When you are an independent professional operating solo, moving from proposing and negotiating business to delivering for your client is (usually) a fairly seamless process. (Although I do recommend that you get serious about dividing and organizing your work across business development, delivery and administration.) If you make the choice to continue to grow, work on a team or start a company/organization, moving a project from one team to another takes on new importance so your client never misses a beat with regard to communication.
In my experience, one of the muddiest, and most often flubbed, processes is the handover from your business development team to your project management team. This transition should be accomplished in a one time, comprehensive meeting, that covers all aspects of the project or program to date. Depending on how you structure your processes, this meeting may happen before or after contract execution – if before, you’re depending on your project team to negotiate the contract; if after, it’s your business development team’s responsibility. There are pros and cons to each approach, and you should choose the one that suits your organization the best.
To help you prepare for and facilitate this meeting, I have put together a draft agenda that you can use to make sure you have covered all necessary information. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
