SDR → AE handoff when both can book demos. How do you structure the process & pipeline?

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Hello everyone,

Im looking for advice on SDR/AE handoffs in HubSpot where both roles prospect and book demos (SDR books for AE, but AEs also run their own outbound). I’d love to see how you model ownership, stages, and handover.

SDR: We compensate the SDRs based on the meetings booked that are marked as completed (meetings canceled, no show or reschedule don’t count)

Specific Question:

1. Pipeline & stages: What stages do you use from first touch to close? Where does the handoff formally happen?

SDR created a deal then books a demo? or is better to book the demo and then assign the lead to the sales ?

2. Ownership Rules: Who owns what at each stage?

3. Round robin: we use the round robin meeting functionality.

For more context, our company is a SaaS.

Thanks

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Hi @saidkadaoui3, I hope that you are well!
Thanks for asking, that’s exactly why the HubSpot Community is here for! :raising_hands:
Here are some resources for information on the topic:
- Set up and manage object pipelines
- Sales pipeline stages: My blueprint for what to look for at each stage
I’d love to consult with our Top Experts: Hi @Anonymous, @trevordjones and @indiracatmedia do you have suggestions to help @saidkadaoui3, please?
Have a fantastic day and thanks so much in advance for your help! :heart:
Bérangère

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Hi @saidkadaoui3,

Based on my experience with SaaS, I’ll try to keep my opinion straightforward (it’ll still be lengthy :sweat_smile:). Also, this is HubSpot language; let me know if you need more of a business dialect.

Ownership:

  • Contact and Company is owned by SDR (AE is assigned through a user property), the SDR does the reachout and qualifies the lead for the MQL, so making SDR the contact and company owner makes sense. Until the CSM comes into the picture (after purchase), CSM can now be the owner.
  • Deal is owned by AE (SDR is assigned through user property), AE qualifies the lead for SQL and runs the deal, the sales team approves and follows up with the lead during deal duration, so having AE as deal owner makes sense.
  • If SDRs are assigned from demo bookings, then the booked SDR becomes the contact owner directly; if the lead is from another source, the workflow is used to rotate owners with specific rules/filters.

Structure/Process:

This is not a step-by-step process, as the approach would be different based on your funnel and handoff formalities.

Lead can book the demo call; the available scheduler has a round robin with SDRs only. Once the lead has booked the call, the SDR can qualify according to the information at hand and add the AE to the meeting. (skip to 3rd point).

If the source is anything else (other than a meeting):

  1. When SDR has reached out to a lead and qualified for the first meeting, which is generally a demo call, the lead’s status is updated, and AE is assigned.
  2. Now this AE is assigned according to the availability, this can be pre-decided (for example region, business type, or size based), the SDR can send the group meeting link (SDR + AE) to the client for demo OR this can be done manually by looking up the availability of certain AEs and then assigning them accordingly.
  3. Once the initial meeting is completed, some important information in order to create the deal is filled on the contact record itself (add this on the contact record left panel and only assign AE permission to edit these). SDR - AE handoff completes.
  4. Once required info for deal creation is filled by the AE, properties with same names in deal object will be copied through a workflow, assigned AE becomes the deal owner and contact owner becomes the assigned SDR (if AE disqualifies the lead after initial meeting or lead doesn’t join, the deal creation information would not be filled thus not creating a deal).
  5. Reports on how many deals were created in a certain time range and assigned an SDR to calculate the commission.
  6. Now AE takes care of the pipeline, keeping in touch with SQL. Deal stages for SaaS have primarily 4 stages before won/lost/disqualify: Initial Meeting >> Specific requirements (if it’s viable to fulfill) >> decision maker brought in >> final things/Negotiations.
  7. There can be other stages in b/w according to requirements and as the customer base grows, but keeping these 4 is primary for any SaaS company.

Considering AEs’ commission is only calculated for closed won deals, AEs won’t approve every demo booked to be qualified for deal creation.

Pipeline and stages:

  • The contact lifecycle pipeline can be divided into 5 parts: leads, Qualified Lead, Customer (won), Lost, and Disqualified. SDR is concerned until the qualified part (once they are qualified by both SDR and AE after the demo call) - SQL or deal created.
  • Specific Deal pipeline (New clients/business) is entirely managed by AE(s).

I have not included ifs/buts/exceptions as your AEs do Outbound as well, because this process has clear identification of ownership.

This is entirely a personal opinion; @BérangèreL has already referred to a solid resource for pipeline (stages) management.

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@saidkadaoui3 have you looked at the new Leads object as a solution? Each SDR or AE could own their Lead records, and when a Lead is qualified a Deal is created. At that point, all Deals can be owned by the AE. You shgould be able to create reports around those Leads and associated Contacts, and the meetings, pretty stratighforward.

That’s my initial thought!

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Hi @saidkadaoui3 , this is a classic SaaS setup question, and in 2025 there’s a much clearer pattern emerging now that HubSpot has matured its objects and reporting.

The cleanest mental model is to separate meeting qualification from deal creation. Bookings alone should not create deals. Whether the meeting is booked by an SDR or an AE, the deal should only exist once there’s real sales intent. Practically, that means demos get booked first, meetings get completed, and only then does a deal get created. This avoids bloated pipelines and keeps your close rates meaningful.

On ownership, I’ve seen the least friction when Contacts (and Leads, if you’re using the new Leads object) stay owned by whoever sourced and qualified the meeting. That can be an SDR or an AE. Deals, however, should almost always be owned by the AE from the moment they’re created. If SDR attribution matters for comp, store the SDR in a separate “SDR Owner” user property on the deal rather than via ownership. That makes reporting far easier and avoids reassigning records later.

For the handoff moment, make it explicit and operational. The handoff happens when the demo is completed and qualified. At that point, either the AE creates the deal manually or a workflow creates it once a “Qualified after demo” flag is set. That’s your clean boundary between SDR motion and AE motion, regardless of who booked the meeting.

Pipeline-wise, keep it simple. One pre-deal motion (lead or contact lifecycle), one sales pipeline owned by AEs

only. Stages like Discovery Complete, Evaluation, Decision, Negotiation still work well for SaaS. Round robin stays at the meeting level, not the deal level.

One quick clarifying question: are you already using the Leads object, or are you still modeling everything directly on Contacts? That choice slightly changes how clean your reporting will be, especially for SDR compensation.

Hope this helps.