Marshfield Consulting’s CLM Journey from Expert Advice to Internal Application
As a Docusign Platinum Partner and enterprise CLM consultancy, Marshfield Consulting has helped hundreds of companies design and implement scalable contract lifecycle management systems. Our founder and CEO, Scott Brooks, has been guiding enterprise clients through this terrain for years — building best practices, structuring contract frameworks, and driving digital transformation in some of the world’s most complex organizations.
But even for a firm steeped in CLM, there comes a moment when you need to look inward.
This is the story of how Marshfield applied its own methodology to its internal operations — translating deep client-side expertise into a streamlined, automated contract engine that could support our own growth.
Because growth doesn’t introduce chaos. It reveals it. And even experts can find themselves wrestling with the very same challenges they help others solve.
The Hidden Complexity Behind Founder-Led Execution
In its early years, Marshfield was a lean operation. Like many consulting firms, we ran fast — relying on founder-led processes, deep industry knowledge, and personal client relationships. Scott personally handled contract creation, especially for complex Statements of Work (SOWs), which were often custom-built for each engagement.
While basic document generation tools supported some standard agreements, the process was largely manual and centralized. Scott could move quickly because he knew the business, the clients, and the context behind every deal.
“It was efficient in a way,” Scott explains. “But only because I was doing all of it myself. There weren’t handoffs. There wasn’t friction — yet.” And that’s the key. The process wasn’t optimized. It was contained — efficient only because scale hadn’t yet revealed the limitations.
The Inflection Point: When Expertise Needs Infrastructure
As Marshfield Consulting grew — more clients, more team members, more volume — the need for structure became undeniable.
Custom SOWs that once felt like a differentiator became a drain on bandwidth. Scott, who was also leading the business and engaging clients, became a bottleneck in contract workflows. And while the firm was architecting world-class CLM solutions for clients, its own internal process had outgrown the informal approach.
“There’s a difference between knowing what ‘good CLM’ looks like and actually engineering it into your own operations,” Scott says. “We had the knowledge. What we needed was the internal discipline to apply it at home.”
That realization marked a shift — from expert-led craftsmanship to systemized execution. Marshfield wasn’t just solving for scale; we were putting our own expertise into motion.
Turning the Lens Inward: Designing Marshfield’s CLM System
With deep in-house knowledge of Docusign CLM and a mature methodology already proven across hundreds of client implementations, Marshfield didn’t need to learn CLM — we needed to operationalize it.
And that meant applying the same rigor, structure, and automation we deliver for clients to our own internal lifecycle.
1. Standardization with Strategic Flexibility
We moved away from highly customized agreements and invested in reusable, modular templates that support common deal structures while preserving room for the nuances that matter.
This wasn’t a dumbing down — it was smart simplification. Strategic standardization creates the foundation for automation, version control, and accelerated review cycles.
2. Delegation Through Self-Service
Rather than rely on Scott for contract creation and routing, we introduced a self-service workflow within Salesforce, powered by Docusign CLM.
Anyone on the team with appropriate access can now generate contracts — including MSAs, SOWs, and addenda — through an intuitive interface tied to predefined business rules. This removed Scott from 80–90% of the operational workload while preserving oversight where it mattered.
3. End-to-End Automation
The contract isn’t the end of the process — it’s the trigger.
Once a deal is signed:
- A resourcing task is automatically generated.
- Upon staffing confirmation, a project is created in Katana (our PSA, formerly Mavenlink).
- From there, QuickBooks invoicing is auto-initiated based on contract milestones.
This closed-loop process reflects the very same principles we bring to enterprise clients — from reducing manual handoffs to accelerating time-to-value.
Velocity, Control, and Insight — Delivered Internally
With the system in place, the benefits were immediate:
- Speed: Contracts move faster because they’re no longer waiting on a single person’s availability.
- Control: Pre-configured guardrails ensure compliance, approvals, and version control without extra bureaucracy.
- Insight: Structured data allows us to track cycle times, surface delays, and refine our service delivery model.
We don’t just know where a contract is — we know how long it took to move from opportunity to kickoff. We can identify patterns, uncover inefficiencies, and improve. All the things we advise clients to do — we’re doing them ourselves, backed by the same system.
Expert Advice Applied: The Real Meaning of “Customer Zero”
Being experts isn’t the same as being immune to operational drag. The difference is, we saw the warning signs — and we had the tools to fix them.
By turning our CLM expertise inward, we validated our methodology in a very real way. Marshfield’s contract engine isn’t just theory. It’s lived practice.
This is the core lesson for any scaling organization — even those with deep internal expertise: you still need structure. You still need systems. And you still need to invest in your own operational maturity.
Because growth doesn’t invent chaos. It reveals where your processes can no longer keep pace with your potential.
Final Thoughts
For Marshfield Consulting, our CLM transformation wasn’t about learning the power of automation. It was about proving it.
We didn’t just design a better process — we implemented it, refined it, and continue to optimize it based on performance data and real-world use. And now, we run our business on the same CLM backbone we recommend to our clients.
Are You Scaling Without Structure?
Whether you’re a high-growth startup or a mature enterprise, contract chaos doesn’t fix itself. Let Marshfield Consulting help you expose it — and eliminate it.
