Your Sales Kickoff Cheat Code: Align, Engage, and Maximize Your SKO Outcomes in 2025

It’s Sales Kickoff season - but not all SKOs are created equal.

It's that time of year again when many companies are bringing their Go-to-Market teams together to align on strategies, build momentum, and kick off 2025 strong.

But while some SKOs can be game-changing for organizations and the individuals within those organizations (that's you), others can be colossal wastes of time, money, and opportunity.?

Whether you’re leading or attending, do you know how you're going to maximize your impact at—and in the 12 months following—your SKO?

As someone who works closely with post-sale leaders to optimize team performance and drive customer-centric results, below is my advice for leaders and attendees to ensure their SKO experience delivers maximum impact and lasting value.

5 Actionable Tips for Leaders of SKOs

While SKOs often center on sales enablement and training, this is a critical opportunity for Post-Sale Leaders to empower Customer Success, Professional Services, and Support teams as well. These teams are pivotal to driving retention, expansion, and customer advocacy. They deserve attention and focus!?

To help you make the most of your SKO, here are the 5 things you should do if you want to lead impactful Customer Success and post-sale breakout sessions:

1?? Prioritize Collaboration Over Information

Use the in-person time to tackle things that are harder to accomplish over Zoom. Workshops, role-playing, and collaborative brainstorming are perfect for this setting.

2?? Be Intentional About Outcomes

What should your team take away from these sessions? Whether it’s a new skill, a plan of action, or better alignment with peers, define the goals upfront and structure the agenda accordingly.

3?? Enable Through Practice

This is a prime moment for role-modeling key behaviors, practicing difficult customer conversations, or refining strategies for expansion and retention. Hands-on sessions are where the magic happens.

4?? Strengthen Relationships

Remote teams rarely have these opportunities to get together in person. Encourage your attendees to build connections with their peers and other leaders. Facilitating networking can lead to lasting benefits for collaboration and morale.

5?? Maximize the Investment

SKOs are a significant financial and time investment. Make it count by ensuring every breakout session has a purpose tied to business outcomes. “Fun” and “impactful” aren’t mutually exclusive. You should plan for both!

?? Talk to me: What are your go-to strategies for getting the most out of SKO sessions? Have you implemented something that worked particularly well? If you’re gearing up for an SKO, I’d love to hear how you’re preparing to make the most of this time with your teams!

5 Actionable Tips for Attendees of SKOs

If you’re a Post-Sale professional, SKOs are likely a highlight of your professional year. They're an exciting opportunity to hit the ground running, see your peers in person, and set the tone for 2025.?

But let’s be honest. It’s easy to fall into the routine of simply attending sessions, nodding along, and waiting for the next activity.?

This year, let’s do more than just show up. Let’s make this SKO a game-changer for your career and your impact.

Here's how you can take charge and maximize this experience:

1?? Be Intentional about What You Want to Get Out of It

Take a few minutes before the event to identify your goals. Are you looking to sharpen a specific skill? Gain insights on company strategy? Connect with certain leaders? Go in with a plan.

2?? Engage Fully in Breakouts

Your leaders and peers have put time into planning these sessions. Use them to collaborate, ask questions, and refine how you approach customer challenges. The more you engage, the more you’ll gain.

3?? Build Your Network

SKOs bring people together you may rarely see such as other CS professionals, Sales, Marketing, and executives. Seek out conversations that help you learn, build rapport, and strengthen cross-functional relationships.

4?? Absorb the Big Picture

Pay attention to the themes and messages throughout the event. How does your role align with the company’s goals? Understanding the big picture will help you focus your efforts and align your priorities for the year ahead.

5?? Take the Momentum Home

When the SKO is over, don’t let the energy fizzle. Reflect on your key takeaways and decide how you’ll apply them immediately. Even small changes can have a huge impact when they’re backed by the enthusiasm of a great SKO.

??Your Turn! What’s one thing you’re looking forward to at your SKO? Or, if you’ve attended before, what’s a tip you’d share with someone new? Hit reply and share your thoughts!

Let’s kick off 2025 with purpose, connection, and impact.

P.S. This week, I’m excited to attend the Company Kickoff for one of my clients and lead a session on driving growth from existing customers using the REACH Framework?. Let's talk about how this framework can be the game-changer that takes your post-sale team from a cost-center to a revenue-generating?powerhouse.

Keep innovating and listening to your customers!?Until next time,

Rod