7 Reasons Why Most Sales Kickoffs (SKOs) Aren't Very Good (And how to fix them)

Coming this January, thousands of businesses around the world will have their big #SKO (Sales Kickoff) meeting.

And if I may be very honest, most will fall short of what they could be.

Having been a part of at least 50 of these meetings over the years myself as a speaker, here are the 7 biggest mistakes I keep seeing again and again:

1. There Isn't a "One Thing"

For any meeting or training to be GREAT, there has to be a throughline--a common theme. This is why, after every SKO I've been a part of, I'll ask the simple question: What's the ONE THING you're going to apply to your day-to-day moving forward?

2. Too Much "Entertainment" without Takeaways

Sure, having fun is great. But having fun without lasting impact and improvement on the part of the sales team is, in my opinion, a massively missed opportunity.

3. Information Overload

Very similar here to #1, but there is such a thing as "too much." Too often, this is the case with SKOs, and organizers end up going too wide with their topics without enough actual depth for impact.

4. Mixed Sales/Marketing Messaging

I'll likely write an entire post on this one at some point but it is a problem I've seen over and over again. Essentially, the "Marketing Team" gets thrown in with Sales (in lieu of having their own meeting) and instead of truly getting fed as a marketing team, they barely get noticed or mentioned. It's the ultimate case of the "red-headed stepchild." Although I'm all for combined sales/marketing meetings and SKOs, if the agenda doesn't allow for some serious marketing conversation, then that department should absolutely get its own meeting so it can be truly fed and uplifted.

5. ZERO Engagement

This one is bad. Really bad. I've had many situations where, as a virtual speaker, I asked if I could interact with the sales team during my keynote and was told, "Sorry, we just aren't set up for that."

Seriously? It's the year 2024 folks. The tech is there. So let's make engagement a part of all our sales meetings (in-person or virtual) moving forward.

6. NO ACTUAL TRAINING ??

Talking about product launches is fine. Discussing trends and pipeline info is OK. But an SKO that doesn't have a focus on some type of personal/sales development is a tragedy in my opinion. Yet, believe it or not, it happens a lot.

7. No Year-Over-Year Throughlines/Themes

We started with having a common theme, and we'll end with it as well. The best sales cultures understand how to tie everything together, year after year, thus allowing them to continually build momentum that's crucial to their success and culture. Granted, things can change quickly in the world, but you should still have principle-driven themes that connect every SKO as an organization.

Although we could certainly add more to the list here, just fixing these seven issues will help you have the best SKO your organization has experienced in years, without question.

I'd love to hear your thoughts though, and you can email me at [email protected] or leave your comments on LinkedIn.

And if you're looking for an SKO speaker for next year, we should have a chat.