Introduction: Energizing the Path to 2025
Most Enablement and Sales Leaders are currently in the midst of preparing for their 2025 Sales Kick-off (SKO). In this ‘How to Prepare for Your SKO 2025 – Sales Enablement Guide‘, we explore strategies to rethink and elevate your SKO planning. Reflecting on the sales landscape of 2024, Go-To-Market (GTM) teams faced their share of challenges, including a dip in prospect engagement, sales pipeline leakage, and lengthening sales cycles. These obstacles tested sellers’ resilience and adaptability. Yet, amidst the hurdles, valuable lessons emerged, offering opportunities for growth that can propel us into a more dynamic future.
The annual Sales Kick-off (SKO) presents a pivotal moment to harness that learning and transform it into renewed energy and focus. Most CROs see SKO as a critical investment, with an average cost of $2,500-$5,500 per attendee. And companies want significant performance boosts through this event. SKO is a chance to reset, re-energize, and equip our teams with the tools and strategies needed to thrive in the evolving market landscape.
What is a Sales Kick Off?
A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event that brings the entire sales team together to set the tone for the year ahead. It focuses on aligning teams with the company’s goals, introducing key cross-departmental initiatives, and providing training to enhance the skills sales reps need to thrive. Traditionally held early in the fiscal year, SKOs blend inspiration and education, and while often in-person, they can also be hybrid or virtual.
Enablement’s role in SKO: Architecting Success
Sales Enablement plays a key role in making a Sales Kick-off (SKO) successful, acting as the link between leadership goals and team execution. Enablement professionals create experiences that inform, inspire, and equip the sales team with tools for immediate impact.
Their tasks include curating actionable content, designing engaging learning sessions, and ensuring smooth tech integration for both in-person and virtual attendees. They align SKO goals with business objectives, address sales challenges, and use data insights to close skill gaps. Beyond the event, enablement focuses on sustainable learning paths to maintain momentum and drive long-term sales growth. So, the big question is, how do you prepare for your SKO 2025?
SKO 2025 Guide: What Stays the Same and What’s Changed?
To make SKO 2025 a success, as a sales enablement professional, you should focus on both tried-and-true elements and innovative approaches:
What Stays the Same
Clear Objectives and Alignment
– Define specific event goals and KPIs
– Align SKO agenda with leadership’s top priorities
– Connect SKO directly to business goals
Balanced Content
– Mix inspiration, education, and celebration
– Include keynote speakers, training sessions, and team-building activities
Interactive Elements
– Incorporate role-plays and practice sessions
– Use gamification and challenges to engage participants
Cross-Functional Collaboration
– Include panels and roundtables with leaders from different departments
– Create breakout sessions for cross-functional brainstorming
What Should Be New to Prepare for SKO 2025
Customer Value-Centric Approach
🎯 Shift focus from product features to customer outcomes
🧩 Provide value selling training to equip teams with skills to demonstrate ROI
Focusing on customer outcomes instead of product features has proven to boost win rates by 19%, according to Gartner. Training sales teams in value selling is vital, as it enables them to highlight the ROI effectively, directly addressing customer pain points and aligning solutions to their goals. This approach not only increases customer satisfaction but also solidifies trust and long-term partnerships. Companies adopting a life-centric strategy are three times more likely to exceed speed-to-market goals and five times more likely to improve customer lifetime value.
Enhanced Hybrid Experience
🌎 Optimize for both in-person and remote attendees
⚙️ Leverage technology for seamless participation across locations
Make sales events impactful for both in-person and remote attendees. Use advanced technology like virtual platforms and collaboration tools to ensure seamless participation. Prioritize inclusivity by integrating interactive activities that engage all attendees equally. Address logistical challenges with robust planning and support teams. Test equipment and platforms in advance to avoid technical issues. Create follow-up plans to keep remote and in-person participants equally involved post-event.
AI-Powered Practice
🤖 Utilize AI sales coaches for authentic pitch practice and role-play experiences
👨👩👦👦 Provide personalized feedback and improvement opportunities
Incorporate AI-powered tools to revolutionize sales training. AI sales coaches provide realistic scenarios for pitch practice and role-play, enhancing confidence. These tools deliver immediate, personalized feedback to identify areas for improvement. Use AI to analyze tone, language, and structure to refine messaging. Combine AI insights with human coaching for a balanced approach. This integration saves time while ensuring teams are prepared for real-world interactions. Run these pitch practices before the SKO and showcase the top submissions during the SKO to encourage peer learning and celebrate in a non-judgmental, fun environment.
Expanded Attendee List
⚡️ Include customers to share experiences and provide customer perspective
🧑🤝🧑 Invite cross-functional team members to broaden understanding of value creation
Broaden the scope of your events by inviting customers to share success stories and insights. This fosters credibility and offers attendees a real-world perspective on value creation. Include members from marketing, product development, customer success and other cross-functional teams to promote collaboration. Organize panels or breakout sessions where diverse voices contribute. Demonstrate how various roles support the overall customer experience. This holistic approach encourages innovation and fosters a unified vision of success.
Agile Skills Development
⛈️ Focus on adaptability and resilience in changing market conditions
🙋🏽♀️ Train on asking better questions and running winning sales processes
In a rapidly changing market, companies with adaptive sales training programs see a 24% increase in annual revenue growth. Teaching adaptability and resilience helps reps navigate uncertainty, while improving questioning skills boosts win rates by 15% [Gartner]. Focus on skills like asking insightful questions to uncover customer needs and running effective sales processes. Provide workshops on overcoming objections and tailoring approaches to different buyer personas. Encourage continuous learning with ongoing access to training resources.
Content & Experience
👩🏻🏫 Leverage video content for higher retention (up to 95% more than text)
👨🏾💻 Repurpose SKO content for training, onboarding, and sales enablement throughout the year
Gain a thorough understanding of your target audience—whether it’s your sales reps, AEs, AMs, or XDRs—by identifying their needs, preferences, and pain points. Tailor your content and training to directly address their unique challenges and interests. Are they struggling with discovery questions? Or perhaps facing stiff competition from established players or emerging startups? Work closely with product and field marketing to develop micro-learning content that resonates with your team. Additionally, have your solution engineers record short, insightful videos highlighting the key aspects of the solution that sellers need to master.
Finally, ensure the success of your Sales Kick-off (SKO) by creating strategies to maintain its momentum throughout the year. Develop a structured follow-up plan that reinforces key concepts and skills introduced during the event. Incorporate ongoing training sessions, such as workshops and webinars, to deepen learning. Use digital platforms to provide easy access to resources and self-paced learning modules. Encourage regular assessments to measure progress and identify skill gaps. Sustainable learning keeps your team sharp, motivated, and ready to adapt to market demands year-round.
By combining these elements, sales enablement can create a SKO 2025 that not only energizes and aligns the team but also equips them with the skills and mindset needed to succeed in an evolving sales landscape.
