The first weeks of a project often go to rediscovering what was agreed during the sale. The information usually exists in the CRM, the proposal and a few email threads; it just never arrives in one place. These four steps agree what a handoff must contain, connect those sources, and keep the seller responsible for checking the brief before delivery relies on it.

Step 1 — Define the handoff brief

Goal: Agree what delivery needs on day one.

  1. Ask delivery leads what they wish they had known at the start of recent projects.
  2. Fix a short brief: goals, scope, promises, contacts, dates and open questions.
  3. Decide which promises need the account owner’s check, such as pricing or custom terms.
  4. Name who owns the handoff on each side.

You finish with: A handoff brief template with owners on the sales and delivery sides.

Step 2 — Connect the sources

Goal: Bring the sale’s record into one place.

  1. Make sure proposals and scope notes are attached to the deal in the CRM.
  2. Give read access to the CRM, proposal folder and the deal’s email thread.
  3. Agree how sellers record verbal promises during the sale.
  4. Trigger the handoff when a deal is marked won.

You finish with: Connected sources and a clear trigger for each handoff.

Step 3 — Draft and review

Goal: Get a checked brief to delivery quickly.

  1. Draft the brief from the connected sources, with links back to each one.
  2. List anything missing or unclear as open questions.
  3. Have the seller confirm or correct the brief before it moves on.
  4. Send pricing, contract terms and unusual promises to the account owner.

You finish with: A reviewed handoff brief for every won deal.

Step 4 — Kick off and measure

Goal: Start projects cleanly and keep improving.

  1. Create the delivery project from the brief and use open questions as the kickoff agenda.
  2. Track time from deal won to kickoff against your starting point.
  3. Track questions re-asked of customers and scope issues found later.
  4. Update the template when delivery keeps needing something it does not contain.

You finish with: Faster, cleaner kickoffs and a brief that improves over time.

Common pitfalls

  • Handing over a brief no seller has checked.
  • Promises made verbally that never reach the brief.
  • Asking the customer to repeat what they told sales.
  • No owner for the handoff, so it happens late or not at all.

See it as a workflow

Sales

Sales-to-delivery handoff

When a deal closes, gather what was promised from the CRM, proposal and emails into one handoff brief, so the delivery team starts with the full picture and the customer is not asked the same questions twice.

See the workflow

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