Handoffs & SLAs
Design the seams between marketing, sales, and CS: lead routing rules, MQL-to-SAL-to-SQL definitions, SLAs, and escalation paths.
Revenue leaks at the seams between teams. Handoffs are where leads, deals, and customers fall through the cracks, and designing them well is core operations work.
Define the stages
MQL, SAL, SQL: each needs a single, agreed definition and an owner on each side of the handoff. A Sales-Accepted Lead means sales agreed it is worth working; a Sales-Qualified Lead has met qualification and become pipeline. If marketing and sales define these differently, the funnel is fiction.
SLAs and escalation
Every handoff needs a service level: how fast the receiving team responds, and what happens when they do not. Speed-to-lead on hot inbound should be minutes, and the escalation path should be automatic.
The Engineering seam
The SLA thresholds and stage definitions are Operations’ to set. Engineering builds the routing and speed-to-lead automation that enforces them. Set the contract here; automate the enforcement together.
Keep reading
All guides →Pipeline & forecasting
Build a pipeline you can trust and a forecast leadership believes: stage definitions, coverage, conversion math, and commit discipline.
RunTerritory & quota design
Carve balanced, defensible territories and set quotas sized to capacity and TAM, so every rep has a fair shot at the number.
RunCompensation design
Structure comp plans that drive the behavior you actually want: OTE, pay mix, accelerators, decelerators, and clawbacks.