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The sales development rep (SDR) to account executive (AE) handoff is the moment an SDR passes a qualified lead to an account executive, usually by booking the account executive’s first meeting with the lead. In Default, the SDR does this from the Default Chrome extension, on the Gmail thread or customer relationship management (CRM) record where they qualified the lead. A routing workflow picks the account executive, so the SDR doesn’t need to know whose turn it is or whose calendar is open, and the meeting records the SDR as the rep who booked it. This guide covers the whole motion: what an admin sets up once, what the SDR does on each handoff, and how to follow up after the meeting is booked. For the other ways a lead or meeting moves between reps, see Handing off between reps.

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The SDR to AE handoff at a glance

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Setup for the SDR to AE handoff

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Build the handoff workflow

This example uses a queue named Account Executives, a Team event named AE intro call hosted by that queue, and a form named SDR handoff with the details your account executives want, such as the lead’s use case, timeline, and the SDR’s notes.
1

Start from the Extension trigger

In Workflows, create a workflow and add the Extension trigger. Set Connected Form to SDR handoff. The lead’s email is always collected, and on its own it is enough to route the lead, so the form is optional. See Triggers.
2

Book the account executive

Add Display Scheduler and set Event to AE intro call. Leave Use event hosts on, so the event’s queue picks the account executive with its routing policy.
3

Know how long a handoff stays open

Workflows that start from the Extension trigger skip the node’s Timeout, so leave it as it is. The booking page the SDR opens, and any link copied with Copy a Booking Link for, stays open for up to 24 hours after the SDR routes the lead. A booked meeting takes the Booked branch. Closing the booking page or a copied link without booking, or reaching the 24-hour limit, takes the Not booked branch.
4

Brief the account executive (optional)

On Booked, add Send Slack Message. Set Recipients to the Primary host, under Scheduling in the data picker. In Message, type {{ to insert the lead’s details, the SDR handoff answers, and Booked by, the SDR who routed the lead.
5

Publish

Select Publish and check that the status next to the deployment switch reads Live. SDRs see the workflow in the extension only while it is live. Give it a name SDRs recognize, such as AE handoff, because they pick it from a list.
6

Try it from the extension

Testing is not available for workflows that start from an Extension trigger, so try the handoff yourself. In the extension, load a test lead you own, select Book a meeting with, pick the workflow, and select Submit. Check that the booking page shows an account executive from Account Executives in the Host card.
A handoff you try out is real. Booking a time sends the invite and counts the assignment in the queue. Use a test lead, and cancel the meeting afterward from the extension’s Meetings tab.

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Roll the extension out to your SDRs

Each SDR installs the extension and signs in with their Default account.

Default Chrome extension

Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store.
1

Install the extension

Open the Default extension in the Chrome Web Store and add it to Chrome. Pin it to the toolbar so its icon stays visible.
2

Sign in

Select the Default icon in the toolbar to open the side panel, then select Sign in to Default. See Sign in.
3

Check the workflow is there

With a lead loaded, select Book a meeting with. The AE handoff workflow should be in the list. The list shows the published, live workflows with an Extension trigger that the SDR has access to.

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What the SDR does on each handoff

1

Pick up the lead

Open the lead’s Gmail thread, Salesforce Lead or Contact record, or HubSpot contact, then open the extension. Select Use on Lead on this page. On any other page, type the lead’s email under Who’s this meeting for?.
2

Check the record

The lead card shows the CRM record, title, and mobile number when Default has them. If the record is thin, select Request enrichment first. See Request enrichment for a lead.
3

Route the lead

Select Book a meeting with, pick AE handoff, fill out the Booking Form, and select Submit.
4

Book the time

The booking page opens with the routed account executive in the Host card. Default adds the SDR under Additional hosts as an optional host, marked (You). The SDR can stay on the invite, make themselves required so their own busy times show, or remove themselves. Pick a time and select Confirm.

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Track the handoff after the meeting is booked

  • See every handoff. In the extension’s Meetings tab, Booked by Me lists the meetings the SDR booked for someone else.
  • Tell the SDR when a meeting falls through. Build a second workflow with the Meeting Status trigger. Set Meeting statuses to No show and Canceled, and Specific events to AE intro call. Add Send Slack Message with Recipients set to Booked by, so the SDR who booked it can follow up. A meeting the lead booked from a copied link has no Booked by. See Triggers.
  • Move a meeting to another account executive. Select Reassign in the Meetings tab or the meetings dashboard. When the queue’s policy allows it, the first account executive gets their routing credit back. See Reassign a booked meeting.

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Troubleshooting the SDR to AE handoff