state of sales kickoff meetings - brainsharkorganizations structure and plan their skos as isolated...
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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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