Flushing Money Down the Drain: How to Avoid Making Your 2025 SKO Just Another Expensive Dopamine Hit
Sales Kick-Offs (SKOs) are fun, right? The energy, the parties, the buzz of seeing the whole team together—it feels like everyone is on top of the world ready to kick start the year. But here’s a hard truth: unless your SKO is laser-focused on 2025 goals and designed to drive measurable change (notice the word – measurable – meaning, you actually measure and provide reinforcement), you’re just spending a ton of money for a short-term high.
Most SKOs fail to move the needle because they’re disconnected from real business objectives. They’re planned as feel-good events without answering the most critical question: What are we actually kicking off?
If you’re running your SKO in the first quarter, there’s still time to make it impactful. But first, let’s talk about the traps you might be walking into.
Avoid the SKO Trap: Ask the Hard Questions Now
We hear it often, companies scour LinkedIn looking for a recommendation for an SKO speaker. The story is often the same: they’ve set the dates, booked the venue, will do some product training, each department will present and they need a dynamic speaker to set the tone for sales. The tone of what though? What are you actually trying to achieve?
Here’s how to avoid that mistake and ensure your SKO drives results:
- Do You Know Your 2025 Goals?
Be honest: are your goals and metrics clearly defined? If not, stop everything and map them out. What are the specific numbers you need to hit—win rates, pipeline coverage, new market penetration? Without a clear target, your SKO is just noise. - Is Your Leadership Team Aligned?
Misalignment at the top is often what we hear. While the whole sales team is excited for change and a new direction – leadership often has no clue what that direction is, nor have they been involved in the nitty gritty to understand the common language. That is a recipe for disaster. Get everyone on the same page. - Who Owns the Follow-Through?
Here’s what often is the single most factor in things falling apart: someone (or a team) has to be accountable for hitting the metrics you set. You, Them, Who? It’s not enough to pump the team up with a dynamic speaker and some good music. Who’s reinforcing the behavior changes needed to change your metrics? What is the detailed plan? Without clear ownership, your SKO is just an expensive pep rally. - Does Your Speaker Actually Address Your Metrics?
Motivation is great, but it doesn’t last. As humans, we need constant hits to pump us up – especially when times get tough. A killer speaker or workshop needs to tie directly to the outcomes you’re aiming for. Are you trying to increase close rates? Shorten the sales cycle? Grow pipeline? If the speaker isn’t equipping your team with tools to hit those goals, you’ve just booked a very pricey dopamine hit.
The good news is that even if you have all of the details in place for your 2025 SKO, but have failed to address the who, what, when, where and how – after (the post reinforcement) there is still time!
A well-executed SKO, aligned with clear 2025 goals and backed by a year-long plan to drive behavior change, can set your team up for success.
