5 Amazing Ways To Kick Off Your Hybrid Sales Event

Plan A Hybrid Sales Kickoff Event To Inspire Your Salespeople 

Sales kickoff events have long been used in event planning to strategize, motivate sales teams, and generate interest in new services and products while celebrating last year’s successes. 

They are a great way to infuse fun through team-building activities while you set your team up for success and show stakeholders the strength of your sales organization. 

Traditionally, these events are held in person. But with remote work more popular than ever, offering a virtual component to your sales kickoff is crucial to ensure all sales team members feel included. 

Hybrid sales kickoffs are the perfect answer to deliver similar value to past in-person sales kickoffs while offering the flexibility your employees crave. 

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of hosting a hybrid sales kickoff and five ways to kick off your event that will inspire your team and boost attendance at your hybrid event. 

What Is A Hybrid Sales Kick-Off, And Why Should I Host One? 

A virtual sales kick-off is a blend of education and fun. Typically, sales kickoffs are held at the start of the fiscal year, meaning sales organizations just finished their most stressful quarter.

They mark a new year and celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. Sales kickoffs are meant to provide insight and tips into the next sales year while providing a fun, engaging opportunity for your sales team to connect. 

Hosting a hybrid sales kickoff is similar to hosting a hybrid conference. However, they also have hidden benefits that traditional kickoffs do not. 

• Cost-Effective: Putting content online frees up time and budget spend for more in-person features. 

• No Lost Sales Hours: No travel time means less time lost during a sales day. 

• Global Team Building: Hybrid events are inclusive and allow all members of your sales team to participate. 

• Engaging: You can design your virtual event to be fast-paced to capture the attention of your attendees and cultivate a sense of pride. 

Hosting your sales kickoff with some virtual components allows you to maximize engagement and make the event more interactive. Fun elements will ensure your hybrid kickoff makes a significant impact. 

5 Kickoff Event Ideas For Your Next Hybrid Sales Event 

As you plan your hybrid sales kickoff event, you may find yourself stumped when it comes to guaranteeing engagement for both in-person and virtual participants. 

Fortunately, your virtual event platform will have many features that will allow you to engage your virtual attendees and include them in the in-person events.

Let’s take a look at some virtual sales kickoff ideas that will increase the effectiveness of your next event. 

1. Supply Drinks And Trophies

A key element of traditional sales kickoff events is a celebration of success. This is an essential part of your program, even in a hybrid setting. 

Sure, you won’t be calling award winners up on the main stage since some will join from an alternative location. But you can still mail them certificates or trophies and acknowledge their success during the opening ceremonies of your hybrid event. 

Don’t skip the toast- send a bottle of champagne to your top-performing salespeople and invite others to bring a beverage to toast to the company’s success. This will make your sales team feel appreciated, give new members a glimpse at the company culture, and help unite the group. 

2. Plan And Host A Virtual Escape Room

Salespeople are naturally competitive, so your event attendees will jump at the chance to compete with their coworkers during your online event. 

A virtual escape room involves having teams work together to solve puzzles to “escape” and win the game before the time runs out or a competing team escapes. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for team building amongst your team of sales reps. You can even create groups and blend people from different regions to build relationships and create collaboration opportunities. 

Offer a simple prize and use your virtual event platform to facilitate the online event.  Even something as simple as a virtual certificate and bragging rights is enough to inspire your team to bring their A-game. 

3. Use Gamification To Optimize The Event 

Sales kickoff events are when the sales leadership team unveils the new market strategy for the next fiscal year. 

This means there will be many sessions and opportunities for you to set your entire sales team up for a successful year. Unfortunately, when this is done in a virtual or hybrid setting, it’s easy for event attendees to become distracted by their phones or surroundings. 

Ensure your team is always alert by using gamification to hold their interest during the session. There are several ways you can infuse gamification. 

• Social Media Hashtag Challenges 

• Trivia 

• Live-Polling 

• Mobile App Games 

The games will appeal to their sense of fun while keeping your team aligns with the sales guidelines and best practices communicated during the sales kickoff event. 

4. Put Breakout Rooms To Good Use

Breakout rooms are pretty standard for virtual special events. Your virtual event platform will undoubtedly have a breakout session feature that you can utilize during your kickoff event. They can be used for a variety of purposes. 

• Targeted Training

• Microlearning 

• Professional Networking 

• Discussions 

• Workshops

Breakout sessions allow you to divide your audience into smaller, more manageable groups, meaning your attendees will be more likely to participate than they would in a large group setting.

They also encourage interaction between members of your sales team and facilitate connections between sales reps who live across time zones. 

5. Don’t Forget The Swag Bags

Sending a virtual event gift bag makes your hybrid event feel real and gives virtual attendees something tangible to connect with your brand. 

You can send these to top-performing salespeople as a celebration of their achievements. It will make them feel appreciated and ensure employee satisfaction and retention. 

While you don’t have to send a full gift bag to your entire sales organization, you may want to consider sending small, branded swag packages as a pleasant surprise before the event. 

For example, send a can koozie with your company logo and invite your sales team to bring their favorite soda to the event. 

By sending our swag, event attendees will feel more involved and more likely to stay engaged throughout the entire sales kickoff event. 

Use A Hybrid Kickoff Event To Train And Inspire Your Sales Team 

Creating engaging and fun activities for your hybrid sales kickoff event allows your team to participate in a shared experience that they can discuss afterward and continue to build strong professional relationships. 

Whether you choose to host a one-day event or a multi-day event, making your sales kickoff meeting interesting for in-person participants and virtual attendees alike. This will help you bridge the distance between your teammates and ensure a solid sales year. 

Now you’re ready to partner with a high-quality hybrid event platform to guarantee your event’s success. 

BeaconLive is an industry-leading virtual and hybrid event platform with over 20 years of experience offering customer service, security, global scalability, and high quality.   

Contact us today to partner with BeaconLive and let us help you plan your hybrid sales kickoff event.