Categories: Sales Leadership | Sales Kickoff | Sales Training Initiative
The sales kickoff (SKO) is where you the stage for what’s coming, explain what’s changed and chart the path for success in the next year. But let’s get real. Rallying the troops and rah-rah speeches are great, but they are not what helps land high-value accounts or meet the growth imperative. Moving the needle comes by taking direct action on the day-to-day selling motion.
The top performers on your revenue teams appreciate nothing more than having obstacles removed from their path. Clear the runway for them to go after and successfully land high-dollar targets by making efficiency an overt theme across your SKO.
In a conversation with John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders Podcast, Tenable COO Mark Thurmond refers to this leadership function as Removing the Friction. In this clip, Mark breaks down how he approaches these conversations and digs into the nuts and bolts of removing roadblocks that impede productivity:
Executing an SKO that removes the friction points and produces results starts with clearly defined priorities. Use this decision guide and assessment tool to help identify what your main objectives should be. Each priority carries specific action items and challenges to overcome, but they all include streamlining processes. Efficiency means having a good work-to-output ratio; it’s the name of the game.
As the main ingredients of your kickoff event come into focus, ensure this concept of efficiency and roadblock removal stays top-of-mind with each SKO goal.
Is the goal to improve pipeline health?
Improving the sales funnel comes from being more efficient with how your teams qualify deals; it’s about knowing which deals are worth spending time on and minimizing the time spent spinning wheels on deals that will never happen. In the B2B tech space, MEDDICC is the gold standard for maintaining efficient, healthy pipelines. Even when organizations are using the framework, there are ways to improve how MEDDICC interacts with messaging and sales processes, including tech-enablement.
Is your goal reducing slipped deals?
If deals slip at the end of each quarter, that’s likely due to inefficiencies in delivering a value message that resonates with decision-makers. The cure is tightening up your messaging to better capture and convey value across the selling process. Develop a messaging framework that articulates the problems you solve for customers, how your solution is better than the competition’s, and proof of where you’ve done it before. Build a coaching cadence that ensures teams learn to apply the framework appropriately for every selling situation and buyer persona.
Is your goal to shorten ramp-up times for new hires?
Efficient onboarding is crucial, especially when teams experience rapid growth or complete an acquisition. When companies achieve alignment on their messaging framework (the value drivers and differentiators that resonate with their most influential buying audiences), a common result is reduced time to productivity for new hires. It’s easier for new team members to contribute right away when onboarding includes the sales-consumable tools and deliverables they can leverage for execution with customers immediately. These artifacts are a byproduct of a unified value-messaging framework.
Add further impact to new-hire training with eLearning experiences that are relevant to the role, define your desired approach, and set expectations. Onboarding work for a BDR, for example, may include certification in Sales Planning or Prospecting -competency areas that help them hit the ground running.
Don’t Let Procrastination be a Roadblock
One thing you can do right now to ensure you’re being efficient: start planning the kickoff event. Our team of sales veterans has helped hundreds of organizations plan impactful SKOs that led to transformation and growth. These experiences have helped us identify the top five non-negotiable actions that elite business leaders take in preparation for the SKO. Download a free copy of our latest eBook: 5 Must Do’s for Your SKO: The Leader’s Guide to Planning an Impactful Sales Kickoff and get started fueling the momentum you need to exceed revenue goals, drive valuations, and accelerate growth.
