Welcome to Sales Kick Off Season!
We all have that first week back behind us which means it’s the official beginning of Sales Kick Off Season for B2B Sales Leaders.
Whether you start planning your Kick Off months ahead or pull it together just a few days prior, these meetings are an excellent opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted. The best Sales Kick Offs combine several important elements together and ensure the time out of the field is worth it for all participants.
What should your Sales Kick Off include? Consider these suggestions:
- A theme to set the tone for the meeting – and the year
- Recap of the prior year’s results and top performer recognition
- Expectations for the upcoming year and levels to achieve ‘club’ or other awards
- The welfare and direction of the company (possibly including Q&A with the executive leadership team)
- An industry or market update delivered by a leading analyst, researcher or advisor
- Formal time for the sales team to present to leadership their perspective on critical topics such as competition, internal challenges, emerging customer or market trends, etc.
- Sales leadership announcements on important changes, new practices or policies, upcoming events or other newsworthy items
- Informal collaboration time (team based event to allow everyone to share ideas, experiences, challenges and approaches with their peers and other members of the team
A Winning Theme for Your Sales Year
I’ve seen some great sales themes in the past. Some were very specific and tangible like “Bag a Billion” for a company that had the opportunity to pass $1b in annual revenues for the first time (and did!). Others were trite and cheesy and became immediate joke fodder. Spend some time revisiting the top goals you set for your sales year in your 2012 Sales Plan and chose a Kick Off theme that reinforces the most critical ones.