All B2B Organizations across the globe work on the basis of a certain structure. No matter the industry an organization belongs to, there are a few things that bind all organizations together. One thing is the kind of events and activities that organizations conduct. One of the most crucial events that an organization conducts is Sales kickoffs. Conducted with the intent of reforming the sales strategies of a company and boosting sales, a Sales kickoff is considered one of the most integral parts of an organization.
If taken seriously, a well-planned sales kickoff can amp up sales results in an organization. After all, it all depends on how you plan your strategies and implement them.
So, are you ready to boost your sales and host the best and cool sales kick-offs? Join us on this journey and learn more about virtual sales kick-off.
What is a Virtual Sales Kickoff Meeting?
As some of you might have gotten by now, a sales kick-off is an annual meeting of the sales team of an organization. An annual sales kick-off meeting is different from regular meetings in terms of agenda. The main objective of a sales kick-off is to bring together the entire sales team including managers, leaders, and reps on a single platform. It includes analyzing and discussing sales of the passing year and building new strategies for the coming year.
A virtual sales kick-off is nothing but a regular sales kick-off being hosted on an online meeting platform. However, Virtual sales kick-offs can result in significant cost savings. Research reveals that hosting a virtual sales kick-off event can be up to 75% less expensive compared to an in-person event.
One thing organizers need to know and understand is that a sales kick-off meeting is different from a regular meeting. You can’t bring people together, host a series of meetings on a regular online meeting platform and call it a sales kick-off meeting.
A sales kick off is much more than that. Here, we will explore this concept more and learn new sales kick-off meeting ideas.
What Are the Advantages of Hosting a Virtual Sales kickoff?
Here are some of the top advantages of a virtual sales kickoff; have a look at them-
1. Opportunities to Grow and Boost Interactivity:
A virtual SKO involves product demonstrations, interactions and disseminating information and what not. By hosting a virtual SKO, you get the advantage of making the entire experience more engaging and compelling. You can use audio, video, graphics, animations and other ‘n’ number of ways to deliver the meeting agenda. Not only this, you can also interact with your team members, know their feedback and edit the strategy.
2. Multi-Utility Content:
Another significant advantage of hosting virtual SKO is you can always record the session and distribute them to your attendees. With this, the attendees don’t have to be hard on themselves and learn everything they need to. They can always refer to the recordings, understand things and adapt to those strategies.
3. Bring the World Together:
If you are planning to host a sales kickoff meeting, then one advantage you should know is they allow members to come together on one platform, irrespective of their geographical location. It doesn’t matter if you are an MNC and working on a global level, you can bring all the concerned employees together through an online SKO.
4. Recognizing the Talent:
Several organizations host award shows in their annual sales kickoff meetings to recognize the effort of the sales team in front of the entire organization. You can also shout out to your sales team, acknowledge their contribution, and celebrate them, along with their fellow employees.
What Makes a Sales Kickoff, A Sales Kickoff?
As we said earlier, a virtual sales kickoff is more than just inviting your sales team to a regular meeting platform and explaining to them the agenda.
Here’s what a virtual sales kickoff consists of:
1. Keynote Sessions:
One of the most important agendas of a virtual sales kickoff is to set the vision for the upcoming year for the sales team. To introduce the sales team to new techniques, you can host keynote sessions in your next SKO. Not only this, but you can also host an interactive session with the sales team to add value to their experience.
2. Training Sessions:
To ensure that your sales team can understand the agenda of your virtual sales kickoff, you can host training sessions. One of the major advantages of hosting training sessions online is they allow attendees to grasp things at their own pace. They can always refer to the critical points shared during the meeting whenever they feel the need to do so.
Not only this, as a leader, you can also know how effective the training has been with the help of data and analytics features.
3. Culture Exchange:
Though quicker, more efficient, and a lot more advanced than the regular sales kickoff meetings, online sales kickoffs might make the attendees feel distant from their team members. You can host some activities that would infuse a sense of belongingness among the ‘physically distant’ team members. Not only this, but you can also host casual breakout sessions, where the participants will connect and know their fellow team members other than work.
4. Fun and Celebration:
The best thing about today’s corporate culture is that it has become less hectic and more fun. No matter how formal the meetings are, organizations host activities that would give the attendees a sense of fun and excitement. You can host award ceremonies, casual activities, and a lot more to make work fun.
What Are Some Of The Best Online Sales Kickoff Meeting Ideas?
Here are some of the best sales kickoff meeting ideas deliver unique and unforgettable experiences to your team members:
1. Set a Clear Agenda:
Every meeting has an agenda, and so should your online sales kickoff meeting. Always set a clear agenda for your meeting a few weeks before and share it with your team members. It would help them plan their schedule accordingly and be fully prepared for the upcoming meeting.
2. Host Some Team Building Activities:
As remote working has become common these days, there are only a few opportunities that organizations get, including a virtual sales kickoff meeting, where you bring the maximum of your employees on the same platform. It is a good opportunity to host team-building activities and boost team spirit in the employees.
3. Set a Theme:
Of course, you can continue without a theme, but setting a theme for your next virtual sales kickoff meeting would breathe some excitement and uniformity to your rather boring meetings.
4. Invite Guests and Keynote Speakers:
You can always go beyond regular meetings, make things bigger and better and invite guests and keynote speakers to your next sales kickoff meeting. It would give your employees an additional reason to look forward to the upcoming meeting.
5. Swag Your Employees Up:
Who doesn’t like being swagged up? We bet nobody. You can decide on a dress code for your upcoming meeting and distribute merchandise and goodies to your employees. It’s also best to poll your attendees every 20 minutes or so to collect valuable feedback. Not only this, but you can also conduct activities and competitions and give away merchandise to the winners.
6. Make your presentation engaging:
At a virtual event, an engaging presentation can help grab everyone’s attention. Try not to put too much text on your slides and incorporate videos and other visuals whenever possible.
7. Create awards and celebrate wins
Just because you don’t meet in person doesn’t mean you can’t find team members who get along well. Spend time in your presentation praising the company’s achievements and the people who helped them achieve them.
FAQs
Q. How to prepare for an online sales kick-off?
To prepare for an online sales kick-off, determine your objectives, create an agenda, select the right virtual platforms, coordinate with speakers, and ensure all participants have the necessary technology and access to the event.
Q. Why should I host an online sales kick-off instead of an in-person event?
Hosting an online sales kick-off offers several advantages, including cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and accessibility. It allows remote team members to participate without travel expenses and enables attendees from different locations to join in a virtual environment.
Q. What are some best practices for delivering presentations during an online sales kick-off?
When delivering presentations, keep them concise and visually appealing. Use elements like videos, infographics, and slides to enhance engagement. Incorporate storytelling, real-life examples, and case studies to make the content relatable and actionable.
