How to have a better sales kick-off in a virtual world
Building an emotional connection, celebrating wins, and infusing a sense of purpose can take your next sales kick-off to new heights, especially in a virtual environment where engagement is critical.
Create a tribe of true believers who can focus on how their work really matters to customers.
There’s no open bar, no opportunity to see your old pals, and no chance for the top revenue producers to bask in the glow of their applauding (and envious) peers.
This begs the question, should you even bother with a sales meeting?
The resounding answer is YES. Your sales team needs motivation and connection now more than ever. However, if you think you are going to replicate what you did in person, in online format, forget it. Let’s be honest, those one-way information dumps weren’t great in person. On Zoom, they’re excruciating,
Traditional sales meetings often (unintentionally) send a message to the sales team: All we care about is the numbers. This is a fatal error. It leads to lack of engagement, a transactional sales force, and ultimately, lower revenue and less customer retention.
Instead, think of your sales meeting as a unique opportunity to build belief. You want your team to know why their work matters, to the company and to your customers.
Compare the difference between a traditional sales meeting, and a belief-building meeting. As you read this, ask yourself, which one sets the sales team up for a better conversation with their customers?
Your sales kick-off is the biggest opportunity you have to forge an emotional connection and build belief with your team. Please do not host an 8-hour Zoom meeting about how great your company is. Instead, point the team outward, and rally around who matters most: Customers.
A transactional sales force with little or no emotional connection to customers is not going to survive 2021.
To create a differentiated sales team, they need to be excited about the impact their work has customers. Activate your own tribe of true believers, using the talk track above. You can also:
- Tell stories about how your work made a difference to customers
- Bring in customers themselves to talk about why they need and value you
- Give your team space within the meeting to reflect on their own sense of purpose
Your sales kick-off is the biggest opportunity you have to forge an emotional connection, activate a sense of purpose, and build belief with your team. Don’t screw it up.
This article also appears on LinkedIn.
Related webinar: Increase sales by activating a sense of purpose across your organization (replay from 10.21.20)
Related experience: Selling with Noble Purpose® - an interactive audio journey with author/speaker Lisa McLeod
Free 3-step demo - apply now for complimentary evaluator access
Hold a high-energy virtual kick-off with Lisa McLeod
Lisa McLeod is available for virtual keynotes, and the Selling with Noble Purpose learning journey can take your sales team from transactional sellers to a tribe of true believers.
The Selling with Noble Purpose learning experience
Whether you’re jumpstarting a new strategy, going after a new market, or need to bring some inspiration to your SKO (sales kick-off), this high energy program lays a foundation of purpose.
In this facilitator-led live/virtual program, learners experience the mental shift from transactional to transformational by participating in a business simulation, running two organizations with very different North Stars.
Leveraging compelling data, interactive breakouts, and live time assessments, this program launches teams on a purpose-driven journey with enthusiasm.
Contact Advantage today to explore the possibilities, schedule your organization's high-energy virtual event, or bring the full Selling with Noble Purpose learning journey to your organization.
McLeod is also the founder of McLeod & More, Inc., a new Advantage Performance Group thought leader partner.
- How to have a better sales kick-off in a virtual world - December 7, 2020