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Categories: Podcasts  |  Sales Kickoff  |  Sales Leadership

SKO Success: Expert Strategies from John Kaplan and John McMahon

Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan and five-time CRO John McMahon recently had an in-depth discussion on the Revenue Builders Podcast about sales kickoffs. Combining their years of experience, they hashed out what works and what doesn't when it comes to planning and leading a kickoff event as a revenue leader. Listen to the full podcast conversation here. Today, we're sharing the top leadership tactics that Kaplan and McMahon have seen make a successful SKO that drives productivity, revenue and valuation. Keep reading for four things that all the best SKOs do.

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Categories: Sales Kickoff  |  Sales Leadership  |  Sales Training Initiative

Sales Kickoffs: Removing Roadblocks and Friction

The sales kickoff (SKO) is where you the stage for what’s coming, explain what’s changed and chart the path for success in the next year. But let’s get real. Rallying the troops and rah-rah speeches are great, but they are not what helps land high-value accounts or meet the growth imperative. Moving the needle comes by taking direct action on the day-to-day selling motion. The top performers on your revenue teams appreciate nothing more than having obstacles removed from their path. Clear the runway for them to go after and successfully land high-dollar targets by making efficiency an overt theme across your SKO. In a conversation with John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders Podcast, Tenable COO Mark Thurmond refers to this leadership function as Removing the Friction. In this clip, Mark breaks down how he approaches these conversations and digs into the nuts and bolts of removing roadblocks that impede productivity:

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Categories: Company Alignment  |  Sales Kickoff  |  Sales Training Initiative

The Execution-Driven SKO: Lessons from our Conversation with Tim Caito

This week, we hosted a webinar with Force Management Senior Partner Tim Caito. Tim is our resident expert on sales negotiation and has years of experience planning and leading sales kickoffs. He joined us to share his do's and don'ts when it comes to planning a sales kickoff that drives measurable results on company strategic goals and revenue objectives. Keep reading to learn our takeaways from Tim Caito on the top three actions that will produce SKO results. If you find these valuable, check out the full webinar recording available on-demand. It was an engaging tactical conversation with some intriguing and relevant live audience questions.

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Categories: Sales Kickoff  |  Sales Leadership  |  Sales Process

Critical SKO Advice for Leaders: Lead from the Front

The sales kickoff is a galvanizing moment for a sales organization, rallying the team around their purpose, strategy and goals for the year. As a sales leader, you've likely been a part of many of these kickoff events, and you may be familiar with the quick fizzle that sometimes happens once everyone gets back to their daily responsibilities. Driving behavior change with a SKO is no small feat, but consider the stakes - increasing competition, aggressive sales objectives, and highly guarded budgets - can you afford to invest in an event that doesn't move the needle on your business objectives for the year? Ensure your sales kickoff event makes it out of the conference room (or Zoom meeting) and into the day-to-day activities to drive meaningful impact on revenue. The key to ensuring SKO success beyond the event is to understand what it takes from the sales reps, managers and yourself as the leader to drive lasting outcomes. Then, commit to making it happen.

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Categories: Front-line Managers  |  Sales Kickoff

Boost SKO Impact: Why Early Sales Manager Training Matters

We’ve been a part of making many sales kickoffs successful over the years. One early indicator of a SKO that drives the company’s core revenue objectives all year: front-line manager preparedness. Managers are a critical instrument to driving results after your sales kickoff, helping to reinforce new concepts and best practices throughout the year. Getting them onboarded early and preparing them to lead during and after your event can transform the outcome of your SKO. Here are three ways to support your front-line sales managers before the sales kickoff that will help maximize the impact of your event:

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Categories: Sales Messaging  |  Selling Technology

How to Sell Artificial Intelligence: 3 Essential Skills for Sales Teams

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a fast-growing new market sector. Recent estimates show more than 75,000 AI companies exist, with more than $107B invested in these types of companies over the last two years.

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