losing 20 to 60% of his engagement, so take the time here. And do not involve her/him too late. So that for the remainder of his involvement, you only need to participate in debriefs, taking strategic decisions or provide approvals.
Second
Discuss with the CCM who will be the other 1-3 participants. Arrange for short regular status meetings with others and give concurrent position when called in. This will speed the process and free resources and reduce costs.
Third
Take his feed back into consideration. All too often, through his experience and external view, a CCM suggests ways to improve your business (simplification, reduce risks, improve efficiency, employee’s potential, competitive advantage, etc.).
A study showed that a CCM can impacts .ca 9% of company’s revenue equivalent.
For sure, a CCM is not just a lawyer. Nor is he just an administrative staff.