Make the most out of your Sales Kickoffs

OK.  So now you all have attended your sales kickoffs/FastStarts for this year.  As a result, what are you planning to do to improve your sales game?  These remind  of a similar type event I used to attend while coaching football.  February is the month, like salespeople, that football coaches attend clinics.  Like you they are trying to improve their game.

As a coach, in the 70's I remember going to clinics where we could listen and interact with the "giants" of the game: Bear Bryant, Lou Holtz and even John Madden. You got to meet the giants in your company: the worldwide sales leaders, marketing leaders, industry experts,  key business partners and successful colleagues.  Like most of you,we would be there 3- 4 days.  And like you it was information overload!  So how can you get the most out of your recent event?

1.  Have a goal.  To me as a coach,  it was a goal, that as a result of this clinic ( Kickoff/FastStart in your case), I would find something (even just 1 thing)  that could improve my game.  You can't do everything you learn at the FastStart, so find the one thing, that if you do it, it can have the most positive effect on your sales game.  What, one thing,  did you learn, that if you practice it, it can help you improve your sales game? That can be your goal.  It is hard to focus on one thing, you heard so much but you must narrow in on what will help you the most.  In football, you heard about different offenses, defenses and  special teams.  There were individual techniques, motivation, practice plans and product demos. Really great stuff.  You too had a variety of sessions, marketing road maps, product demos, client and industry presentations, success stories from your colleagues, tools to help you, competitive update and  pricing plays.  With all of this great information,  focus on using the few key things that can have the most impact.

2. Get more information on your selected objective/goal.  This session cannot provide you everything you need to be successful.  You must follow up and  go deeper.  You may have learned about 1 solution that you believe could help some of your clients.  Follow up with the presenters, ask them where you can learn more. One of the great benefits of these events is you get to interact with your colleagues.  Find those colleagues who have experience selling these solutions and pick their brains.  In football, we would find the thing that interested us and we would contact the presenting coach and follow up with him, maybe arrange a visit to his school, look at some of his game film, even observe his team in spring practice.  Also we would find other coaches that were already running this system and pick their brains as well.

3. Make an action plan. Select your clients and prospects that would benefit from this solution.  Make plans to contact them and introduce them to the solution.  Follow up internally,  to effectively utilize your teams resources to help with an effective demo, maybe a business value/ROI assessment.

4.  Make it Happen!  Persistence and practice.  In football just having a great offensive playbook won't help you.  You must practice it, work at it relentlessly you may even lose a game, but keep at it, getting better all the time.  You too may not be successful at first.  You may even lose a sale.  But persist, continue to get better and you eventually will win