Best Practices for Sales and Customer Success Handoff

Something remarkable happened when we started bringing Customer Success leaders into our sales conversations. The traditional sales process transformed into a strategic partnership discussion that benefited everyone involved. After implementing this approach across hundreds of deals, we discovered benefits that went far beyond our initial expectations. Sales teams gained a deeper understanding of post-implementation challenges, which helped them qualify opportunities more effectively. Instead of focusing solely on closing deals, they began asking questions about operational readiness, internal champions, and resource allocation. Prospects received authentic insights into what successful implementation truly requires. Our CS leaders shared real examples of customers who thrived and openly discussed common obstacles they might face. This transparency built trust and helped prospects make informed decisions. Better aligned customer expectations from day one. When CS leaders joined these conversations, they highlighted potential roadblocks and success metrics based on similar customer profiles. This practical guidance helped prospects understand the work required to achieve their desired outcomes. This early involvement proved invaluable for our CS team. They gained visibility into the customer's vision before contracts were signed, allowing them to proactively plan resources and create tailored onboarding strategies. A surprising result was the reduction in "rescue" situations during implementation. We eliminated many issues that typically surfaced months into the relationship by addressing potential challenges during sales discussions. The data supported our approach. Deals that included CS leaders showed 40% higher implementation success rates and 25% faster time-to-value. More importantly, these customers renewed at significantly higher rates. For those considering this approach, start small. Choose strategic opportunities where CS insights could substantially impact the prospect's decision-making process. Document the outcomes and refine your strategy based on that feedback. Great customer relationships begin with the very first conversation.

Pre-sales is dead. Post-sales is dead too. Whether you talk about an infinity loop, bowtie, Mobius strip or other geometric shape, what’s universally true is that companies are moving away from dated models that fracture between before and after contract signature. To this point, Jean-Charles Renoux, Ori Entis and I brought together several respected Revenue Operations leaders to talk about changes in teams, processes and technology to support a more integrated customer journey. We discussed org structures and it’s fascinating that there are multiple models, each with pros and cons: 1. Some put sales ops under a CRO and CS/CX ops under a CCO. This allows for strong functional alignment and autonomy. 2. Others have an integrated RevOps org under a COO with sub-leaders for sales ops and CS ops. This drives better integration across the customer journey. 3. Some put this integrated function under a CRO. Inevitably, since it’s 2025, we talked about how AI is being used in RevOps teams: * Creating simulations for sales reps to test their pitches in a “safe environment.” * Automating RFP responses. * Competitive research. * Route planning for their field agents. * 100% automated voice prospecting. I asked what was the biggest challenge they had in terms of aligning pre and post sales. Universally, the answer was the one that’s always been the challenge - “the handoff.” Some of the solutions were uber-creative: * Required Salesforce fields to capture the client’s goals before an opportunity is closed-won. * Automatically creating slack channels per region when a new deal closes - with the CSM, AE and TAM as members. * Assigning a CSM at the “commit” stage to allow for the handoff to be done well and giving the CSM the key to validate that the client is ready for a handoff. * Creating a deal room with a “mutual action plan” between the vendor and the client and then handing that artifact off to the CSM. * Inferring client objects from sales recorded calls. * Almost all of them automated pushing these objectives into Gainsight. One attendee shared that they found that deals that had goals filled out had a 2X higher customer satisfaction rate than those that didn’t! It’s so exciting that we’re moving beyond the silo-ed world of “pre-“ and “post-“ sales. And AI will help us get there! Thanks to Mandarachalam Aruchamy Franklin Fredrik Bayley Fesler Heidi Thompson Sonam Dabholkar Adam Josephson Shaun Martin Melissa Allen Beth Anne Altamura Justin Miller Patrick Sweny for adding so much to the dialog! What do you do to streamline the handoff between your Sales and #CustomerSuccess teams?

Stop treating the Sales-to-CS handoff like a magical resource that holds all the secrets to your customers' success. Yes, a solid handoff is nice to have. But relying on it as your only source of truth? That’s not the move. I hear it all the time—teams getting stuck because the handoff was “incomplete” or “not detailed enough.” Queue the finger pointing 👉 👈 Spoiler alert: It never will be. And that’s okay! Instead of waiting around for Sales to spoon-feed you everything (which, let’s be real, they might not even have), take control of your kickoff with these tested tactics: 🔥 1. Create a customer intake form We use a New Customer Intake Survey to get the ACTUAL info we need—like key stakeholders, business goals, tech stack, and priorities. It’s up-to-date, straight from the source, and cuts through the noise. 🔗 2. Strengthen integrations and data flow If your CRM and CSP aren’t talking to each other, fix that ASAP. Automate the data flow so that your CS team isn’t hunting for scraps. We make sure every sales detail lands where it belongs—in ClientSuccess for our CX team. 🕵️♀️ 3. Do your research Newsflash: The internet exists. Our CSMs dig into LinkedIn, Crunchbase, G2, Glassdoor—anywhere that provides context on their business, growth, and challenges. If it’s public, it’s intel. 📞 4. The Validation Call (aka the call before the call) For Enterprise deals, we schedule a quick 15-minute pre-kickoff with the main POC to validate what we know. This isn't just about info—it’s about relationship-building from Day 1. And guess what? Customers love it. Look, the Sales-to-CS handoff is useful, but it’s not the holy grail. Even the best handoff won’t catch everything. So take matters into your own hands and set yourself up for success. Trust me—if you get this right, you’ll stress less, impress more, and actually have time to enjoy that coffee (or, in my case, a Chai Tea Latte). ☕✨ Happy Friday! 🖤 ———— 📣 If you liked my post, you'll love my newsletter. Every week I share my learnings, advice and strategies from my experience going from a CSM to CCO. Join 12k+ subscribers of The Journey and turn insights into action. Sign up on my profile.

Hey presales leaders… you gotta fix your pre-sales to post-sales transitions! New customers do not want to: ❌ Be thrown over the wall to a new team ❌ Have to re-explain E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. to them ❌ Feel like they wasted A TON of time with your presales team only to start all over again That’s not an awesome customer experience… 😬 It kills customer goodwill, lengthens time-to-value, and increases churn risk. So presales teams… help your post-sales team understand: ➡  What you know (technical details, buyer details, etc.) ➡  What was done (during the sales cycle)  ➡  What needs to get done (during the implementation) ➡  What are the risks/warnings/gotchas ➡  What are the keys to success Every sales engineers knows this stuff 'in the moment' but you can't remember every detail about every deal, so make sure to capture all of this (ideally in a centralized 'presales workspace' like Homerun Presales!) as you move through the sales cycle with a buying team. Then share everything with your post-sales team to set them up for IMMEDIATE SUCCESS with: ✅ Smoother onboardings/implementations ✅ Better managed projects ✅ On-schedule Go-Live’s ✅ Shorter time-to-value ✅ Sky-high customer goodwill This also sets them up for FUTURE SUCCESS with: ✅ Exceptional customer results ✅ Reduced churn risk ✅ Increased expansion opportunities ✅ Happy, vocal customer references Do this right and everybody wins! 😎 Do this wrong and... yeah... it's not good. 😢 #presales #salesengineering #technicalsales #customersuccess #postsales #sales #cro

Most deals don’t fall apart at the end… they fall apart at the handoff. It’s not enough to close a big opportunity. If you don’t have alignment across operations, service, logistics, and customer success… …you haven’t won. You’ve delayed the problem. That’s why I treat internal teams like external partners: ✅ I share forecasts proactively ✅ I over communicate during onboarding ✅ I track performance metrics that matter to the client ✅ I follow up on what I said I’d do, every time Cross-functional collaboration isn’t a soft skill. It’s a revenue lever. And when you treat it like one, clients stay longer, expand faster, and refer more often. If you’ve ever landed a strategic account and almost lost it in the transition phase, you’re not alone. Handoff is the hidden killer of long-term value.