Fixing the handoff from sales to delivery

Define what a stage actually means

A contact lifecycle, an opportunity stage and a delivery status describe different things. Avoid using a single field for all three. Write an entry condition and an exit condition for each opportunity stage. For instance, proposal ready might require validated requirements and an approved scope, while proposal sent requires a recorded send event. A reminder to update the CRM is not a substitute for these definitions.

Create a handoff record people can use

Ask the delivery team what they repeatedly need to clarify after a sale. Use those answers to define required fields. Preserve the difference between a customer request, a proposed solution and an approved commitment. The destination record should link to the source documents and name the person who accepted the work. Do not silently turn an unanswered question into an assumed requirement.

• Customer objective and the outcome agreed during scoping.
• Included work, exclusions, dependencies and unresolved questions.
• Approved commercial terms, source documents, delivery owner and next action.

Automate transfer, keep decisions explicit

Create the delivery record only after the agreed approval event. Use a stable opportunity identifier so retrying the workflow updates the same record rather than creating duplicates. Route incomplete handoffs to a named reviewer. If the scope changes after approval, record a new decision and notify the responsible team through the agreed process. A tool connection alone does not establish commercial authority.

Measure waiting and rework

Track time spent waiting at each stage, handoffs returned for missing information, proposal revisions and work that starts without an accepted scope. Compare the same type of opportunity over a consistent period. Use the findings to change one bottleneck at a time. Before adding more automation, inspect whether the delay comes from missing information, unclear authority or a genuine capacity constraint.