Mind the Gap: From Sale to Kickoff
How Project Managers bridge the space between "We’re sold!" and "What exactly did we just buy?"
Most Project Managers will tell you, the handoff from sales to delivery is a minefield. And if you've been in project management for more than a minute, you’ve probably stepped on a mine or two. You can learn to navigate it, but you never really stop bracing for impact.
The client just signed, maybe after weeks, months, or even years of discussions. The ink’s barely dry and the price tag probably isn’t small. They know what they want and they have explained it over and over again. So how do you hold those expectations up to the light of reality without making your client:
a) frustrated
b) impatient, or
c) scaring your internal team that you’re about to blow all their hard work?
Honestly? It’s more art than science. Every Project Manager has their strengths and you should spend time figuring out yours, but through all the mentorships, coaching, and development I've given, I’ve come across a few key tips that should set you on a solid path.
Internet-stalk your client (it’s not creepy it’s your job)
Of course, get a call on the calendar with the sales/pre-sales team, but in the meantime, learn about your new client. If they are an existing client expanding their business, figure out which of your products do they use today? Starting when? Why and how do they use these? Do they have any current open issues or recent successes with your company?
If the client is new to your company, do some googling. Figure out their business model. Who are their main competitors? How do you imagine they will benefit from not only the products sold, but any of your product suite that wasn’t in the contract.
Treat the sales team like your informants
It’s probably obvious that you’ll connect with your sales team and any relationship managers before you meet with the client. You also already know the basic questions you need to run your project. Likelihood is you have some sort of check list or project plan with these outlined. What will take your project management to the next level is asking the other questions. Some of my favorites are:
What is the client’s motivation?
Who in the client team is going to be using the product? Who is paying for the product? Who is accountable on the client side for the product's success? Who is this solution going to threaten?
I saw in my research (aka lurking) that the client …. [insert what you learned—e.g., why was this product not included in the contract? Did they mention this expansion? Do they know we work with competitor X?]
Don’t expect your team to know the answers to every question. Half of what you are trying to learn is what the client has already told your company. Any questions the sales team can’t answer, you roll over to the initial client call.
Skip the resume recital, learn what your client team really does
When you do get on with the client that first time don’t let yourself waste the first 5-10 minutes doing a roll call of names and titles. It’s boring and doesn’t tell you a thing you couldn’t find on LinkedIn.
Instead, I ask the client to introduce themselves and share what role they will play in the project. It’s ideal to model what you want by giving your own introduction.
‘I’m Amber, and I’ll be the Project Manager. That means I’ll be in charge of making sure everyone knows what we’re building, where we are at, and what comes next. You’ll be seeing a lot of me in the next few months!’
This method gives you a wealth of information and starts off your program with client contacts taking public accountability for project responsibilities.
Skip discovery now, explain disasters later
Clients often want to dive right into the build. Totally understandable. They’ve spent months getting the deal done and now they want results. But trust me, if you skip discovery, this is the exact moment you’ll look back on when things get chaotic and think, “I should’ve asked that back at kickoff.”
So how do you keep from getting steamrolled past this critical phase? You hold the space. Be firm, but warm. If the client wants to move faster, fine. Adapt how you get your questions answered. Maybe that’s an email followed by a quick call. Maybe it’s an all-day onsite to knock everything out in one go. Be flexible, not flimsy.
At the end of the day, you're the PM. That makes you the pilot. And no pilot lets a client climb into a plane without wings. You’re not here to slow them down. You’re here to make sure they land where they actually want to go.
Discovery is only done when it’s shared
Be it a Business Requirement Document (BRD) or captured in a project plan, you need to summarize clearly for the client and the internal team what you agreed to build. And you need the client to formally agree. This is your plane’s blueprint and the project team’s CYA (on both sides).
It also shows the client their time talking with you wasn’t wasted.
Don’t blame sales - it’s tacky
Finally, avoid the temptation to blame misaligned expectations on sales. How many times have you told a client something, worked on it for weeks, only to have them come back two weeks later singing an entirely different tune? It happens, especially in long sales cycles.
Even if Sales misunderstood or misrepresented, it's your baby now. The best path forward is to get a clear understanding of expectations from your client, investigate options internally and come back with an honest and clear adjustment. Throwing any team under the bus makes you look petty and erodes your internal relationships. If it's a recurring issue take it to leadership and advocate for a review for the root of the issue.
So what do you think of my list? Do you do these steps when you get a new project? Any crucial tricks or tips I missed? Share your opinions below!
Want your PM’s to lead with confidence and your clients to stay impressed? GCM Enterprises can help. From no-nonsense templates to project tracking that actually gets used, we’ve seen (and fixed) it all. Reach out for more information.
