The Handoff Document

The handoff document is the single artifact that transfers the full context of a deal from sales to customer success. It contains twelve sections, each capturing intelligence that the success team needs to deliver on what sales promised. Deal summary: what was sold, at what price, under what terms. Business case: the problem the customer is solving and the outcomes they expect. Stakeholder map: every person involved, their role, their priorities, and their communication preferences. Success criteria: how the customer will measure whether the investment worked. Risks: every concern raised during the sales process and how it was addressed. Timeline: what was promised by when. The handoff document takes thirty to forty-five minutes to complete. It saves dozens of hours of discovery that the success team would otherwise have to repeat.

1. Section 1: Deal Context What was sold, why they bought, what the alternatives were, and what tipped the decision. The success team needs to understand not just what the customer purchased, but why they chose you over the alternative.
2. Section 2: Stakeholder Intelligence Every stakeholder: name, role, DISC profile estimate, communication preference, specific concerns raised, and relationship status. The success team should be able to engage each stakeholder without starting from zero.
3. Section 3: Promises and Expectations Every commitment made during the sales process. Implementation timeline. Support response times. Feature availability. Integration scope. If it was said in a meeting, it belongs here. The gap between what sales promised and what success delivers is where customers churn.