If you’ve ever watched a great sales opportunity get tangled up between teams, you know how painful handoffs can be. Leads go missing. Details get lost. Everyone blames “the process” (if there even is one). If you’re in sales, customer success, or ops, you want smoother handoffs—no more crossed wires or finger-pointing. This guide is for you.
We’ll walk through practical steps to use Alignedup to make opportunity handoffs less of a mess. No magic bullets, just clear advice for real teams.
Why Handoffs Break (and How Alignedup Actually Helps)
Let’s be honest: most handoff problems aren’t about the tech. They’re about people, missing info, and unclear ownership. But the right tool can make it a lot harder to mess up—or at least make screw-ups obvious, fast.
Here’s what usually goes wrong: - Sales tosses leads over to success with half the info. - Marketing hands off “hot” leads that no one can reach. - Account managers inherit deals but don’t know what was promised. - Everyone’s updating a different spreadsheet or CRM record.
Alignedup can help, but only if you set it up right and get your teams to actually use it. Here’s how.
Step 1: Map Out Your Real Handoff Points
Before you open yet another app, nail down where handoffs actually happen in your process. Not the pretty version on the wall—the real steps people follow.
- Write down each handoff. Sales to onboarding? SDR to AE? AE to customer success? Be specific.
- List what info needs to move. Not just the basics (“contact info”), but what actually matters (“deal blockers,” “key stakeholders,” “random promises made at the last minute”).
- Name who owns each step. If it’s “everyone,” it’s no one.
Pro tip: Ask the people who do the work where it breaks down. You’ll get better answers than from the process doc.
Step 2: Set Up Alignedup to Mirror Your Real Workflow
Don’t just use the default pipeline or template. If you want Alignedup to help, make it match your actual handoffs.
- Customize pipeline stages. Rename or add stages so they reflect the real journey (like “Awaiting Onboarding Brief” or “Ready for Success Call”).
- Define required fields for each stage. Make sure users can’t move a deal forward without key info. Yes, it might annoy people at first. That’s the point.
- Use tags or labels for special cases. Got VIP clients or time bombs? Make them easy to spot.
What doesn’t work: Trying to force everyone to fill in 20 fields every time. Focus on what’s critical for the next team, not everything you might possibly want.
Step 3: Build Simple, Unmissable Handoff Checklists
Alignedup lets you add checklists and required actions. Use these to make handoffs idiot-proof.
- Make checklists for each handoff. Example: “Customer Success Handoff”—must include contract, intro email sent, notes on customer goals.
- Keep it short. Three to five must-haves is plenty. If the list is too long, folks will skip it or fake it.
- Assign checklist owners. Someone has to check the boxes, not just say “it’s done.”
Pro tip: Review these checklists every quarter. Remove what no one uses. Add what keeps getting forgotten.
Step 4: Automate Notifications—But Only Where It Matters
The fastest way to make people ignore notifications is to send too many. Use Alignedup’s automation sparingly.
- Trigger alerts on real handoffs. Example: When a deal moves to “Ready for Implementation,” ping the onboarding team and the new owner.
- Notify only the people who need to act. Not the whole company. Not “just in case.”
- Set up reminders for overdue handoffs. If a deal sits in limbo, surface it fast.
What doesn’t work: Automating every update just because you can. You’ll train people to ignore the noise.
Step 5: Make Ownership Crystal Clear
Nothing kills momentum like “I thought you were on it.” Alignedup lets you assign owners and watchers—use this.
- Assign a single owner for each opportunity. If it changes hands, update the record. No “shared” ownership at the handoff moment.
- Add watchers for supporting roles. But make it clear they’re not responsible for next steps.
- Document handoff in the notes. “Transferred to Jamie on 6/10, intro email sent.” Boring, but effective.
Pro tip: In your weekly pipeline reviews, call out any deals with fuzzy ownership. Name names (nicely).
Step 6: Track and Fix the Gaps
You won’t get it perfect on day one. The trick is to spot where handoffs are still failing and fix those.
- Check where deals stall. Is there a stage where things always get stuck? That’s your next fix.
- Ask teams what info they wish they got sooner. Then add it to the checklist or required fields.
- Use Alignedup reports to spot patterns. But don’t drown in dashboards—look for obvious pain points.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics or tracking every possible field. Measure what actually helps you fix handoffs.
Step 7: Train Teams On the New Process—For Real
Even the best setup falls apart if people don’t know how to use it (or why).
- Run a quick walkthrough for each team. Show how the handoff works, what’s required, and who owns what.
- Explain what’s in it for them. Fewer dropped balls = less stress, fewer angry emails.
- Make it easy to give feedback. What’s not working? What’s annoying? Tweak as you go.
Pro tip: Have a “handback” process, too—what happens if someone gets the wrong deal or isn’t ready to accept? Make it safe to flag issues.
What to Watch Out For
- Overcomplicating things. If your handoff process is longer than the sales cycle, it won’t get used.
- Blaming the tool. Alignedup is helpful, but it won’t fix broken communication or unclear roles.
- Ignoring adoption. If people are working around the system, find out why—then fix that.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t expect perfection right away. The best teams keep their handoff process simple, honest, and easy to tweak. Set up Alignedup so no one has to guess what’s next, and keep asking the folks actually doing the work where things break down.
Clean handoffs mean happier teams, happier customers, and a lot less chaos. Start small, stay skeptical about what you really need, and improve as you go.