Template

Sales kickoff (half day) template

Start the year or the quarter with the whole sales team: last year honestly, this year's targets and plan, what customers are saying, and practice on real conversations.

210 minutesFor Sales leaders, sales operations and the whole sales teamAgenda room

Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

Last year: what worked and what did not30 min
- Which deals did we win that we should win more of?
This year's targets and why25 min
- How does the number break down by team and by quarter?
What is new: product, pricing, territory35 min
- What can we sell this year that we could not before?
What customers are saying30 min
- What objections did we hear most last quarter?
Practice on real conversations60 min
- How would you answer that objection, right now, in front of us?
Recognition15 min
- Who did something worth copying?
First thirty days15 min
- What is each person's first move on Monday?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Last year. Won 62% of deals where we met the finance lead; 21% where we did not.

Target. $6.4 million; 40% from existing customers.

Objection practised. “We already use a free tool.”

First thirty days. Each rep books three meetings with a finance lead.

Running it well

Make practice the biggest block. People forget slides by Monday; they remember having said the words out loud.
Use real recordings and real lost deals, with the customer's name taken out.
End with a concrete first move for each person, written down.

Ways to change it

Quarterly kickoffNinety minutes: last quarter, this quarter's number, one skill practised.

RemoteTwo shorter sessions on consecutive mornings, with practice in small breakout rooms.

When to skip it. Never skip the start of the year; skip a quarter if nothing in the product, pricing or market has changed.

Questions

What is a sales kickoff?

A meeting or event at the start of a year or quarter that aligns the sales team on targets, changes and skills.

What should a sales kickoff agenda include?

A look back, targets, what is new, what customers say, practice, recognition and first steps.

How long is a sales kickoff?

Anything from half a day for a small team to two or three days for a large company.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Pricing reviewA look at whether your prices still fit: what customers pay and choose, what competitors charge, where deals are lost on price, and whether to change anything.Customer advisory board meetingA small group of your best customers meets to hear where the product is going, tell you what they think, and help decide what matters most.Account planning sessionFor one important customer: who matters there, what they are trying to achieve this year, where you could help more, and the next three moves — written down so the whole team plays the same game.Deal reviewOne salesperson walks their manager and a few peers through a single important deal, and the group tests whether it is as real as it looks and what would move it forward.Win-loss reviewLook back at deals you recently won and lost — ideally with the buyers' own words — to learn what really decided them, and change what you sell or how you sell it.Forecast callEach salesperson or team says which deals will close this period and how sure they are, so the business has a number it can plan around.Territory planningDecide who sells to whom next year: split accounts and regions fairly, match them to people's strengths, and set what each territory should bring in.Partner introduction callA first call with a possible partner — a reseller, an agency, another product — to see whether you serve the same customers and could each help the other win.

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