Find Your Why
Summary:
As much as sales teams like to come together, having a definitive objective or end goal to your sales kickoff gives purpose and structure to the event
It’s important to get something that your entire team (or teams) can rally around, but is specific enough that you can collectively know whether or not you ‘hit’ your goal
Ultimately, your goal will be reflected through your entire agenda – so that’s why it’s important to have a specific and different goal than the year before.
Ideas: % of market share, raising sales of a new product line, rep education and engagement, team growth
Why even have an SKO?
Let’s face it – planning an entire sales kick-off can be daunting…but it becomes even more so when there’s pressure to just ‘have a kickoff’.
We’ve all been there. The year rolls around so it’s time to have the annual SKO, and all eyes fall to the sales enablement manager to make it happen. The only issue is, kickoffs only make sense in the context of actually trying to do something. That’s why you need to find your ‘why’.
When there isn’t a clear objective insight, your team is going to be confused as to why you are even having them come together in the first place. You’ll lose excitement, attention will wane, and your big kickoff may come off as a dud. And, as much fun as it is to come together and hang out with coworkers, it’s important to make sure that every member of the team will walk away from the meeting with something to either plan for or work towards in the broader spectrum.
The trick here is to make the goal of our SKO as specific as possible. What are you trying to do different this year? How is this SKO actively going to make yours and your rep’s lives easier going forward? What is the tangible goal or milestone you want to hit?
Starting your sales kick off with a definitive reason and set of objectives is not only going to make the event more compelling, it’s going to make it easier to plan.
