
Too many Customer Success teams treat the Sales-to-CS handoff like some magical resource—one that holds all the secrets to a customer’s success.
And while a solid handoff is nice to have, relying on it as your only source of truth? That’s not the move.
I hear it all the time:
“The handoff was incomplete.”
“We didn’t get enough details.”
“There’s missing info.”
Queue the finger-pointing between Sales and CS. 👉 👈
Spoiler alert: The handoff will never be perfect. And that’s okay!
Sales teams don’t always have every detail neatly packaged, and honestly, even when they do, things change. If your CS team is sitting around waiting for the "perfect" handoff before engaging with customers, you're setting yourself up for failure.
So instead of relying solely on what Sales gives you, take control of your customer onboarding with these four tested tactics.
1. Create a Customer Intake Form—Get the Real Answers
A handoff can give you a starting point, but if you want up-to-date, customer-validated information, you need to go straight to the source.
That’s why we use a New Customer Intake Survey to capture:
✅ Key stakeholders
✅ Business goals
✅ Tech stack
✅ Immediate priorities
✅ Success metrics
Rather than playing telephone between Sales, CS, and the customer, we ensure we’re getting accurate, fresh data—directly from the customer.
💡 Pro Tip: Make this part of your standard onboarding workflow. It not only streamlines your process, but it also sets expectations with the customer that CS is leading the charge from Day 1.
2. Strengthen Integrations & Automate Data Flow
If your CRM and CS platform aren’t talking to each other, that’s a problem.
CS teams waste countless hours hunting for customer details across different systems, when this should be automated.
🔗 At our company, we ensure every sales detail automatically feeds into our CSP (ClientSuccess) for our CX team. No more manual copying and pasting, no more chasing down missing details. Everything is where it needs to be.
💡 Pro Tip: If your CS platform isn’t integrated with your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.), prioritize this fix ASAP. Data silos kill efficiency and create friction across teams.
3. Do Your Own Research—Don’t Rely Solely on Sales
Newsflash: The internet exists. And it’s packed with valuable customer insights—if you know where to look.
Our CSMs proactively research new customers before kickoff calls using:
🔍 LinkedIn – Who are the key players? What’s their background?
🔍 Crunchbase – Funding rounds? Growth trajectory?
🔍 G2 & Trustpilot – What are customers saying about their product?
🔍 Glassdoor – What’s their internal culture like?
Why does this matter? Because it helps us understand their world before we even get on the first call. The more context we have, the more relevant and strategic our conversations become.
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t wait for a customer to tell you their priorities—come prepared. They’ll appreciate the effort, and you’ll build instant credibility.
4. The Validation Call—The Call Before the Call
For larger or Enterprise accounts, we take things a step further with a 15-minute pre-kickoff call with the main POC.
This quick touchpoint allows us to:
✅ Validate the details we received from Sales
✅ Confirm their top priorities
✅ Address any misalignment early
✅ Start building rapport before the full onboarding session
The best part? Customers love it. They see right away that we’re invested in their success, not just following a script.
💡 Pro Tip: Keep this call brief and strategic. This is about clarity and relationship-building, not overwhelming them with a second onboarding session.
Final Thoughts—Own the Process, Don’t Blame the Handoff
Look, the Sales-to-CS handoff is useful, but it’s not the holy grail.
Even the best handoff won’t capture everything you need to know. Instead of waiting for perfection, take ownership of the onboarding process and get proactive.
Use a customer intake form to gather real, fresh insights.
Automate data flow so your team has everything at their fingertips.
Do your own research—don’t rely on Sales alone.
Run a validation call to solidify your kickoff strategy.
Trust me—if you get this right, you’ll stress less, impress more.
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