CRM Migration Cutover: The Weekend Playbook
Cutover timeline (Fri–Tue)
| When | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T−14 days | Stage map signed; active book defined | RevOps |
| T−7 days | Test import on sandbox workspace | RevOps + IT |
| Friday 5pm | Freeze legacy edits; announce all-hands | Executive sponsor |
| Friday eve | Final delta export + import | RevOps |
| Saturday | Mail DNS / forwarding; Connect calendar | IT + sales ops |
| Sunday | Validation scripts; owner assignment audit | RevOps |
| Monday AM | Team works only in Salestrics | All GTM |
| Tuesday | Retro; legacy read-only | RevOps |
Pre-cutover checklist
- Active book only — open opps + accounts with activity in last 12 months
- Stage mapping doc — every legacy stage → Salestrics stage
- Owner map — email → teammate; no orphan opps
- Mail on account plan — mail policy and custom domain if applicable
- Integrations inventory — Zapier, billing, support; repoint or retire
- Training slot — 60-minute live walkthrough Monday 9am
Import scope discipline
| Import | Include | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts | Active customers + open prospects | Duplicate shells, test records |
| Contacts | Roles on active deals | Unverified scraped lists |
| Opportunities | Open pipeline only | Closed-lost >24 months unless required |
| Cases | Open support if Resolve cutover | Resolved noise |
| Mail history | Forward going forward | Full MIME archive day one |
Import mechanics: CRM data import and export.
Friday freeze ritual
- Slack announcement — no new opps in legacy after 5pm local
- Export delta — changes since last weekly import
- Import validation — row counts vs export; spot-check 10 opps
- Lock legacy — read-only for non-admins if vendor allows
- War room channel — RevOps + IT through Tuesday
Mail and calendar cutover
Migration fails when mail stays on the old tool:
- Org mail live — custom domain or forwarding to Salestrics mail
- Signatures updated — new mail links; Connect for meetings — Connect rollout
- Calendar — external invites from Salestrics for new meetings
- Auto-reply — optional one-day banner on legacy mailbox
Monday morning validation
| Check | Pass criteria |
|---|---|
| Pipeline total | Within 2% of Friday export |
| Owner coverage | 100% open opps have owner |
| Mail send test | AE sends from org mail on account |
| Connect meeting | One external meeting linked to opp |
| Desk queue | Open cases visible if Resolve migrated |
Post-cutover: agents and MCP
Do not enable MCP write tools on cutover week — read-only summaries only:
- Monday MCP read — top 10 accounts hygiene list
- No bulk writes — fix import gaps manually first week
- Write rollout — week 4+ per MCP write playbook
Anti-patterns
- No cutover date — parallel CRMs for a quarter
- Import everything — 50K stale contacts pollute graph
- Skip mail — reps keep Gmail as system of record
- Monday surprise — no validation Sunday
- Ignore desk — CS on Zendesk while sales on Salestrics
Rollback plan (last resort)
Document before Friday:
- Legacy re-enable steps — who can unlock write access
- Delta export from Salestrics — if Monday fails catastrophically
- Communication template — honest delay message to team
Rollback is rare if Sunday validation runs — plan exists to reduce panic, not to skip cutover.
Stakeholder communication templates
Friday freeze (Slack/email): “Legacy CRM is read-only after 5pm. All new work happens in Salestrics Monday. War room channel: #cutover-weekend.”
Monday all-hands (60 seconds): “Pipeline is in Salestrics. Send customer mail from org mail on the account. Connect for external meetings. RevOps is in war room until Tuesday.”
Seat and tier alignment at cutover
Migration weekend is a bad time to discover tier gaps:
- Team+ for Connect — customer-facing roles need in-product meetings
- Resolve seats — if desk migrates, case owners on Resolve Team+
- One cap — headcount after migration fits chosen One tier — One tier selection
- Billing — downgrade legacy CRM licenses in same week — billing RevOps