Sales to CS handoff checklist (what to include)
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The checklist as a table
Copy it into a doc, a spreadsheet or your CRM.
Get the one-page Sales to Customer Success Handoff Template
| Step | Item | What to write down | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why they bought | Trigger, the alternative they rejected, and the outcome they will measure, in their words | [ ] |
| 2 | Who matters | Economic buyer, champion, day-to-day admin, blocker | [ ] |
| 3 | Promise ledger | Every verbal or written commitment, tagged agreed, still to confirm, or not in the contract | [ ] |
| 4 | Risks | Migration, security review, a champion who is leaving, dates never scoped | [ ] |
| 5 | Kickoff agenda | Goals, success criteria, open promises, next steps, with times | [ ] |
| 6 | Warm intro | Account executive to champion, Customer Success copied, sent before the first call | [ ] |
A sales-to-Customer-Success handoff template does not need to be a 12-tab spreadsheet. It needs the story the buyer was sold, written down before Customer Success has to guess. Use this checklist on the next Closed-Won deal.
1. Why they bought — in their words, not your deck. Capture the trigger, the alternative they rejected, and the outcome they will measure. This is the deal brief.
2. Who matters — economic buyer, champion, day-to-day admin, blocker. Customer Success should not discover the real power map on the kickoff call.
3. Promise ledger — every verbal or written commitment, tagged agreed, still to confirm, or not in the contract. “Sales promised it, but it isn’t in the contract” is the number-one way Customer Success invents scope or looks unprepared.
4. Risks — implementation constraints, data migration, security review, a champion who is leaving. Flag them. Don’t bury them in CRM notes.
5. Kickoff agenda — timed talking points for the first SaaS kickoff: goals, success criteria, open promises, next steps. Don’t run a product tour while the buyer is still wondering if you remember the deal.
6. Warm intro email from the account executive to the champion, CSM copied. Best practice starts with the AE not disappearing.
If Closed-Won still lives in Slack, this checklist is the whole job. Coldforge’s Kickoff Pack is this list, filled in from your notes. For who owns each item, and on which day, see the sales to customer success handoff, step by step.