Open-source playbook · 16 of 20 · For ops, finance and HR

Sales-to-Delivery Handoff

New clients repeat everything to a new team the week after they sign.

The systemWrites the handoff brief from every call and email: goals, promises, risks and contacts.

// The problem

They told sales everything. Then they told you again.

Eight weeks of calls and emails, and the delivery team walks into kickoff with a one-line note in the CRM. So the first meeting with a new client is the same questions, asked a second time.

What the client told sales

What delivery asks at kickoff

“Intake takes 25 minutes. We want it under 10.”

Elena, discovery call, 4 Mar

“So, what does success look like for you?”

Kickoff, 3 Jun

“Everything has to work with our Microsoft logins.”

Mark, demo, 11 Mar

“Do you have any login or security requirements?”

Kickoff, 3 Jun

“We have to be live before flu season, 1 September.”

Elena, pricing call, 14 May

“What timeline are you working to?”

Kickoff, 3 Jun

“Sam in IT owns anything to do with logins.”

Mark, email, 20 May

“Who should we talk to on the technical side?”

Kickoff, 3 Jun

4 of 4 kickoff questions were already answered in a call or an email. Nobody passed them on. Sample deal, fictional company.

// How it works

Three lanes, one baton passed at signature.

While sales runs the deal, the system listens in the background. The moment the contract is signed, it hands delivery a brief built from every call and email.

Sales

The system

Delivery

Discovery call4 Mar

SalesElena shares the goals and today’s numbers

The systemPulls goals and pains from the transcript

Demo11 Mar

SalesMark asks about Microsoft logins

The systemNotes each requirement and who asked

Proposal1 Apr

SalesProposal v3 with two on-site training days

The systemLogs every promise and where it was made

Negotiation2–20 May

SalesDiscount agreed by email, for a case study

The systemFlags changes to scope, price and dates

Signed28 May

SalesContract signed

The system

Handoff brief

Goals, promises, risks, contacts, open questions

DeliveryLands with Jordan, the delivery lead

Review29 May

The systemAdds Jordan’s fixes to the brief

DeliveryJordan reviews it and fixes two lines

Kickoff3 Jun

The systemRecords what the client confirmed

DeliveryThe client confirms the goals, in their own words

Not on these calls. Without the brief, delivery starts from zero.

Still one message away for questions.

// The baton

One page, and every line has a source.

Sample handoff brief for a fictional client. Because every line names the call or email it came from, the delivery lead can check any of it in seconds.

Handoff brief

Halden Clinics · six clinics, Colorado

Signed28 May
Sold byChris Novak
Delivery leadJordan Lee

Reviewed by Jordan · 2 lines fixed

Goals To confirm at kickoff

Cut new-patient intake from 25 minutes to under 10.
Discovery call · 4 Mar, 14:12
Live in all six clinics before 1 September.
Pricing call · 14 May, 08:40

What we promised

Sign-in with their Microsoft 365 accounts before go-live.
Email from Chris (sales) · 2 May
Two on-site training days, in Denver and Boulder.
Proposal v3 · section 5
A named support contact for the first 90 days.
Pricing call · 14 May, 22:15

Open questions

Move patient records from the old system, or start fresh?
Not discussed on any call
Who approves the training dates?
Not discussed

Contacts

ER
Elena RuizCOO · decision-maker, signed
Contract
ME
Mark EllisPractice manager · day-to-day contact
Demo · 11 Mar
SO
Sam OrtizIT lead · owns sign-in, not met yet
Email · 20 May

Risks

Sam, the IT lead, wasn’t on any call, and sign-in depends on him.
CRM · no meetings with Sam
They asked about the 1 September date twice. The timeline is tight.
Calls on 11 Mar and 14 May
The 8% discount depends on a case study that isn’t in the contract.
Email from Elena · 20 May

// Who signs off

Two checks before any work starts.

The system writes the brief. People decide it’s right: first the delivery lead, then the client.

1The delivery lead reviews it

Jordan reads the brief the day after signature, fixes what’s wrong and adds what only the team knows. Thirty minutes, not a week of catch-up.

Fixed“Two training days” → “Two training days, Denver first”
AddedSam Ortiz to the kickoff invite
ApprovedReady for kickoff

2The client confirms the goals

The first kickoff slide plays the goals back in the client’s own words. They correct it in the room, and the brief is updated.

Kickoff · slide 1

What we heard from you

Intake under 10 minutes, down from 25
Live in all six clinics before 1 September

Elena: “Yes. And Boulder goes first, not Denver.”

What it never does

Guess: if it wasn’t said or written, it says “not discussed”
Contact the client or send them the brief
Change the deal, the price or the contract in the CRM
Pass on side comments about people, only what the work needs

// For your tech lead

Can we build it? Here’s what it takes.

If your calls are recorded and your emails are logged to the CRM, the inputs already exist. The build is one trigger, one careful prompt and a brief template your delivery team agrees on.

Tools you’ll use

Job	Use	Or
Starting at signature	A deal moved to “won” in HubSpot or Salesforce	DocuSign or PandaDoc “completed” event
Call transcripts	Your call recorder (Gong, Fathom or Zoom)	Fireflies, Google Meet transcripts
Emails and notes	The emails and notes logged on the deal	Gmail or Outlook search
Running the steps	n8n	Make, Zapier
Writing the brief	Claude (API)	ChatGPT, Gemini
Where the brief lives	A note on the deal, plus a Google Doc	Notion, a Word doc in SharePoint

Access it needs

Read access to the deal’s contacts, emails and notes in the CRM
Read access to its call transcripts
Permission to add a note to the deal and create a doc

Three ways to build it

Start simple1 day
Paste the transcripts and emails into a Claude or ChatGPT project with your brief template, and ask for a source on every line.
Production2–3 days
n8n starts when the deal is won, gathers the transcripts and emails, writes the brief, adds it to the deal and tells the delivery lead.
Custom1–2 weeks
Adds a kickoff deck built from the brief, and a check at 30 days on whether each promise has been kept.

Guardrails

Every line cites its call or email; nothing without a source goes in
It says “not discussed” instead of guessing
It never contacts the client; the delivery lead decides what’s shared
The delivery lead approves it, and the client confirms the goals

What to measure

Kickoff questions the client had already answered in sales
Days from signature to kickoff
Promises missed in the first 90 days
Lines the delivery lead fixes in each brief

Who builds and runs it

A sales ops or RevOps person can build it in two to three days with n8n. After that, delivery owns the brief template, and sales keeps calls and emails logged on the deal.

Needs

01Company Brain 10CRM Autopilot

Next to build

02Meeting-to-Action 11Proposal Builder

// Want help building it?

We’ll build your Sales-to-Delivery Handoff with your team.

In 30 minutes with our founder, we’ll look at your tools and your week, and work out what your first AI systems should be and how long they’ll take.

Book a Strategy Call

Free 30-minute call with our founder · No commitmentPallav Kaushish Co-Founder, AIxGrowth