Mistakes you’re making that slow down deals in SaaS B2B

One of the biggest struggles I faced as first legal hire at a rapid scale Irish tech company was deal slowdown caused by confusion over (the then-new) data processing agreements.

We were scaling from Europe into the US in particular, and everyone was grappling with how they worked, how best to fit them into contracting workflows, how to head off data processing issues early on in deal cycles, and so on.

Thankfully, everyone knows how DPAs work now (more or less).

But time kills deals, which got me thinking about other factors that slow things down that shouldn’t.

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Here's part one of a list of common mistakes I see that slow down deals in SaaS B2B. Part two to follow!

1️⃣ Misalignment on data flows & extent of processing
Data processing agreements should be standardised globally (hello OneDPA).
Unfortunately, they aren’t. So a lot of time gets wasted on negotiations if you and your customer aren’t aligned on type/extent of processing activities, direction of data flows etc. This has a knock-on effect on risk allocation and indemnification — and can slow down negotiations even more if you’re fundamentally misaligned.

2️⃣ Separate DPA
Your DPA should ideally be hyperlinked in your terms of service.
Do not introduce a separate contract that requires another signature. You’re creating more work: needless redlines, extra negotiations, and one more signature to collect (that someone might forget at the end of a deal cycle).

3️⃣ Not planning ahead
Plan for Thanksgiving, 4th of July, MLK Day, December, public holiday shutdowns. Especially if you’re negotiating with someone in a different country (checking cultural and market differences is where a great legal AI tool can help these days!!). Signatories and decision-makers may not be available during holidays, which can put an EOQ deal at risk. Yes, it’s the AE’s job to keep track of that, but be proactive with reminders. This saves stress at EOQ — and heartache if you miss a deal because someone was enjoying their turkey on their well-earned day off.

4️⃣ Wrong company details
You’d be surprised how much having the wrong group entity/signatory in your contracts can slow down and put a deal at risk. Unpicking agreed form contracts over such a small but key detail is embarrassing. Make sure Sales has enablement materials with the right company info and that you regularly message why accuracy matters when you’re trying to execute contracts fast.

5️⃣ Using the wrong paper

• Third-party paper: If you’re selling SaaS, your terms of service are tailored to your product — your SLAs, your processing activities, your technical and organisational measures. Deals should be on your paper, not theirs.

• Old templates: Nothing worse than a redline on outdated terms of service. Make sure AEs only have access to current templates — and police this if needed.

6️⃣ Onerous terms
If you’re selling SaaS, be end-user friendly.
Don’t have onerous, unrealistic, largely academic terms that are off-putting to review. They cause deal after deal to slow down. Don’t be that person.

Pro tip: All of these can be avoided and controlled through automating the right things with decent legal tech tools, when you’re ready to buy!

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