So, you’ve closed the deal—game over, right! Not even close–this is where the real work begins.
The sales-to-customer success handoff is more than just moving a client from one team to another. It’s a pivotal moment that can make or break the relationship you just worked so hard to establish. A smooth handoff is where trust is built–and a clunky one? Well, that’s where customers start looking for the exit door.
Let’s walk through a step-by-step breakdown of how to create a sales-to-customer success handoff using HubSpot (because yes, it’s the best CRM in the game), set up templates, and even automate some of the heavy lifting. If you’ve been looking for ways to bridge the gap between your sales and customer success teams, you’re in the right place.
We’ve all been there—whether as customers or on the business side—when things just don’t click after the sale. Maybe you’re excited about your new product or service, but then… silence. No follow-up, no clear next steps, and suddenly, that shiny new relationship feels a little tarnished. These handoff blunders are more common than you think, and they can seriously hurt your business.
As our Director of RevOps Products Brian Kreutz discusses in the RevOps MBA video series, the go-to-market model you choose—whether field sales, ABM, or inbound—impacts how customer success teams engage after the deal closes👇
The most glaring issues during a handoff usually boil down to a few key mistakes 👇
Customers don’t care about the internal workings of your teams—they care about their experience.
When there’s a disconnect between what the sales team promised and what customer success delivers, it’s easy for expectations to go unmet. And once that first crack appears, it can widen quickly. Misalignment often leads to onboarding delays, and delayed onboarding is a top contributor to customer dissatisfaction. You’re starting off on the wrong foot, and that’s a tough position to recover from.
When sales and customer success teams aren’t aligned, problems will mostly definitely occur. Sales teams might feel like their work is done as soon as the contract is signed, while customer success is left scrambling to pick up the pieces. This misalignment can create internal friction, leading to finger-pointing and, ultimately, a less-than-ideal experience for the customer.
So, how do you avoid the common pitfalls and ensure a smooth, seamless transition from sales to customer success? It starts with laying the right foundation.
A successful handoff revolves around three key principles 👇
The handoff process isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. To truly set the customer success team up for success, here’s what should be transferred 👇
One of the biggest handoff blunders is leaving the customer in the dark. They need to know exactly who’s handling what and when, right from the start.
Make sure the client is crystal clear on the following 👇
Setting these expectations early builds trust and confidence in the relationship.
Ready to build out your own seamless handoff process? Start with this checklist 👇
Creating a standardized handoff process is the key to good customer relationships and ensuring everyone gets the same high-quality experience, regardless of which sales rep or CSM they’re working with. That’s where a handoff template comes in handy. It takes the guesswork out of the equation and keeps everything structured, clear, and consistent.
A good handoff template ensures that nothing is left to chance. Here’s how to break it down:
2. Timeline for Onboarding and Key Milestones: Outline the expected onboarding process and key milestones the customer should expect to hit along the way.
Include👇
3. Customer Success Metrics to Track: Make sure customer success knows how to measure and track success from day one.
Include👇
4. Resources and Escalation Points: Customers need to know where to turn if they need help.
Make sure the handoff template includes👇
One size rarely fits all, and your handoff process shouldn’t be an exception.
Here’s how to tweak the template for different industries or service levels👇
Now that we’ve covered the principles and the template, let’s talk about how HubSpot can take your handoff process to the next level. If you’re serious about eliminating friction between sales and customer success, HubSpot will become your new best friend–it streamlines everything from communication to task management, making sure nothing falls through the cracks.
Setting up a ticket pipeline in HubSpot is one of the easiest ways to keep tabs on your onboarding process. With a dedicated onboarding pipeline, you can track every step of the customer’s journey after the sale, from their welcome email to technical issues and everything in between.
Here’s how you can customize it to work for your team👇
By keeping everything centralized in a pipeline, you create a clear visual of where each customer is in their onboarding journey, minimizing the risk of something slipping through the cracks.
HubSpot’s automation features make your handoff process seamless. Instead of manually reminding team members or sending follow-up emails, HubSpot automates the whole thing.
Assign tasks to the right person at the right time. For example, once a sale closes, you can automatically trigger a task for the CSM to schedule an onboarding call.
Set up automated sequences for customer communication. After the sale, a sequence could send a series of onboarding emails at timed intervals, ensuring the customer feels supported without the team needing to manually send each message.
These automations ensure that no one is left waiting and that every customer receives the same high level of attention.
The beauty of HubSpot is that every single interaction—whether it’s an email, call, or meeting—is logged automatically. This means both sales and customer success have a complete record of the customer’s journey. No more guessing who said what or when.
HubSpot’s communication tracking ensures👇
Plus, since HubSpot logs everything, it’s easy to pull up a history of conversations whenever needed.
Need to measure how well your handoff process is working? HubSpot’s custom reporting features let you monitor important KPIs in real-time.
You can set up dashboards to track👇
By setting up real-time dashboards, you can ensure that both sales and customer success teams are aligned on how well the handoff process is going and where improvements can be made.
Even with the best tools and processes in place, if your sales and customer success teams are operating in silos, things will inevitably fall apart. Breaking down these silos and ensuring alignment between these teams is critical for delivering a seamless customer experience.
Sales and customer success often have different focuses: sales is all about closing deals, while customer success is about building long-term relationships and ensuring the client’s success. But these teams need to be working toward the same overarching goal: happy, successful customers.
To break down these silos, start by creating shared goals that both teams can rally around.
These might include👇
By establishing shared goals, you create a sense of ownership across both teams that encourages collaboration and accountability.
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. To ensure accountability, establish shared KPIs that both teams can track and contribute to.
These might include👇
By tying both teams to these metrics, you promote a culture of shared responsibility for customer success.
Communication holds everything together. Without regular check-ins between sales and customer success, even the best-laid plans can fall apart. Establish a consistent meeting cadence to ensure both teams are on the same page.
These alignment meetings should focus on👇
These regular touchpoints create a feedback loop that helps both teams continuously improve.
So, what’s the secret to keeping everyone aligned?
Here are a few practical methods👇
By using these best practices, you’ll create an environment where alignment isn’t just a word—it’s the standard way of doing business.
The Bowtie Model visualizes the entire customer lifecycle in two halves: the acquisition side (pre-sale) and the retention side (post-sale). Unlike a funnel that focuses primarily on acquisition, the Bowtie Model places equal emphasis on what happens after the sale, ensuring customers stick around long enough to drive real value for your business.
At the center of this model is the crossover point—the handoff from sales to customer success. This is where the relationship moves from “we’re here to sell you something” to “we’re here to make sure you succeed.” Done right, this transition solidifies trust and kicks off a long-term relationship. Done poorly, and you risk losing that customer before they ever realize the full value of your product.
In the Bowtie Model, the handoff happens during the Select-to-Activate phase, where a prospect becomes a customer, and onboarding begins. This moment is pivotal because it marks the transition from “deal closed” to “value delivered.” It’s not just a formality—it’s a critical step that can make or break the customer’s experience.
When the handoff is smooth, the customer seamlessly moves into onboarding with clear expectations and the confidence that they’re in good hands. When the handoff is rough, you risk introducing friction that can delay onboarding and reduce customer satisfaction right out of the gate.
Tracking the right metrics during this handoff is essential to understanding where your process shines and where it might need work.
Here are a few key metrics to focus on👇
By focusing on these metrics, you can zero in on where the handoff might be creating friction and make data-driven improvements.
Good news—HubSpot integrates perfectly with the Bowtie Model. You can map your entire customer journey, including the sales-to-customer success handoff, directly in HubSpot.
Here’s how👇
By aligning your handoff process with the Bowtie Model and tracking it in HubSpot, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of how well your teams are working together and where improvements can be made.
Like anything in business, what gets measured gets improved. By tracking the right metrics and creating feedback loops, you can refine and optimize the handoff process to deliver an even better customer experience.
The handoff isn’t just about passing the baton—it’s about making sure the customer reaches the finish line (i.e. successful onboarding and beyond).
Here are the key metrics to track for an optimized handoff process👇
By focusing on these key metrics, you can get a clear picture of how well your handoff process is functioning and where improvements might be needed.
A great way to continuously refine the handoff process is by creating feedback loops between your sales, customer success teams, and clients.
Here’s how to make it work👇
The goal is to make this a living, breathing process that adapts based on real-world feedback.
HubSpot’s reporting tools are perfect for keeping tabs on the health of your handoff process. You can set up real-time dashboards to monitor metrics like t5 (handoff time), onboarding progress, CSAT scores, and more. These dashboards provide your teams with immediate visibility into the process and help identify bottlenecks before they become major issues.
Here’s how to set it up👇
With these tools, you’ll have a clear view of what’s working and where improvements are needed.
Optimization is an ongoing process.
Here are a few tips to keep your handoff process running smoothly👇
Want the perfect sales-to-customer success handoff process in place for your company?
We use HubSpot to take the guesswork out, automating and aligning every step. Let’s get you set up today!