How to Level Up Your Sales Kickoffs

This content was created collaboratively by Stova and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.

Sales kickoff meetings are the slingshot that propels business for a new fiscal year. They are a time to rev up the staff, cement brand loyalty, and set new goals. In short, SKOs are not ordinary meetings and should not be treated as such.

Due to today’s global workforce, engaging attendees in different time zones can be challenging. But technology exists to do just that — and how effectively planners interweave state-of-the-art tools into agendas at sales kickoffs will be judged by revenue. With such high stakes, planners must work with partners with a proven track record to meet a meeting’s needs.

Here, we look at how leading event tech vendors like Stova can implement strategies to maximize SKOs.

About SKOs

Sales kickoffs typically occur at the beginning of a calendar year or fiscal year. They can range from short sessions to multi-day conferences. With the reliance on remote teams and global workforces, SKOs are a rare chance to bring the entire team together.

Attendees will generally be profit-oriented, travel from multiple countries, and potentially speak different languages. As a result, these meetings are among the most important meetings a company holds all year and present some of the most logistical challenges.

“SKOs are a pivotal moment for your organization. It’s the perfect opportunity to align your entire sales team — whether they’re in the room, joining virtually, or a mix of both — around shared goals and objectives,” said Jessica Martin, Marketing Content Manager at Stova. “An SKO is where you introduce important initiatives, like new go-to-market strategies, and provide essential training. The goal is to ensure every team member leaves motivated, equipped with the tools they need, and ready to achieve new milestones in the year ahead.”

Because a large number of employees will be together, these are also opportunities to conduct internal meetings. Building teamwork, trust, and friendships are important. Core goals include:

• Familiarize teams with the brand.
• Acknowledging achievements. Use the recognition to instill motivation and inspire healthy competition.
• Sustaining engagement. Attendees will be bottom-line motivated, so encouraging activities with results (i.e., games) can be effective, as we will discuss in greater detail later.
• Crafting relevant content. Enlist inspiring speakers to educate attendees on new products and company values and share key findings.

Given the complexity and cost of travel arrangements, companies may opt for hybrid programming or make the kickoff event entirely virtual. Reaching the entire team is imperative throughout an SKO, and planners should consider leveraging leading technology partners like Stova to facilitate the process.

Digital Advantages

Previously, SKOs were often held in the same location at the same time of the year (usually January or February). However, with technology advancements, there is no need to limit this company-wide meeting in this regard. In fact, there are several advantages to making the meeting a virtual experience, as a leading data storage company partnered with Stova to do in 2022.

Stova has released an ebook case study of the event that can be downloaded here.

Benefits of a virtual SKO include:

• Cutting down on travel costs and delays, providing a more efficient and sustainable solution to the meeting.
• Allowing for easy translation, should there be language differences.
• Creating opportunities for marquee speakers to join without juggling their schedules.
• Adding accessibility for those unable to travel or who require special assistance for comprehending content.

“A virtual event platform enables you to achieve several key SKO goals, such as cost savings, boosting engagement, and acknowledging top performers, while also providing the advantage of reaching a global audience,” said Martin.

Making It Easy

Whether the sales kickoff is strictly physical, virtual, or a hybrid meeting, the experience should be seamless. Given the importance of SKOs, planners and their bosses certainly don’t want a technology setback to impede progress. In this case, time is money.

Registration should be simple, as should building out profiles. During early steps in the event life cycle, both elements provide key information for planners to construct teams for agenda items and to support networking efforts that strengthen existing relationships and break down silos caused by geographic differences.

The platform should include built-in safety features to protect company and personal information. Putting attendees’ concerns to rest adds comfort for attendees to fully participate in the platform, adding value for the individual salesperson and their peers.

Make data-driven decisions based on session attendance, attendee behavior, and more to improve the experience from prior years.

Let the Games Begin

Gamification can be a particularly efficient way to engage SKO attendees, build teams, and share information about the company in a fun way. During the 2022 event featured in its success story, Stova highlights the success of a scavenger hunter, trivia and polling, and location-based gaming to maintain active participation among the more than 2,000 attendees from more than 25 countries.

“Gamification has proven to be an effective strategy for driving engagement in both internal and external events, and it’s become increasingly popular for good reason,” Martin said. “However, the secret to a successful SKO lies in crafting an environment beyond simple games — one that is immersive, engaging, and truly enjoyable for everyone involved. By integrating interactive elements and friendly competition, you create a dynamic atmosphere where your audience is not only excited but fully invested in the event’s outcomes.”

Core Components to Success

SKOs should be equally motivational and educational. The right platform and agenda can combine these two goals to create a truly compelling experience.

• Share your organizational wins by highlighting team members, gamifying the event, and connecting your organization to each other locally or globally.
• Encourage one-on-one video calling and create break-out rooms to facilitate discussions that enhance teamwork and share information about the company and brand.
• Identify challenges and potential solutions for better results going forward.
• Create opportunities to follow up on SKOs throughout the year. Come away with a library of Simu-live education sessions, downloadable information sheets and presentations, and media that can be shared on social media and intranet communication.
• Use data to inform agenda decisions about the effectiveness of sessions and how to build brand awareness and loyalty going forward.

Once locked into specific locations and times, sales kickoffs are now nimble events that connect a whole company. Technology partners can harness the event’s potential by engaging attendees throughout so that attendees come out ready to set new sales records, regardless of whether sales associates are in person or participating remotely.

Read Stova’s new ebook on SKOs. Contact Stova to discuss solutions for your next SKO.

This content was created collaboratively by Stova and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.