CEOs and Revenue Leaders are looking for new ways to organize engaging and impactful “kickoffs” when they return after the holiday.

Can virtual functional sales kickoffs be as effective as in-person experiences? How to get the most out of your virtual sales kickoff?  

Gartner shares the following considerations for virtual kickoff meetings:

(1) Divide the kickoff into multiple mini-sessions
Sessions take place over several consecutive days. This minimizes “presenter fatigue” and respects the schedule of geographically-dispersed teams.

(2) Concise messages and reinforcement
Virtual meetings require more concise messaging. To drive messages home, include exercises in which the audience applies and practices learnings.

(3) Programming for inspiration and morale building
One of the main goals of any kickoff is to celebrate success and motivate for the coming year. Include special sessions dedicated to this.

We loved an idea shared by Salesforce in their Virtual Sales Kickoff Playbook – organize kickoff days by Theme. For example, you have a day dedicated to Celebration and a day dedicated to Inspiration.

Teamraderie customers have built on the idea of “Themes” and added the following virtual Teamraderie Experiences to their 2021 kickoffs:

Theme: Inspiration
Summer Sanders (a four-time Olympic medal winner in swimming) joins your team live and leads the team through “What If We All Wore Speedos at Work”. Summer leads the discussion on the importance of vulnerability for team performance. (For example, in sales, “vulnerability” is about asking for help and raising the flag when you have a pipeline challenge or deals unlikely to close).

Theme: Curiosity
Your team is sent two bottles of famed Chateau Montelena wine. You are joined by a wine educator and historian who tells the story of a man who purchased a crumbling 150 acre estate in Napa Valley — and four years later had the winery producing the #1 wine in the world. In this virtual team experience, learn the elements of a ‘culture of curiosity’ and discuss how to make them a part of your team – while tasting two of the world’s most famous wines.

Theme: Appreciation
Kickoffs present a unique opportunity to tell your colleagues (including members of adjacent teams) what you value about them and encourage other team members to practice appreciation. Revenue leaders have found Teamraderie’s “Wine Tasting in the Spirit of Appreciation” creates a well-structured way for team members to express “appreciation” towards each other.

Theme: Authenticity
How do rap artists identify and focus on core feelings – and turn them into relatable and rhythmic stories? What could your team learn about authentic communication with the customers and colleagues by writing your own rap poems? Multi-platinum artist and National Poetry Champion IN-Q joins you live to perform and lead the team through writing their own poems of self-discovery. 

Theme: Empathy
DJ 3LAU (known for hit original tracks as well as remixes for Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Ariana Grande) joins your team live and leads an interactive conversation about music, creativity and how to form effective teams with eclectic people. DJ 3LAU leads the discussion on the importance of empathy for great outcomes. (For example, in sales, “empathy” is about establishing a real understanding of customers’ context and objectives to form the right solution).

Contact kickoff@teamraderie.com for special rates on your large group (20+ team members) kickoff.