- 4 tests, all must pass.
- 2 capable people, either side.
- 0 owners hold the handoff itself.
- 1 rate, on 0 dashboards.
How do you apply the four tests to one handoff?
You apply the four tests in order, and a handoff that fails any one is not a seam.
| Test | Example | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Two capable people sit either side. | Media buyer and finance lead. | The loss is inside one function. |
| 2. Nobody owns the handoff. | Neither owns the crossing. | It is the owner's number. |
| 3. It can be written as a rate. | Booked to showed. | It cannot be measured yet. |
| 4. That rate sits on nobody's dashboard. | A dashboard number has an owner. | It is a performance conversation. |
What result means a handoff passes?
A handoff passes when all four tests are true. Test four carries the weight. Seams 11 and 12 fail test one by design: the role itself is missing, a node vacancy.
What does a handoff that passes all four tests look like?
Booked to showed on a 22 closer floor passed all four tests. At AI Acquisition, where the stretch between good setters and good closers lived on no report, naming it moved the show rate from 19% to 43% in about a month, so which of your handoffs earns the first line on your Seam Map?
The four tests run on your handoffs, three costliest priced.
Click the button.
Answer a few short questions.
Pick a time on Jon's calendar.
How are the four tests different from a handoff metric?
A handoff metric measures a handoff someone owns; the four tests find the one nobody owns. Antoine Buteau (9 May 2026) treats a handoff as an agreement with a metric. Test four marks where that metric is missing, across all thirteen seams.
Questions people ask about the four tests of a seam?
Do the four tests work outside a sales team?
Yes. In ecommerce, booking to show is cart to checkout.
What if a handoff passes three tests and fails one?
It is not a seam, but a performance question for its owner.
Who created the four tests of a seam?
Jon Weberg, originator of The Thirteen Seams, defines every term in the revenue seam glossary.
How many seams pass the four tests in a typical business?
Thirteen: twelve in the chain, one over the loop.