Are we seriously STILL talking about the Sales to CS handoff?
It’s time to fix it, and move on.
I recently spoke to some leaders on one of the most tired topics in Customer Success:
The Sales to CS handoff.
It’s infuriating we’re still talking about this.
Of all the problems facing CS, this is one we really should have solved by now.
It’s not that hard.
I don’t mean to sound judgmental.
I’ve been a part of lots of terrible handoffs myself.
But enough is enough.
Here are simple things EVERY company should be doing.
1️⃣ Tie sales comp to onboarding — Percentage of Sales’ commission depends on customers hitting onboarding milestones within 30 days.
2️⃣ Use shared KPIs — Sales and CS both own metrics like time to value and onboarding completion, keeping focus on long-term success over new logos.
3️⃣ Shadow each other — CS joins sales forecast meetings, and Sales listens to onboarding calls, building empathy and reducing friction.
4️⃣ Involve CS pre-close — For larger or more complex deals, Sales loops in CS at the “verbal commit” stage to prep onboarding and catch any red flags.
5️⃣ Capture details in the CRM — Sales fills out a form with key info including customer goals, decision-makers, risks. Automate reminders.
6️⃣ Do joint handoff calls — Sales introduces CS in a live call with the customer for a “no-drop baton pass.”
7️⃣ Build customer-facing success plans — Include goals, timelines, and roles. The CSM builds it live during the kickoff call so everyone leaves aligned.
I’d really like to see us put this to bed, and move on to bigger problems.
