How Do You Define the Marketing-to-Sales Handoff?
A strong marketing-to-sales handoff is a clear, repeatable agreement about when and how leads move from nurture to active pursuit. It combines shared definitions, scores, SLAs, and workflows so every qualified lead gets timely, relevant follow-up—and no opportunity falls through the cracks.
The marketing-to-sales handoff is a documented, bi-directional process that defines when a lead or account is ready for sales, how it is routed, and what sales commits to do in return. Practically, it includes: shared definitions (ICP, MQL, SAL, SQL), qualification criteria (fit and intent), lead and account scoring, routing rules (who owns what), and SLAs for speed-to-lead and follow-up. A good handoff doesn’t end when marketing sends a lead—it also defines what happens if sales rejects, recycles, or closes the loop, so both teams can continually improve.
What Changes When You Define the Handoff Clearly?
A Practical Blueprint for Defining the Marketing-to-Sales Handoff
Use this sequence to align teams around what “ready for sales” means, codify it in your systems, and keep improving over time.
Align → Define → Score → Route → Accept → Improve
- Align on strategy and ideal customers. Bring marketing, sales, and RevOps together to agree on target segments, ideal customer profiles, buying roles, and where the handoff fits in your overall journey model (for example, The Loop™).
- Define lifecycle stages and qualification criteria. Document what counts as a lead, MQL, SAL, SQL, opportunity, and customer. For each stage, specify the required fit (company and persona) and intent (behaviors and signals).
- Design scoring and readiness rules. Combine firmographic and technographic fit with engagement and buying signals into a clear readiness score. Decide which scores trigger handoff and what exceptions apply (e.g., hand-raisers).
- Build routing, ownership, and SLAs. Define how leads and accounts are assigned (territory, segment, account owner, round robin, pods), and set SLAs for time-to-first-touch, number of touches, and acceptable response channels.
- Codify the process in your tech stack. Implement lifecycle and status fields in CRM and MAP, automate routing, create alerts and tasks, and standardize sequences or cadences that sales uses when they receive a new lead or account.
- Create a feedback and improvement loop. Require disposition codes (accepted, recycled, not a fit, duplicate, wrong role) and review patterns regularly. Use the feedback to refine scoring, targeting, creative, and handoff rules.
Marketing-to-Sales Handoff Maturity Matrix
| Capability | From (Ad Hoc) | To (Operationalized) | Owner | Primary KPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared Definitions | Loose or conflicting definitions of lead, MQL, SQL | Documented lifecycle with clear criteria for each stage | RevOps / Sales & Marketing Leaders | MQL→SAL acceptance rate |
| Scoring & Readiness | Manual qualification, inconsistent thresholds | Standardized fit + intent scoring driving handoff rules | Marketing Ops / RevOps | Conversion from MQL to opportunity |
| Routing & Ownership | Inbox chaos, unclear owner | Automated routing with documented ownership and territories | Sales Ops | Time-to-owner assignment, time-to-first-touch |
| SLAs & Follow-Up | Best-effort outreach | Measured SLAs with defined touch patterns and channels | Sales Leadership | SLA attainment, meeting creation rate |
| Disposition & Feedback | Sparse notes; little feedback to marketing | Standard disposition codes and loops into scoring & campaigns | Sales & Marketing Ops | Recycle-to-opportunity rate, rejected-lead volume |
| Governance & Review | Occasional complaints | Regular joint reviews with agreed improvements and actions | RevOps Council | Pipeline from marketing-sourced and influenced leads |
Client Snapshot: From Friction at Handoff to Shared Wins
A B2B services company struggled with low MQL acceptance and inconsistent follow-up. Marketing targeted a broad audience and handed off leads as soon as they filled out a form; sellers saw most as unqualified and ignored them.
By redefining ICP, tightening MQL criteria, adding lead and account scoring, and implementing clear SLAs with automated routing, they nearly doubled MQL→SAL acceptance and significantly increased meetings booked. Sales and marketing began to use the same dashboards to review handoff performance and refine campaigns together.
When the handoff is defined as a shared process rather than a one-way transfer, it becomes the bridge between your demand programs and your revenue team—connecting campaigns, lead management, account-based plays, and customer journeys into a single motion.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Marketing-to-Sales Handoff
Operationalize Your Marketing-to-Sales Handoff
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