When it comes to invaluable sales training resources, there’s nothing that quite compares to the Sales Kick Off (SKO).
Earlier this year, I had the chance to sit down with Teresa Weirich from Costello to discuss perfecting your sales kickoff.
Below is a small excerpt from the interview. Read the full discussion here.
What does an effective SKO look like?
I can definitely tell you what an ineffective one looks like and it’s days and days of speakers from all over a company speaking directly to sales reps in classroom-style seating about off-topic agenda items. I’m sure the content is amazing, but is it consumable?
What we see work really well is a staggered, fresh approach to content and education. Have someone from your senior leadership team come in and give a keynote talk to establish the mission and theme of the SKO as a whole. Then, everyone else who speaks should address the universal theme.
At the end of the day, the purpose of a sales kick off is to invigorate and re-energize a sales team. You want to give your reps a reason to fall in love with the product and the company all over again. It’s important to not lose sight of this goal in the middle of planning.
How can you balance the exciting areas with more tactical, operational topics?
I’ve always found that if people know why you’re talking about a particular subject, they’ll listen better. An SKO can’t be a hodgepodge of different topics. So, if you spend time talking about fun, exciting wins and then go into what might not have gone as well, it’s important to make the takeaways very clear to your reps. Also, give them a follow-up resource that creates a conversation about the more tactical topics afterward so reps know how to actually use these new skills in the real world.