Stop Selling Work Your Team Hasn't Met

One of the biggest mistakes I see founders make in new business is keeping client services out of the pitch process.

I do get the thinking…

"You don't need to distract the team until we've won it." "It's inefficient to involve them too early." "Let's not overload delivery with maybes."

On the surface, it makes sense. But let me give you a couple of different perspectives.

The client

They buy into you. Your energy. Your thinking. Your confidence. They imagine working with you and they feel excited.

Then the contract is signed and suddenly they're handed over to someone they've never met.

Even if that person is brilliant, there will be a sense of 'I've been passed to the junior team', cementing the feeling that they were important during the sale… and now they're not.

Worse still, they will likely have to rebrief, repeat themselves and re-explain the nuances they've already shared. A frustrating and unnecessary process.

And that's where buyer's remorse can quietly start to grow.

The Account Lead

They didn't hear directly why the client came to you. Didn't hear the emotion behind the problem. Didn't get to ask their own questions.

You debriefed them well, gave them the notes, but it's not the same.

They haven't emotionally bought into the win. They didn't contribute to shaping it. They didn't build rapport and trust from day one.

Instead, they now have to build trust while simultaneously delivering. Which is harder than it needs to be.

I've also heard of pitches being lost simply because the team who would deliver the work weren't brought in. The CEO might open the door. But the client knows they won't be working with the CEO every day. They're buying into the people in the trenches.

So what's the answer?

Once you've qualified the opportunity properly (there's budget, need, intent) bring your Account Lead into Discovery. Let them hear it firsthand, ask questions, build relationship.

Two important things happen:

1. Your Account Lead emotionally invests. It becomes their win too. Pride. Ownership. Energy.
2. The client feels continuity. Not a handover, a progression.

"How do we do this without disrupting delivery?"

This is where alignment between sales and client services becomes critical.

CS should know what's coming through the pipeline. What stage it's at. The likely scope. The potential start date.

Not so they can panic about capacity, but so you can make an intentional call about who should be involved and when.

One aligned conversation between sales and CS can prevent weeks of friction later.

And if retention and growth matter (which I know they do), this is one small shift that can make a big difference.

Jo x