At the heart of every high-performing sales team is one pivotal event, a Sales Kick-off (SKO). Whether your aim is to energise a seasoned team, onboard new talent or introduce fresh strategies, a well-executed Sales Kick-off can boost morale, enhance collaboration and equip your team with the tools they need to deliver on organisational objectives and excel.
In this latest guide, we break down the key steps and stages of an engaging and informative event for teams. From the initial planning and execution of the event to post-evaluation and follow-up with your attendees, ICC Belfast can assist any event planner through the entire process, allowing you to focus on driving results and achieving success.
What is a Sales Kick-off (SKO)?
A Sales Kick-off (SKO) is a one or two-day pivotal event or meeting that presents a powerful opportunity to ignite passion, align your entire team with strategic goals, and set the stage for a record-breaking year. This usually would take place at the beginning of the financial year to set the tone for what is ahead.
It brings together an array of people including sales leadership and their team, marketing, operations, finance along with any potential external speakers or consultants that you may want present.
The purpose of this gathering is to ensure goal alignment, motivate and inspire the organisation and learn of any training and development that is necessary to fulfill your goals. It is also a time to acknowledge top performers and key achievements from the previous period to further enhance and drive forward in the future.
What are the Benefits of a Sales Kick-off?
A Sales Kick-off event truly creates a powerful platform to inspire, align and equip your teams for success. Although your sales team is directly linked, multiple departments who work together to support the sales team will also be present. This event enables a prime opportunity for cross-departmental collaboration, networking and team building to strengthen those relationships.
It also sets a clear strategy and execution plan for the year ahead, including a breakdown of goals set into actionable steps and laying out a tactical roadmap, ensuring everyone is aware and on board.
How to Host a Sales Kick-off
To host a Sales Kick-off event, careful planning, clear goals, and an engaging agenda to inspire and motivate those present is essential. We have compiled five expert tips on how to host a Sales Kick-off effectively and these will be delved into in more detail throughout the guide.
1: Set SMART Goals and Objectives
2: Select an Event Venue
3: Outline a Clear Sales Kick-Off Agenda
4: Sales Kick-Off Event Management and Logistics
5: Post Event Follow-Up and Evaluation
1. Set SMART Goals and Objectives
It’s important to consider the purpose of the Sales Kick-off event within planning and outline realistic goals and objectives, to ensure it delivers meaningful impact and drives business success.
These SMART goals and objectives should provide clear direction and focus for the event, motivate the team, align with the company’s overall objectives long term, maximise a return on investment (ROI), ensure relevance for all stakeholders, avoid event overload, enable tracking and measurement of success after the SKO and lastly, build accountability within the organisation.
ICC Belfast has hosted many Sales Kick-Offs and Annual General Meetings over the years, each with its own unique flair. In 2024, Coca-Cola HBC Evolve Conference 2024 brought together over 600 staff and brand partners for their annual company-wide event. This conference provided an invaluable opportunity for stakeholders from across the Island of Ireland to connect, share insights, collaborate, and drive innovation.
Evolve Conference 2024
2. Select an Event Venue
Selecting an appropriate venue is essential for the success of a Sales Kick-Off, as it influences the overall experience.
The venue should offer sufficient space for setting up stations, allow smooth transitions between interactions, and create an atmosphere that encourages productive discussions.
Important considerations to note include:
- Event space – Choosing a venue with well-designed spaces encourages interaction and networking among attendees, such as breakout areas for informal meetings or breaks which can facilitate further opportunities for discussion. The venue should also comply with health and safety regulations and accessibility requirements for diversity and inclusion purposes.
- Event production – It must feature the necessary technology that you require to host your event such as AV equipment, high-speed internet and suitable power sources. This is particularly important for the delivery of presentations, live streaming and interactive sessions that are set to take place.
- Event hospitality – An important aspect of any event is the food quality and catering options available. Your chosen venue should offer a variety of high-quality menu choices, including options for attendees with dietary restrictions. Both food and beverage should align with the event style and professional staff should be present to handle the food service smoothly.
In 2020, we hosted 600 international delegates to attend leading BioPharmaceutical company, Astrazeneca's five-day kick-off event, A New Perspective. By collaborating with ICC Belfast, the company successfully achieved a true emotional connection with their employees which in turn, boosted employee interaction, innovation and collaboration.
3. Outline a Clear Sales Kick-off Agenda
A clear, concise and well-structured Sales Kick-Off agenda ensures that set objectives are met, attendees are engaged, and time is managed efficiently.
Important steps to note are advanced planning, choosing a cohesive theme, including engaging topics for discussion, incorporating flexible timeslots and lastly, sharing this agenda in advance so attendees know what to expect.
Using a range of sessions is vital to achieving optimum engagement from your audience:
- Presentations
- Panels
- Interactive Q&As
- Breakout discussions
- Team-building activities
TATA Genuine Parts chose Belfast for their Annual Distributor Conference 2023. This event allowed employees the chance to reflect on past performance, congratulating those responsible for company achievements as well as, look to the future and explore how they could drive success together, as one team. The event included presentations, interactive Q&As, team building activities at Titanic Belfast and a Game of Thrones Studio Tour as well as a gala dinner in Hall 1.
Annual Distributor Conference 2023
Download ICC Belfast’s free, easy-to-use Sales Kick-off agenda template to streamline your event process. This comprehensive and user-friendly template will assist you in making your next team event one to remember.
4. Sales Kick-off Event Management and Logistics
Liaising closely with the Event Management team is essential to ensure that all logistical elements of the SKO are covered.
It promises comprehensive planning and execution, maximises resource efficiency, ensures smooth delivery and communication, enhances the attendee experience and mitigates risks. With our expertise and strategic partnerships, we can significantly boost your SKO planning and delivery process, providing valuable support from start to finish.
Key considerations to note:
- Registration – Setting up an online registration for attendees will reduce on-site check-in time and improve planning proficiency and confirmation emails should be distributed to include event details and any other necessary pre-event instructions. On-site check-in should also be present and name badges provided.
- Plan your visit – Providing travel information such as directions, public transport schedules and parking facilities are vital. Group transport is also an option to explore. Offering a travel assistance checkpoint for anyone needing support or changes to be made is worthwhile.
- Accommodation – Hotel bookings should be made for attendees at nearby hotels and the number of available rooms communicated, reservation and location details should be provided in advance as well as, check-in and out times and any special requirements addressed with the hotel prior to arrival.
5. Post Event Follow-Up and Evaluation
Following up with your attendees and evaluating the overall success of the event against set goals and objectives is critical for numerous reasons, as it helps you assess the effectiveness and performance of the SKO and informs improvements for future events.
There are several ways you can evaluate your SKO event and ensure this success lives on:
- Gather feedback from attendees – This could be facilitated through post-event surveys questioning their experience, event satisfaction, key takeaways and ideas for improvement. Focus-groups could also take place to guide this research.
- Measure success against goals and objectives – Track early indicators of this such as increased engagement and motivation from the teams, smoother process facilitation and brand awareness. It’s also necessary to have long-term measurements like assessing sales performance and conversion rates.
- Continued engagement – Host follow-up events, further training and internal initiatives to remain consistent and drive forward a plan for future improvement and success.
Host a Sales Kick-off at ICC Belfast
Plan your next Sales Kick-off at our venue and experience the difference that world-class service and expertise can make. With a proven track record of showcasing successful SKOs for a host of different industries and capacities, we can confidently offer you the perfect environment for your organisation to connect, strategise and be inspired.
By choosing our venue, you are not just booking a space, you are partnering with a team committed to making your SKO an outstanding success.
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