Close more deals and delight your customers

Want to close more deals and delight your customers?

Nail the handoff.

In a 4x100m relay race, the fastest runners don’t always win. The winners are the teams who spend months perfecting the baton pass.

Why?

Because a fumbled handoff costs seconds—and in a race that tight, seconds are everything. (Side note: I'll link to a video in the comments on this phenomenon if you want to learn more)

The same principle applies to sales and marketing. You can have the best marketing campaigns and the most skilled sales reps, but if the handoff is messy, we all lose.

That handoff between marketing and sales is the "baton pass." It’s the moment a lead transitions from marketing's nurturing to sales' outreach. If it’s poorly timed or disorganised, it creates:

• Confusion for the lead (who was excited to work with you).
• Missed opportunities for the sales team.
• Frustration on both sides of the organisation.

But when marketing and sales invest in refining their handoff process, magical things happen:

• Leads feel cared for, not passed around.
• Sales teams have context and can hit the ground running.
• Conversion rates improve because trust carries through the entire customer experience.

The art of the handoff is often overlooked, but it’s the key to great results. Take time to align on timing, tools, and expectations between teams. Success isn’t just about running fast; it’s about running together.

How does your team handle the sales and marketing handoff? What’s worked well, and what’s been a challenge?

For those curious about how crucial the baton pass really is, check out this video below on relay teams and their strategies. One key takeaway? You guessed it—systems.