Why Your Annual Kickoff Needs an Upgrade
Every January, Sales Kickoffs (SKOs) dominate the corporate calendar. Goals get locked. Quotas revealed. Motivation soars. It’s a proven play that energizes sales teams and sets the pace for the fiscal year.
However, here’s the question: who fires up the people who actually bring your brand to life- the event pros who transform strategy into unforgettable experiences? It’s time to expand the playbook and add a new acronym to your annual strategy: EKO = Events Kickoff.
Why EKO Belongs on Your Annual Calendar
Your event team isn’t just “support.” They’re the growth engine that makes your brand tangible. Events are a core piece of every major organization’s integrated marketing strategy, and skipping them means missing momentum. An EKO sets the stage for your team to perform at its peak.
What It Delivers:
Laser-Sharp Alignment
Events deserve the same clarity Sales enjoys. An EKO lays out business priorities, target audiences, and revenue goals on one sheet, no guesswork.
Cross-Functional Firepower
When Events, Marketing, Product, and Sales align from day one, every touchpoint feels connected.
Innovation on Tap
Looking back is just as important as looking ahead. Use the EKO to unpack last year’s wins, test new concepts, and refresh your toolkit before deadlines start barking.
Hard-Earned Recognition
Event pros make the impossible look easy. An EKO gives them the spotlight, celebrates the wins, and fuels pride for the year ahead.
Events aren’t a side act anymore. Their strategy in action. Bring your producers, planners, and creatives into the spotlight at the kickoff and watch the entire revenue machine accelerate.
Why SKO Planning Starts Now
While you’re adding EKO to the calendar, let’s talk about SKO. These events typically hit in Q1, which means planning should already be in motion. Waiting until December is a guaranteed scramble.
Move Early. Win Big. Here’s Why:
Prime Venue, Prime Date
Book early and you’ll secure the stage everyone wants, not the leftover ballroom.
Budget Breathing Room
Early quotes = better rates and smarter allocations. Fewer last-minute purchase orders.
Strategic Storytelling
Extra time means weaving product launches, customer success stories, and training into a single, compelling narrative.
Talent on Tap
The best keynote speakers and breakout facilitators book fast. Early planning locks them in.
Stress-Free Execution
A well-run SKO lets your team focus on energy, culture, and performance, not AV diagrams and frantic emails.
Fast-Start SKO Checklist
Book the venue 9–12 months out
Set objectives and KPIs by the end of Q3
Draft the run-of-show with Product & Marketing in Q4
Confirm speakers and entertainment 6–8 months out
Launch comms and registration 90 days before go-time
Rehearse, refine, repeat the month prior
The Entire Way
Sales gets an SKO. Events deserve an EKO. And both thrive when planning starts early. Whether it’s igniting your event pros with their own kickoff or designing a SKO that fuels performance all year long, these are the moments that set the tone for growth.
Plan early. Recognize your teams. Launch the year the Entire way.
