# AE-to-CS Handoff

> Build an AE-to-CS handoff brief that captures what was promised, how the customer defined success, and who the people are, drawn from the sales conversations.

**Source:** https://gtm.ai/marketplace/gtm-skills/zoominfo-ae-cs-handoff

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## Overview

AE-to-CS Handoff captures everything the incoming customer success manager needs from the sales conversations: what was promised, what success looks like in the customer's words, and who the people are. It builds an engagement timeline of the sales cycle, then reads the highest-signal conversations to pull requirements, commitments, stakeholders, and the relationship state. The CSM starts from context instead of a cold account.

The skill is built for account executives closing deals and the CSMs who inherit them. It targets the two to four engagements that carry the most signal, such as discovery, the important demos, negotiation, and commitment moments, and runs a conversation intelligence read on each. Account research and contact research fill in the structural picture around those conversations. Keeping the deep reads scoped to a handful of engagements keeps AI credit use in check.

The brief draws a clear line between what was promised, which must be honored, and what was merely aspirational. Every requirement and commitment is attributed to the conversation it came from, and the skill does not invent commitments. Conversation intelligence sees only the last few engagements, so the skill anchors on the identified key moments rather than expecting full history. When no conversation data exists, it builds the structural handoff from research and flags that requirements and working style could not be captured.

## What It Does

- **Deal summary**: Captures what was sold and the core problem behind the purchase in a couple of lines.
- **Success criteria**: Records how the customer defined a win, in their own words, with the source conversation attached.
- **Commitments made**: Lists what the AE promised the customer, including timelines, and marks these as obligations that transfer to the CSM.
- **Stakeholder map**: Describes each person's role, influence, and champion or skeptic stance, plus how they like to work where the conversations show it.
- **Open items and risks**: Names anything unresolved at close so nothing gets dropped in the transition.
- **Recommended first move**: Suggests the CSM's best opening action, grounded in the rest of the brief.

## Use Cases

### Post-Sale Transition

A deal just closed and the account executive needs to hand it off cleanly. The skill builds the sales-cycle timeline, reads the discovery and negotiation conversations, and produces a brief that separates firm commitments from aspirational discussion. The CSM inherits the success criteria and open items without a scheduling scramble or a lossy verbal handoff.

### Onboarding a Newly Assigned Account

A customer success manager picks up an account mid-flight and has no history with it. Running the handoff surfaces who the decision-makers are, how each prefers to work, and what was promised during the sale. The recommended first move gives the CSM a concrete starting action rather than a blank page.

### Clean Handoff on a Complex Deal

After a drawn-out deal with several stakeholders and competing priorities, an AE wants to be sure nothing gets lost. The skill anchors on the highest-signal engagements, attributes each requirement to its source, and flags the sensitivities that surfaced along the way, so the CSM understands the room before the first call.