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Your 2022 Sales Kickoff might just be the most important one you’ve ever had. The sales world has been changing more than ever, causing sales teams to run into problems daily. They have extra needs that need to be addressed, and leadership’s help in supporting them. As you begin preparing for your SKO, there are some important things you need to keep in mind in order to help set your team up for success.

Identify Needs

I had a conversation with a sales rep of a hyper growing b2b SaaS company the other day and asked him what he thought would be valuable to include in a SKO. The thing he stressed the most was that he wanted leadership to listen to what their daily challenges were and to come up with a plan on how to support the team in the future.

Sales reps are talking to customers all day, and a lot of times running into new problems they don’t have the time to solve. The thing is, you can’t roll the same thing out every year and expect it to stay relevant. This is a changing landscape, always keeping reps on their toes. They need new whitepapers, case studies, competitive analysis, product road maps, and value-based messaging throughout the year.

The first step is to address these needs. To get the discussion started, have your reps tell you one good thing that has worked in the last year, and one thing that hasn’t. Create an environment where they can be honest about what they need in order to be successful.

Create a Plan

Once you have identified your sales team’s needs for the new year, you have to make a plan to support those needs. It’s important that this plan is clearly laid out to your team so that they know what to expect and how they will be supported this next year.

This plan should include:

• Marketing support
  Creation of new white-papers, sales decks, competitor analysis, etc.
• Leadership support
  What can your reps expect from you moving forward? How will you communicate new solutions to them?
• Customer Success support
  How they will help make the transition from prospect to client easier on the reps.
• Additional training
  Bring an outside sales trainer to help the team stay up to date with new sales strategies.

Host Your SKO

Now that you have a plan in place, it’s time to throw a successful event. You can do this in person or virtually. Here are some suggestions on how to roll things out:

Make it fun

Kick things off with a happy hour! If you’re virtual, you could send your employees a cocktail kit and start the event off on a fun note. Making time for fun can help forge connections and boost company morale. The key is to not waste your rep’s time, so it might be useful just to include one short “fun” event before getting into the good stuff.

Celebrate Success

Highlight team members that have had great performance over the last year and make sure they feel valued. Talk through the successes of the company and point toward new goals that you have in the future.

Hire an Outside Sales Trainer

Consider hiring an outside sales trainer for a day-long workshop. Sometimes it can be hard to get through to your reps when teaching new concepts if you’ve been the one training and managing them all year. An outside perspective and authority can help them absorb concepts that they may not have been open to hearing previously.

Roll out New Solutions

This is the time to share the new solutions you have come up with to support your team. If you have a new product or offering, introduce it to the team along with all of the supporting materials they have to sell it. Remember, it’s imperative to set clear expectations on what your team can expect from you this next year. End it on a positive note where they are excited for the future and feel set up for success.

Now you are ready to throw an amazing sales kickoff, start your year off feeling confident in your team, and be excited about your company’s future success.

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If you are interested in investing in sales training for your SKO, we would love the opportunity to be a part of the discussion on how we can partner together to help you and your team achieve your goals. The content of our training workshops is taught by a 35-year sales veteran who specializes in elevating value by understanding the science of decision-making. Every rep will walk away with mastery of a conversation framework scientifically proven to communicate high value in every conversation they have with prospects and customers.