Aligning with your organization around value and gaining adoption to your value-selling program is crucial, as Ecosystems has found that value selling will lead to:
- 3x increase in deal sizes
- 61% increase in win rates
- 30% growth in expansion
However, gaining the adoption of value selling for your front-line sales teams can be challenging. Making value collaboration a key part of your annual revenue kickoff (RKO) or sales kickoff (SKO) is essential to gaining adoption and buy-in around value selling.
The Autodesk value selling team has developed an effective approach to achieving this. Josh Best, Principal Value Consultant at Autodesk, joined a Customer Value Community Sandbox session to share his insights into building value collaboration at sales kickoffs. Below are the top insights from this community discussion.
1. Start Planning Early
To successfully integrate value selling into your sales kickoff, it’s essential to involve the value team early in the planning process. According to insights from our community, planning should begin at least six months in advance. Early engagement with the sales team is key—approach them with a clear pitch outlining why a value selling session is crucial for the SKO and how it can enhance outcomes. Be prepared with a detailed outline of your proposed session to showcase its impact on the overall agenda. Community members emphasize that starting early significantly increases the likelihood of gaining buy-in and securing a spot in the SKO agenda.
By aligning on the importance of value selling from the outset, you can ensure a successful collaboration that resonates throughout the sales kickoff event.
2. Create Collaborative Sessions
When planning how the value team should contribute to the revenue kickoff, focus on collaboration to maximize the benefits of being in person. With many organizations operating in hybrid or remote environments, leveraging in-person opportunities at the SKO can be pivotal for driving the adoption of value selling and fostering value collaboration.
Consider incorporating interactive elements into your sessions to engage front-line sellers effectively. Workshops, whiteboard exercises, live Q&A sessions, and team activities are great ways to encourage participation and collaboration. Instead of relying solely on presentations, make your sessions interactive to deepen engagement and help sellers connect with the principles of value selling in a hands-on, impactful way.
Utilizing in-person time strategically at the SKO can enhance your team's understanding of value selling and its role in driving sales success.
3. Appeal to Their Strengths
To boost engagement and motivation during sales kickoff sessions, tap into the competitive nature of your sales team. Introducing engaging themes and friendly competitions as part of the SKO can energize participants and drive interest in exercises focused on value selling and value collaboration
Competitions not only make the sessions more enjoyable but also encourage sellers to actively participate, fostering a deeper understanding of value selling concepts. This approach builds confidence and helps sellers incorporate these practices into their sales processes more effectively. By aligning your sessions with what excites and motivates your front-line teams, you can enhance adoption and make the sales kickoff a memorable and impactful event.
4. Know Your Audience
When designing your sessions for revenue kickoff, be sure you are tailoring the language to your audience. Try not to introduce a bunch of new terms and instead stick to what is familiar to them. This will make sellers and customer success managers more receptive, as they will feel familiar with what they already know and succeed at instead of introducing a whole new way of selling, which they may feel is time-consuming and stressful.
5. Demonstrate Success Stories
To gain buy-in around value selling, make sure you are coming prepared with success stories for your sales kickoff. Community members have found success in having end customers either submit a recorded video of a success story they can share at the SKO or invite an end customer to join live to share their story and answer questions. Having real-world examples of the success of value selling will give sellers tangible evidence as to why adopting this new way of selling could be beneficial for them. Additionally, make sure your stories show the impact on the individual rep or team and how the approach helped them hit a quota for the year.
To learn more about value selling and strategies for getting involved at your sales kick-offs, reach out to the Ecosystems team.
