Handover is boring, right? Just an admin task after you’ve already got what you wanted?

Wrong. Very, very wrong.

For context, handover is that part of the call after you’ve made the sale, taken the money, signed the agreement and the new client is passed to the fulfilment team to onboard.

It’s also that part where most salespeople can’t wait to get off the call and mark the deal as ‘won’ in the CRM.

Truth be told, the salesperson has started to forget the prospect’s name already.

Yet, this is where almost all clawbacks can be negated and where you get all the juice for referrals in a month or two.

Step 1: Validate Their Anxiety

This is just another day, another call to you.

The prospect - they’ve just bared their soul to a complete stranger for an hour, paid money over the internet and are about to be handed off to another stranger.

A talk track I like:

“Now just so you know, pretty much everyone, even the most burly men and confident people are usually pretty nervous right about now. That’s ok, it’s normal.

Physiologically, anxiety and excitement in the body are almost identical. Lean into it, this is the exciting part!”

Step 2: Clearly Map Out What Happens Next

You should be able to do an onboarding yourself. I’m not saying you should do it, you should be able to do it.

Walk the prospect through what they’ll receive via email:- who is going to call them, when they’re going to call them,  and what that person is going to get them to do.

Then do it again.

It sounds excessive, but the prospect will only catch half of it the first time through. 

Step 3: Clarify Any Questions, Genuinely

Ask them if they have any questions, and wait for an answer.

If they say nothing, pressure test it. ”Are you sure? Do you remember who is going to call you?”
Prospect: “Ahhh yeah, Tony is going to call me in an hour and go over xyz.”

Leave some more space.

Trust me when I say you want to get all questions now as opposed to the prospect getting off the call, panicking that they didn’t ask a particular question and wondering if it’s worth calling back.

Step 4: Ask What They’re Most Excited About

This is a way for the prospect to remind themselves of why they are coming on board.

What they’re most looking forward to.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate.

“Hey just checking, of everything we went through, which part are you looking forward to the most?”

Step 5: Leave The Door Open

This is how you leave the call. This is the emotion they will tether to their purchase in that scary stage after they buy and before they’re onboarded.

Tell them that if they have ANY questions, they can reach out to you. 

Give them the best 2 mediums, make them write it down.

Tell them there is no such thing as a stupid question and you’re there to help.

Most sales pro’s think that they will be flooded with admin and stupid questions. If you’ve done the rest of this correctly, less than 5% reach out and ask a question.

The End Result?

Clawbacks and cancellations will drop to almost 0.

Prospects will tell onboarding and managers what a delight you are.

They’ll also tell their friends how great you are to deal with. And you know what that means? Referrals!

There is an implied two-way communication channel by you leaving the door open. This means you can call to check in in a month and ask for referrals.

Action Steps

1. Speak to your onboarding people and get them to map out the SOP for onboarding. This includes time frames, mediums, people, everything. Write all of this down and go through it until you memorize it. (You’ll likely find huge gaps here.)
2. Map these steps into your scripts immediately.
3. If you have high clawback rates, book a call 5-10 days after the sale to show the prospect some love.
4. Schedule a task 15-30 days out to engage for referrals.