Clarity is Kindness
Don’t you hate talking to customer service on the phone, only for them to transfer you to someone else, and you need to explain the whole thing again? Nobody likes that, especially your customers. How can you make sure there’s a smooth transition from the sales team to project management? This week we’re tackling this handoff process. And guess what, the secret weapon is probably already on your team.
Don't botch the handoff to project management
We put a lot of work into closing sales and, well, duh. That’s where the money comes from. But that money won’t last if you can’t deliver on your promises and maintain a good relationship with customers. A successful handoff from Biz Dev to PMs is critical to the health of your business. Let’s talk about how to get it right.
Scope It Out
It all starts with an accurate scope of work. There are a few pitfalls to avoid here. First, don’t give into the temptation to have one person create all your time estimates. You need input from the people who will be doing the work. They know their individual strengths and can give a realistic estimate, instead of trying to fit within a number someone else came up with.
You also need to include everything possible in your scope. It’s not just the time spent on specific deliverables. You need to include back-and-forth with the client, assume there will be some issues, and include any testing. If the customer is someone with a reputation for being a challenge you might also need to build in some extra cost for dealing with them. But above all, you need to clearly define and document what success in the relationship will be. All this can increase your overhead up front, but it will pay for itself with more accurate estimates down the road.
Prepare Early for the Handoff
You know the sales team isn’t going to be the ones performing the work, so you should take the time to introduce PMs to the client as soon as it’s likely there will be a sale. Show them how well your team works together and let them know they will be as much a priority to the PM as to their sales rep. As you get close to signing the paperwork, give them a date to make the transition. Establishing this relationship early not only helps avoid problems, it also speeds things up and can help you turn a profit more quickly.
Adam Kurzawa, director of business development at ExpandTheRoom, shared, “We spend so much time building trust and rapport with the client in the sales process so there’s nothing more frustrating than hearing a client voice displeasure stemming from the handoff from sales to production. Your sales team can prevent this by providing an internal kick-off, clearly explaining the finer points of the contract and the squishier bits about client temperament and potential red flags. Capture these pointers for your team to review and use them to build an agenda for the introduction meeting between your account team and the client.”
Trust Your PM
I buried the lead a bit, but your project manager is the key to this whole process. They should be involved from the earliest stages and coordinate with your sales team to let the potential customer know what you can reasonably offer. They can coordinate with the project team in the estimate process and make sure everyone is in agreement as you develop your scope of work. They can help manage the transition to the AM, and then make sure the team follows through on cost and schedule.
As Bureau member and PM extraordinaire Patrice Embry advises, “Overselling is toxic to clients and to your teams. Include your PM in the SOW review process and they will help make sure overselling doesn’t happen. They will find all the holes in your budget and timeline, and suggest the right assumptions to add. No more difficult conversations with clients on not making scope for either sales OR project management. Everyone wins.”
Your PM should be the first one who detects potential problems and alerts management if any readjustments need to be made. They should have the trust of company leadership and keep everyone grounded throughout the relationship.
Don’t Stop Selling
Once you’ve made the sale, remember that it’s not “till death do you part.” Any bad experience can drive them to a competitor, so you should maintain that mindset of ongoing sales. Every touchpoint is another opportunity to impress them and strengthen your relationship, and your project management team should keep that in mind during their interactions. You’re also more likely to score referrals that way.
When you invest in a smooth handoff process you not only have a better customer relationship, you also help your people by keeping morale high, maintaining profitability, and reducing turnover