How Can Legal Partner Better With Sales

Over the past 8 years, I've worked with hundreds of Sales & BD professionals to close deals at Medallia and DoorDash.

There was one consistent quality that rock star sales professionals exhibited that separated them from the pack.

It enabled them to close deals faster, with better terms, and their deals were often worked on first by the legal team.

What is this quality? They approached contract negotiations as a team sport versus believing that their job was done once it got to the contracting stage.

Let's break this down and look at how this works in practice:

1. They took time to really understand the issues. Most contract terms have significant financial impact on the business so these aren't just legal issues, they are business issues.

2. They asked for an internal prep call before getting on the phone with the customer's legal team. They wanted to align on all major issues so they understood our ideal positions and acceptable fall backs.

3. They always had my back and supported me on negotiation calls. They didn't take the customer's position and try to negotiate against me. This uplifted our entire negotiation dynamic and built so much trust.

4. They made me feel appreciated. They knew that I was slogging through a ton of work and there was no commission waiting for me at the finish line. That meant that I was always eager to help them in return.

The relationship between Legal and Sales has a massive impact on the business AND team culture. Take time to cultivate a great one!