Sales kick off
Inspire action. Unleash results.
Most sales kickoffs create memorable moments. The best ones drive transformation.
We believe that when you invest time, energy, and dollars to bring your sales organization together, your SKO should do far more than motivate. It should:
– Align the organization around clear business priorities
– Build confidence in how to win, not just what to sell
– Drive measurable behavior change that shows up in accelerated performance
A memorable on-site event experience is critical. It’s also just one part of a successful kickoff. What should your teams know, feel, and do when they return home? How will they apply what they’ve learned, and how will you measure the impact of your investment?
To deliver more than a great experience, your SKO needs a thoughtful, strategic overlay, designed to turn the event itself into a catalyst for business change.
Sales kick off is a three-phase performance engine – one that begins before the meeting, peaks during it, and accelerates immediately after. If your meeting doesn’t start and end with strategy and execution, it’s not an SKO; it’s a very expensive interruption.
Phase 1: The Pre-Meeting
By the time attendees arrive at your sales meeting, they shouldn’t be asking, “What’s the strategy?” They should be asking, “How do I win with it?”
Educate reps on products, strategy, and priorities before they walk into the room, and prime your sales force to show up ready to absorb your message with gamified missions, goals, and leaderboards.
- Build excitement, anticipation, and clarity around your business goals
- Activate healthy competition, team‑based and individual
- Deliver learning and pre‑work through gamified, social, and rewarded experiences
Signal what matters and create momentum so your meeting becomes reinforcement, not introduction.
Phase 2: The Meeting
Passive sales meetings create passive sellers.
Drive active participation, connect your message to actionable goals, and inspire your sales teams to take ownership of the vision.
- Deliver clear and consistent messaging that appeals to emotion, and ties directly back to your goals
- Engage your teams through immersive workshops, simulations, and practice that builds confidence
- Launch post-SKO incentives, instantly connecting the message to performance
People lean in when there’s something at stake. Use individual challenges to drive personal accountability, and competitive groups to create peer pressure and anchor learning in emotional impact.
Phase 3: Post-Meeting
If you don’t actively sustain your message, 80% of SKO content is forgotten within two weeks.
If your teams are leaving without clear next steps, your investment dies with applause. Don’t let the momentum fade with the memories of last night’s dance party.
- Develop a clear 30/60/90‑day roadmap for sustained success
- Conduct ongoing behavior measurement to identify skills, knowledge, and confidence gaps
- Reward performance with award packages that matter to your teams
Post-meeting incentives put strategy into motion immediately and reinforce the same behaviors discussed at the meeting. Reps leave the meeting knowing exactly what to do next and are incentivized to do it now.
Launch your sales year with clarity, energy, and staying power, and with the tools to guarantee a measurable impact.
The numbers don’t lie.
20%
higher win rates when companies use structured SKO events.
3.2x
Return on Investment when a well-structured SKO includes sustained engagement strategies with additional 30/60/90-day activations.
$2.5M
average annual investment in sales meetings. (Don’t you want to know if it’s working?)
Thought Leadership
Learn from the best. BIW thought leaders bring you a deeper look at the business of inspiration.
-
Article
Is your annual SKO your launchpad…or a liability?
Every year, thousands of companies spend millions of dollars bringing their sales teams together for the annual sales kick off (SKO). And they do it for one simple reason: your competition is trying to take your business every single day.