StateofSalesKickoffMeetingsAnexaminationofhow(andhowsuccessfully)companiesmotivateandaligntheirsalesforces

AsurveybyBrainshark

Overview:StateofSalesKickoffsTryingtodrivemotivation,morale,momentumandresultswithyourannualsaleskickoff(SKO)meeting?Manycompaniesmaybefallingshort,accordingtoourStateofSalesKickoffMeetings survey.Despitebillionsofdollarsspentontheseeventsannually(nottomentionhoursuponhoursofpreparation),threeoutoffourattendees(74%)saytheircompany’sSKOdoesn’tmeritan“A”grade,with29%ratingita“C”gradeorbelow– leavingampleroomforimprovement.

What’scausingcompaniestoloseoutonmaximizingtheirevents’ROI?OneitemwefoundisthatmanyorganizationsstructureandplantheirSKOsasisolatedevents– ratherthanspringboardsfortheentirefiscalyear–andneglecttopreparetheirsalesteam,pre-SKO,orfollowupafterward.Forexample,84%oforganizationsdon’tconductsalesreptraininginadvanceoftheirSKOforcontext,and71%don’tdeliverpost-workorfollow-uptrainingtoreinforcewhatwaslearned.Asurprising42%ofparticipantssaidtheywishedtheircompanywouldintegratetheirSKO’sthemeandmessagingintotherestoftheyear.

Forthisstudy,wesurveyed107salesrepresentatives,salesmanagersandotherleadershipatcompaniesofallsizesandacrossindustries.ThesurveycoveredtheirexperiencesandimpressionsatSKOsthey’veattended,includingsalientareasexecutedwell,alongwithitemsforimprovement.Fullresultsareinthisexclusivereport.Enjoy!

OverallSKOImpressionsDoSKOs“MaketheGrade”?Participantssawroomforimprovementinthekickoffsthey’veattended:

• 3outof4(74%)saytheircompany’sSKO,asawhole,doesn’tmeritan“A”grade• 29%givetheircompany’sSKOa“C”gradeorbelow• IntermsofindividualSKOcomponents,social/networkingactivitiesgotthemostfavorable

grades(35%ratedtheman“A”)• Keynotepresentationsfaredworst(only16%gradedtheman“A”)

Seemoreonthefollowingchart

DoSKOs“MaketheGrade”?

A26%

B45%

C25%

D- 2% F- 2%SKOOverall Keynotes

B58%

A16%C

23%

D- 2% F- 1%Training

A24%

B40%

C27%

D- 7% F- 2%

A23%

B44%

C28%

D- 4% F- 1%

InformationalPresentations

A35%

B36%

C19%

D9%

F- 1%

Social/NetworkingActivities

Inyourexperiencesthroughoutyourcareer,howwouldyougradethefollowingaspectsofSKOsyou’veattended?

SKOPlanningSalesenablement’sroleAsmoreorganizationsestablishsalesenablement(SE)programs,functionsandtitles,salesenablementdepartmentscan– andshould– playanactiveroleintheholisticSKOprocess.

• Overall,43%ofrespondentsnotedtheircompanyhasaSEfunctionthatsupportstheirSKOs

• AmongcompanieswithSEfunctions,though,thispercentagewasmuchhigher– nearly8outof10SEdepartments(79%)supportedSKOplanningandexecutionwithintheirorganization

Elementsincluded(andlacking)Still,manyorganizationstakealimitedapproachtoSKOplanning– approachingthekickoffasasingleeventinisolation:

• Morethan6outof10(62%)don’tdeliverpre-worktosalesrepsinadvanceoftheirSKO

• 84%don’tconducttraininginadvance,neglectingtoprovideafoundationontheskillsandtopicsthatwillbecovered

• 7in10(71%)don’tdeliverpost-workorfollow-uptrainingasreinforcement

• 28%don’tmakepresentationslidesavailablepost-SKO

Seemoreonthefollowingcharts

SalesEnablementPlaysaKeyRoleinSKOsDoesyourcompanyhaveadedicatedsalesenablementfunctionthatsupportsthepreparationandexecutionofyoursaleskickoffevents?

43%

37%

11% 9%

Amongcompanieswithsalesenablement

departments,79%ofthosedepartments

supportedSKOplanningandexecution.

Yes No WehaveaSEfunction,butthey'renotinvolvedinSKOs

Idon'tknow0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

43%

37%

11%9%

SKOsasIsolatedEvents?Absenceof‘Before’and‘After’Components

Participantsprovideinputduringplanning

Pre-workisdeliveredtosellersbeforeSKO

TrainingisconductedbeforeSKO

Trainingisconductedon-siteatSKO

Certificationsaredoneon-siteatSKO

Post-workandfollow-uptrainingare

deliveredafterSKO

Presentationslidesaremadeavailablepost-

SKO

Presentationsarerecordedandavailableon-demandpost-SKO

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Whichofthefollowingaretrueofyourorganization’sapproachtoSKOs?Pleasecheckallthatapply.

42%38%

16%

74%

7%

29%

72%

25%

Certificationsaredoneon-siteatSKO

SKOImprovementsWhat’sonthe‘Wish-List’?SalesrepsandexecutivesdesiredmultipleimprovementstodrivebetterSKOeffectivenessandROI.Notsurprisingly,theseunderscoredadesiretotreatthemeetingsasmuchmorethanpoint-in-timetrainingandmotivationaltools– but,rather,ascatalystsfortheentirefiscalyear.Suggestionsincluded:

• Providetrainingand/orcoachingpriortotheevent(41%)

• FollowupSKOtrainingwithongoingreinforcement(62%)

• Followthroughonusingthekickoffthemeandmessagestherestoftheyear(42%)

Ifrespondentshadunlimitedplanningpowerandnorestrictionsonbudget,they’dalsoimproveitemsincluding:

• TheSKO’sguestsales-focusedspeakers(56%)• SKOmotivationalspeakers(50%)• Thevenue(39%)• Foodoptions(23%)

Seemoreonthefollowingcharts

Wish-ListforImprovements:Focuson‘Before’and‘After’Elements

Providetrainingand/orcoachingbeforeSKOfor

context

FollowupSKOw/ongoingtrainingandreinforcement

ReinforceconceptsintroducedatSKOw/tailoredcoaching

frommanagers

FollowthroughonusingSKOtheme+messagesduring

restofyear

MakeSKOsmoreinteractive

Makepresentationsmoreengaging

Havefewerpresentationsand

morepeerinteraction

Incorporatemorerole-play+hands-

onlearning

Nothing0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

41%

62%

53%

40%

51%

36%

3%

42%

61%

Inyouropinion,whatarethemostimportantthingsyourcompanycandotoimproveSKOeffectivenessandROI?Pleasecheckallthatapply.

MoreontheSKOWish-Lists(PrettyPlease!)

Food+drink Thevenue Entertainment Post-eventreception Guestmotivational… Guestsales-focusedspeakers Nothing0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Guestmotivationalspeakers

Guestsales-focusedspeakers

Ifyouhadfreerein(norestrictions!)overyourcompany’sSKObudget,whataresomeofthemostimportantelementsyou’dimprove?Pleasecheckallthatapply.

23%

39%

20%

37%

50%

56%

Can’tthinkofanything

9%

AdditionalSKOResourcesFormoreinformationonSKOplanning,bestpracticesanderrorstoavoid,pleasesee:

http://bit.ly/bnsk-sko-ebook http://bit.ly/bnsk-sko-mistakes

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