Answer
How Do You Connect Sales and Operations?
Direct answer
Connect sales and operations with a documented handoff whose content both functions agreed, an acceptance step operations can decline, visibility of delivery capacity at the moment of commitment, and a formal change path so exceptions do not become workarounds.
Key takeaways
- The handoff content must be defined by operations, not imposed on them.
- Acceptance with the right to reject is what makes the standard real.
- Capacity must be visible before commitments are made, not after.
- Every workaround indicates a missing path in the system.
Design the handoff jointly
Ask delivery what they need to start work without contacting the customer for basics. That list is the handoff specification, and it differs by service line.
Making the handoff a required record with an acceptance step converts a cultural complaint into a measurable process step.
Close the loop back to sales
Delivery outcomes should return to sales as data: which commitments were unrealistic, which scopes were mis-specified, which customers needed more preparation.
Without that loop the same failures repeat, because the person making the promise never sees the consequence.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a required handoff slow down sales?
- It moves a small amount of effort earlier and removes a much larger amount of rework later.
- What if we are the same people doing both?
- The record matters even more, because context switching is where information is lost.
Build the System Before Growth Creates More Chaos
Identify the leaks. Prioritize the highest-payback opportunities. Build the operating foundation behind the next stage of growth.