SDR to AE Handoff Criteria: How to Design | Prime Chase Data

When leads keep increasing but revenue doesn’t, the blockage is often in one place: the handoff between SDRs and AEs. Information gets lost, expectations drift, and speed drops. This is the highest‑pressure point in the pipeline. Without clear rules, SDRs lean toward “just pass it over,” while AEs defend with “this isn’t my lead.” The result is predictable: lower meeting conversion, longer sales cycles, higher CAC, and growing mistrust between teams.

This article shows how to turn SDR-to-AE handoff criteria into a real operating system—not a gut feel. It’s written for non-specialists to follow, but detailed enough for you to implement right away: criteria, processes, metrics, and exception handling.

Why SDR-to-AE Handoff Criteria Directly Impact Revenue

The handoff isn’t just a task transfer. It’s a contract that defines “who owns what, starting when.” When that contract is vague, several problems show up at once:

SDRs optimize for “number of meetings,” while AEs optimize for “likelihood to close” – goals collide.
The definition of a lead becomes fuzzy, and your forecast breaks. The pipeline looks big on paper but bookings don’t follow.
Response times slow down after handoff, and lead intent cools off.
Customer experience suffers. They’re asked the same questions, and outreach lacks context.

Clear, precise handoff criteria reduce this friction. SDRs know exactly “what success looks like” before passing a lead. AEs know “what I must own and move” once they accept it. The pipeline shifts from a hopeful list to a predictable asset.

The Foundation: Separate Qualification From Acceptance

Many teams mash qualification and acceptance into a single vague rule. Example: “If it matches our ICP, pass it over.” Reality is more nuanced. ICP fit is a static condition; buying intent is a dynamic signal. Handoffs work best when you design around these as two distinct layers.

1) Qualification: Is This a Real Opportunity?

Qualification answers: “Is this account, and this person, a fit for us?” It focuses on relatively stable traits: industry, size, geography, current systems, regulatory environment, and so on.

2) Acceptance: Is This Worth AE Time Now?

Acceptance answers: “Is this worth putting into an AE’s pipeline at this moment?” Signals include a confirmed meeting, decision-making structure, timing, budget range, and specific trigger events.

With this structure, your SDR-to-AE handoff criteria naturally become two-layered. Qualification is the must-have condition; acceptance criteria are the go-live condition.

6 SDR-to-AE Handoff Criteria That Work in the Real World

Details will vary by organization, but the core drivers of handoff quality are surprisingly consistent. The six criteria below have been tested across most B2B environments.

1) ICP Fit: The Account and Use Case Must Match

Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is the document that locks in “who we sell to” in numbers and language. If ICP isn’t wired into your handoff criteria, SDRs optimize on activity volume and AEs fall back on instinct. At minimum, your ICP should spell out:

Company size (revenue or headcount) and growth stage
Industry and key sub‑segments
Technology stack (e.g., CRM, ERP, cloud platform)
Primary pain points and your product’s core use cases

Marketing and Sales must jointly own and agree on the ICP. You can frame your account segmentation using the classic STP model (Segmentation–Targeting–Positioning). The basic concepts are well covered in resources like Investopedia’s overview of market segmentation.

2) Trigger Events: “Why Now” Must Be Explicit

To move a deal forward quickly, AEs need a clear “why now.” Trigger events pull budget and priority forward. Examples include:

Organizational changes: reorgs, new executives, new KPIs
Tighter regulatory or security requirements
New product launches, international expansion, M&A
Impending expiration of an existing vendor contract

Before locking in a meeting, the SDR should confirm at least one concrete trigger event. Without that line in the notes, the AE’s first call turns into a discovery interview, and your sales velocity drops.

3) Problem Definition and Impact: Move From “Annoyance” to “Cost”

“It’s inconvenient” is not an opportunity. “We have outages twice a month and lose revenue” is an opportunity. You might not get perfect quantification at the SDR stage, but you must at least establish the direction and type of impact.

Time: “We spend ~10 hours per week on manual work.”
Money: “A 1 percentage point drop in conversion costs us X per month.”
Risk: “We may be exposed to compliance violations.”
Opportunity cost: “We can’t expand into new channels.”

How clearly the problem is defined will dictate the quality of the AE’s proposal. The level of questions SDRs ask effectively sets the floor for your organization’s overall sales quality.

4) Decision-Making Structure: Identify at Least Two Stakeholders

Pure single‑threaded B2B deals are rare. Your SDR-to-AE handoff criteria should always include an internal “map” of the account.

User / operator: Feels the day‑to‑day pain.
Approver / budget owner: Makes the actual purchase decision.
Security / IT: Needs to sign off on technical and security requirements.

As a minimum, document “the role of the person we’re currently talking to” and “who must join the next meeting.” B2B purchases are multi‑stakeholder decisions, a point emphasized repeatedly in Harvard Business Review’s analyses of B2B buying behavior.

5) Timeline and Next Action: There Must Be a Calendar Event

A handoff is not “we’ll talk sometime.” The AE needs a concrete next action they can execute immediately.

Confirmed meeting on the calendar (date, time, attendees)
Clear agreement on the purpose (demo, diagnosis, security Q&A, etc.)
Any materials the customer will share in advance (current process docs, requirements, etc.)

Without this, AEs spend time “re-warming” the lead. That rework time is a hidden cost that inflates your pipeline expense.

6) Minimum Information Set: Enforce Through CRM Fields

Criteria that live only in a slide deck are useless. You need to hard‑wire them as required fields in your CRM. For example, the following fields are effectively mandatory for a quality handoff:

ICP fit (yes/no + segment)
Summary of pain points (1–2 sentences)
Trigger event
Current alternative (competitor, internal build, spreadsheets, status quo)
Decision-making structure (as far as known)
Next meeting details

CRM design and data hygiene are operational fundamentals. You can structure your data quality principles using frameworks from sources like Gartner’s perspectives on data quality management.

Handoff Model: Add SAL Between MQL and SQL to Reduce Conflicts

In the classic model, leads flow from MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) straight to SQL (Sales Qualified Lead). This is where the line between SDR and AE blurs. In practice, you get a much stronger system if you explicitly add SAL (Sales Accepted Lead).

MQL: Interest or engagement-based (e.g., content downloads, webinar attendance).
SQL: SDR has completed qualification based on agreed criteria.
SAL: AE has reviewed and accepted the lead (it officially enters the pipeline).

With SAL, AE responsibility becomes crystal clear. At the same time, SDRs orient their work around “the criteria AEs will actually accept.” If you add an internal SLA (Service Level Agreement) that defines AE response times and handling rules, operations get much more predictable. The SLA concept—as explained in resources like Salesforce’s guides—is just as applicable to internal sales processes as it is to customer support.

How to Lock AE Acceptance Criteria in Numbers

Everyone has a different feel for what a “good lead” is. That’s why you need scoring. Overly complex models rarely survive in the field; a simple 10‑point system is far more sustainable.

Example of a Simple 10‑Point Score

ICP fit (0–3 pts): Match on industry, size, and tech stack.
Trigger events (0–2 pts): Strong signals like contract expiry or regulatory pressure.
Problem impact (0–2 pts): Clear financial, risk, or operational impact.
Decision access (0–2 pts): Ability to reach approvers or security/IT.
Timeline (0–1 pt): Evaluation or purchase planned within 90 days.

Keep the operating rules simple. For example: 7+ points = automatic AE acceptance; 5–6 points = joint review; 4 or below = routed back to SDR for nurturing. Then, once a quarter, calibrate the scoring weights using actual conversion data.

Running Handoff Meetings (or Async Reviews): 15 Minutes Is Enough

Long handoff meetings eat into selling time. The key is a tight format. Cap it at 15 minutes per account and stick to this sequence:

SDR – 3 minutes: Present problem, trigger event, and the objective of the next meeting.
AE – 7 minutes: Ask clarifying questions, flag risks, and decide on the approach.
Wrap-up – 5 minutes: Confirm ownership, next steps, and a draft message to the customer.

If you run the process asynchronously, you need even more discipline. SDRs should provide a call recording or summary, key quotes from the prospect, and any objections raised. AEs then commit to accept or reject within 24 hours. In many cases, speed beats perfection—especially for inbound leads, where response time heavily influences win rates.

Clear Rejection Rules Make Acceptance Rules Work

When teams design SDR-to-AE handoff criteria, they often focus only on “what we accept.” In practice, explicit rejection criteria are even more important. Once rejection becomes a rule, not a personal judgment, relationships stabilize.

Sample Rejection Reasons Template

ICP mismatch: No wins in this segment yet, or the requirements are clearly outside product scope.
Problem unclear: No defined problem or no meaningful impact identified.
Lack of authority: No realistic path to an approver for the next step.
Timeline too long: Evaluation is 12+ months out; nurturing is more appropriate.
Missing data: Required CRM fields are incomplete; re‑qualification needed.

The crucial part is what happens after rejection. Rejection is a route change, not the end of the road. Decide in advance whether SDRs will re‑engage to fill gaps, whether the lead goes to marketing nurture, or whether you’ll schedule a future re‑touch. For lead nurturing mechanics, practical frameworks like HubSpot’s lead nurturing guides are useful references.

A Practical Handoff Checklist for SDRs

Before an SDR passes a lead, a two‑minute checklist can dramatically improve quality. In practice, this does more than training; once it becomes habit, quality improves automatically.

Does this account fit our ICP? Which segment?
Can I explain “why now” in a single sentence?
Is the problem framed as time, money, or risk—rather than a vague inconvenience?
What alternatives exist? Competitors, internal tools, or current process?
Have we agreed on the purpose of the next meeting and who will attend?
Are all required CRM fields fully completed?

Looking Ahead: Manage the Handoff Like a Product, Not Just a Process

Your SDR-to-AE handoff criteria should not be a static document you define once and forget. Treat it like a product. Review conversion data quarterly and adjust the rules. Categorize rejection reasons and eliminate the top three root causes. If you define separate criteria by lead source (inbound, outbound, partner, etc.), your forecasting becomes even more accurate.

What you can do as soon as next week is straightforward. First, add a clear SAL stage into your CRM and define an AE response SLA. Second, enforce the minimum information set and standardize rejection reasons. Third, run a simple 10‑point scoring model for just four weeks and analyze the conversion data. These three moves alone shift the handoff from a “people problem” to a “system problem.” And from that moment on, revenue becomes less about luck—and more about design.