> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thread.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Handoff Process

> Understand the AE-to-CSM handoff workflow and how to leverage handoff intelligence

## Handoff Overview

The handoff process bridges Sales and Customer Success, ensuring critical context flows from the Account Executive who closed the deal to the CSM who'll onboard the customer.

***

## Why Handoff Matters

Without structured handoff:

* ❌ Context lost between AE and CSM
* ❌ CSM asks customer to repeat themselves
* ❌ Important details buried in CRM notes
* ❌ Poor first impression
* ❌ Delayed kickoff

With Thread's handoff:

* ✅ AI extracts context from CRM
* ✅ AE reviews and enriches AI-generated Q\&A
* ✅ CSM gets structured, actionable intelligence
* ✅ Seamless transition for customer
* ✅ Faster time to kickoff

***

## Handoff Questions

### What Are Handoff Questions?

Structured questions that capture critical context:

**Example questions:**

1. What is the customer's primary use case?
2. What are their top 3 goals for this implementation?
3. Are there any known risks, blockers, or challenges?
4. Who are the key stakeholders and decision-makers?
5. What's the customer's technical environment?
6. Why did they choose us over competitors?
7. What were their main objections or concerns?
8. What's their expected timeline for go-live?

### Configuring Questions

**Admin setup:**

1. Navigate to **Settings** → **Handoff Form**
2. Click **"Add Question"**
3. Configure question:
   * Question text
   * Field type (text, textarea, multi-select)
   * Required vs optional
   * Placeholder text
   * Help text

<Info>
  Questions are versioned. If you edit a question, existing accounts keep the original wording to maintain consistency.
</Info>

### Question Types

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Text (Short Answer)">
    **Use for:**

    * Names, titles, short phrases
    * Technical terms
    * Single data points

    **Example:** "What's the customer's target go-live date?"
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Textarea (Long Answer)">
    **Use for:**

    * Detailed explanations
    * Context-rich answers
    * Multi-sentence responses

    **Example:** "Describe the customer's current workflow and pain points."
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Multi-Select">
    **Use for:**

    * Multiple applicable options
    * Feature selections
    * Stakeholder roles

    **Example:** "Which features are they most interested in? (select all that apply)"
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Yes/No">
    **Use for:**

    * Binary decisions
    * Risk flags
    * Requirements confirmation

    **Example:** "Is there a hard deadline driven by external factors?"
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## The Handoff Workflow

### Step 1: Account Created, Handoff Initiated

When an account is created:

1. Thread generates AI-powered draft answers to handoff questions
2. Uses customer data from:
   * CRM fields (HubSpot deal properties)
   * Raw payload (notes, conversations)
   * Company research (website, LinkedIn)
   * Previous interactions
3. Email sent to AE with handoff link

**Email contains:**

* Customer name and company
* Link to handoff form
* Expiration notice (30 days)
* Instructions

<Tip>
  AEs don't need Thread accounts. The handoff link is a tokenized, secure URL that works for anyone.
</Tip>

### Step 2: AE Reviews AI-Generated Answers

AE clicks handoff link and sees:

1. **Customer summary** - Company, ARR, close date, contacts
2. **AI-generated answers** - Thread's best guess for each question
3. **Edit capability** - Inline editing for all answers
4. **Regenerate option** - Request new AI draft with more context
5. **CSM assignment** - Select CSM from organization roster

**AE options:**

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Accept as-is">
    If AI answers are accurate:

    1. Review each answer
    2. Confirm correctness
    3. Scroll to bottom
    4. Assign CSM
    5. Submit handoff

    Takes 2-3 minutes.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Edit Answers">
    If AI needs refinement:

    1. Click answer to edit
    2. Add missing details
    3. Correct inaccuracies
    4. Enrich with context
    5. Save changes
    6. Assign CSM
    7. Submit

    Takes 5-10 minutes.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Regenerate">
    If AI is way off:

    1. Click "Regenerate Answers"
    2. Add extra context in prompt field
    3. Example: "Focus on their compliance requirements, they're in healthcare"
    4. AI generates new draft
    5. Review new version
    6. Edit if still needed
    7. Assign CSM
    8. Submit

    Takes 5-10 minutes.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Step 3: CSM Assignment

Before submitting, AE must assign a CSM:

1. Dropdown shows all CSMs in organization
2. AE selects appropriate CSM based on:
   * Expertise (industry, product, use case)
   * Capacity (current account load)
   * Relationship (if AE knows CSM)
   * Availability
3. AE can add optional note to CSM
4. Submit handoff

<Info>
  If wrong CSM assigned, admin or CSM can reassign later in the account settings.
</Info>

### Step 4: CSM Receives Handoff

When AE submits:

1. **CSM receives email** notification
2. **Account appears** in CSM's account list
3. **Handoff summary** visible in account view
4. **Implementation begins** - first milestone ready to start

**CSM sees:**

* All handoff Q\&A
* AE notes (if any)
* Customer data (ARR, close date, contacts)
* Applied template
* First milestone actions ready for review

### Step 5: CSM Kickoff

Armed with handoff context, CSM:

1. Reviews handoff answers
2. Reviews customer data and CRM history
3. Starts first milestone
4. Reviews AI-generated welcome email
5. Personalizes based on handoff intelligence
6. Executes welcome email
7. Schedules kickoff call
8. Onboarding begins!

***

## AI-Powered Answer Generation

### How AI Generates Answers

Thread's AI uses multiple data sources:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="CRM Data">
    **From HubSpot (if connected):**

    * Deal properties
    * Company properties
    * Contact information
    * Deal notes and activities
    * Email threads
    * Call recordings (if available)

    **Example extraction:**

    * Question: "What's their primary use case?"
    * CRM note: "Customer wants to automate their sales outreach"
    * AI answer: "Sales outreach automation"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Raw Payload">
    **From manual account creation:**

    * Notes field
    * Pasted conversations
    * Email threads
    * Meeting notes

    **Example extraction:**

    * Raw payload: "Talked to Jane - they need to onboard 500 users by Q3, very tight timeline"
    * Question: "What's their timeline?"
    * AI answer: "Q3 go-live with 500 users - tight timeline"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Company Research">
    **Automated research:**

    * Company website content
    * LinkedIn profile
    * Public information

    **Example extraction:**

    * Website: "Leading healthcare provider"
    * Question: "What industry?"
    * AI answer: "Healthcare"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Historical Patterns">
    **From similar customers:**

    * Common use cases in industry
    * Typical goals and challenges
    * Standard technical requirements

    **Example:**

    * Similar company size/industry answered "Compliance and security"
    * AI suggests similar answer for new customer
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### AI Answer Quality

**What AI does well:**

* Extracting factual information (dates, numbers, names)
* Summarizing long CRM notes concisely
* Identifying use cases from conversations
* Listing stakeholders mentioned in notes

**What AI struggles with:**

* Nuanced concerns not explicitly stated
* Reading between the lines
* Emotional context (customer anxiety, excitement)
* Unspoken risks or politics

<Warning>
  AI provides a starting point, not gospel truth. AE review is critical to add context AI can't infer.
</Warning>

***

## Handoff Best Practices

### For Account Executives

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Don't Skip Handoff" icon="handshake">
    Even if AI answers look good, review them! Add details AI can't know.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add Context" icon="message">
    Share insights from calls—tone, concerns, politics, relationships
  </Card>

  <Card title="Flag Risks" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Call out potential blockers proactively so CSM can plan
  </Card>

  <Card title="Choose CSM Wisely" icon="user-check">
    Match CSM expertise to customer needs, not just availability
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

**Sample high-quality answer:**

```
Question: "Are there any known risks or challenges?"

AI draft: "No major risks identified."

AE enhanced version:
"Customer is excited but has tight Q3 deadline driven by board commitment.
CTO (John) is supportive but CFO (Sarah) is cost-conscious and will scrutinize.
IT team is small (3 people) so may need extra hand-holding. Customer's current
system is homegrown and poorly documented, so data migration could be tricky.
They're willing to pay for professional services if needed."
```

### For Customer Success Managers

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Read Everything" icon="book-open">
    Review full handoff Q\&A before kickoff call—don't skim
  </Card>

  <Card title="Verify Assumptions" icon="check-double">
    Confirm handoff info with customer early—things change
  </Card>

  <Card title="Update as You Learn" icon="pencil">
    Add notes to account as you discover new context
  </Card>

  <Card title="Give Feedback" icon="comment">
    Tell ops team which questions are most/least valuable
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

**Using handoff in kickoff call:**

```
CSM: "Jane, thanks for joining! I've had a chance to review the handoff from
your AE. They mentioned your primary goal is sales outreach automation with a
target of 500 users by Q3. Is that still accurate?"

Customer: "Yes exactly! And actually the timeline moved up to end of Q2 now."

CSM: "Good to know! I'll adjust our plan accordingly. I also saw a note about
your IT team being small—is that right?"

Customer: "Yes, just three of us, so we'll need clear documentation."

CSM: "Perfect, we'll make sure you have everything you need..."
```

***

## Handoff Analytics

### Metrics to Track

| Metric                      | What It Tells You                           | How to Improve                 |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Handoff Completion Rate** | % of AEs completing handoff                 | Send reminders, make it easier |
| **Time to Handoff**         | Days from account creation to AE submission | Automate more, simplify form   |
| **AI Acceptance Rate**      | % of AI answers used as-is                  | Improve prompts, add more data |
| **CSM Satisfaction**        | How useful is handoff info?                 | Survey CSMs, adjust questions  |

***

## Troubleshooting

### "AE Hasn't Completed Handoff"

**Problem:** Account created but AE hasn't submitted handoff

**Solutions:**

1. Send reminder email (manual for now)
2. Check if email went to spam
3. Resend handoff link if needed
4. Skip handoff and start manually if urgent
5. Follow up with AE directly

### "AI Answers Are All Wrong"

**Problem:** AI-generated answers don't match customer

**Solutions:**

1. AE should regenerate with more context
2. Manually edit all answers
3. Report pattern to support (helps improve AI)
4. Check if correct CRM data was pulled

### "CSM Not in Dropdown"

**Problem:** Can't find CSM to assign during handoff

**Solutions:**

1. Verify CSM has Thread account
2. Verify CSM role is set correctly
3. Contact admin to add CSM
4. Assign to placeholder CSM temporarily

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create Accounts" icon="plus" href="/csm-guide/accounts/creating-accounts">
    Learn how to create accounts that trigger handoff
  </Card>

  <Card title="Implementation Tab" icon="tasks" href="/csm-guide/accounts/implementation-tab">
    Use handoff context to execute actions effectively
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI Generation" icon="robot" href="/csm-guide/automation/ai-generation">
    Understand how AI generates handoff answers
  </Card>

  <Card title="Settings" icon="gear" href="/admin-guide/handoff-configuration">
    Configure handoff questions (admin only)
  </Card>
</CardGroup>