In every CLM demo, there is a slide titled "Integrations." It is covered in logos: Salesforce, Workday, Slack, NetSuite. The sales rep waves a hand and says, "We have native integrations with all of these."
You nod. You check the box on your RFP. And six months later, your IT team is screaming because the "native integration" is actually just a glorified iframe that can't read custom fields.
The Three Levels of "Integration"
"Integration" is a marketing term, not a technical one. In the SaaS world, it can mean three very different things:
1The "Link-Out" (The Fake)
The "integration" is a button in Salesforce that opens the CLM in a new tab. No data is passed. You still have to copy-paste the customer name. This is worthless.
2The "One-Way Push" (The Trap)
Salesforce can send data to the CLM to create a contract. But when the contract is signed? Silence. The CLM does not update the Opportunity stage to "Closed Won." Your RevOps team will hate this.
3True Bi-Directional Sync (The Goal)
Data flows both ways. Changes in the contract (e.g., Payment Terms changed from Net 30 to Net 60) automatically update the Salesforce record. This is rare and expensive.
The Integration Iceberg
What you see in the demo vs. what you have to build yourself.
The "Custom Object" Nightmare
Here is the specific question that kills 50% of CLM deals: "Does your integration support Salesforce Custom Objects?"
Most "native" integrations are hard-coded to standard objects: Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts. But your company is unique. You might store contract data in a custom object called "Subscription_Agreement__c".
If the vendor's integration cannot map to custom objects, you are looking at a $50,000 professional services bill to build a custom API connector (middleware) just to make the tool work.
The API Limit Bomb
Even if the integration works, it might break your budget in a different way: API Call Limits.
Salesforce charges for API calls. A poorly written CLM integration might poll Salesforce every 5 seconds: "Any changes? Any changes?" This is "chatty" code. It burns through your daily API limit by noon, crashing your other integrations (like your marketing automation or ERP).
The Consultant's Takeaway: Never trust a logo. Ask for the "Integration Documentation" (not the brochure). If they send you a 2-page PDF, run. If they send you a link to a developer portal with schema definitions, you're in good hands.