The last 30 days have seen a flurry of Sales Kickoff (SKO) events. Photos of President’s Club awards, inspirational speakers, and top-name musicians have filled my LinkedIn feed for the past few weeks.
Cisco, Zscaler, Cohesity, Palo Alto Networks, and Nutanix have all brought their global teams together in the past month to hear new messaging, recognize those who had successful years, train on new offerings, and generate overall momentum for the new fiscal year.
For me, SKOs were a great time to form relationships with the most successful individuals from different geographies. My goal was to talk with them, understand what was working/not working, and learn why they are successful. Top achievers typically deliver similar results every year. They clearly have some “secret sauce” and my plan was to learn the recipe.
Now that you’re back, what are you going to do differently? Continuing to do your job the same way post-SKO is probably not going to work. Your quota has probably increased, your comp plan has probably been tweaked so you focus on different solutions, and don’t forget about the possibility of a recession looming.
If you’re going to be successful you need to change your game.
I’d suggest focusing on these things to ensure you have a successful year:
- Write down the common themes you heard at SKO. The messaging you received should indicate the direction you need to drive in order to be successful. Make sure you know what the company expects of you.
- What gaps do you have in your knowledge base? If new solutions are coming to market, do you understand them? Do you know how they can benefit your customers? If not, find the people or training that can help you fill in the gaps. Ideally, your manager can help you (or your favorite Sales Engineer).
- What did you learn from the inspirational speaker? I’ve seen some good one’s, and I’m guessing you have too. Inspirational speakers have typically done some amazing things in their lives – why not write down how they did it and see if you can do the same?
- Put together a 90-day action plan. If you’re going to be successful in the upcoming year, you need to put a plan together for success. I had the pleasure of hearing Tom Mendoza, the former Vice Chairman of NetApp, speak at a kickoff a few years ago. His methodology is to create three personal and three professional goals for the next 90 days. You can read more about his approach here.
Maintaining momentum after your sales kickoff is critical for a successful year. Take the necessary steps to continue learning and set goals for the future.
