Each year, sales enablement teams invest significant time and budget into creating a sales kickoff (SKO) that inspires, aligns and equips sellers for the year ahead. Yet despite the effort, many SKOs fall short of lasting impact.

In RAIN Group’s recent research on running an impactful sales kickoff, they asked sales professionals a simple open-ended question: “What one change would most improve the next SKO?”

Their answers reveal clear priorities and a desired shift toward more interactive, focused and sustainable learning experiences. These insights point to five core drivers of SKO impact: strategic alignment, motivation and team building, interactivity, motivational speakers, and role-playing. Together, these drivers point to a new model for designing impactful SKOs.

Here’s what sales enablement leaders can take forward directly from SKO participants as they plan for 2026.

1. Make Interactivity and Engagement the Centerpiece

The number one message from participants was unmistakable: People don’t want to sit and listen; they want to participate. Reps crave opportunities to think, move and apply new skills in real time.

How to apply this in 2026 SKO planning:

• Dedicate a significant portion of your agenda to active formats such as workshops, role-plays, live deal reviews or collaborative build sessions.
• Encourage every presenter to include an activity, reflection or discussion.
• Build structured networking through speed sessions, peer sharing or team challenges.

Teams that shift from presentation-heavy events to interactive, hands-on experiences create a more energized kickoff, and one far more likely to drive lasting behavior change.

2. Prioritize Hands-On Training Tools and Practice

Sellers are hungry for practical tools and real-time practice that transfer directly to their day-to-day work. SKOs are the perfect time to get sellers started on mastering the methods, systems and tools they’ll rely on all year.

How to apply this in SKO planning:

• Distribute a digital SKO toolkit that includes playbooks, templates, talk tracks and job aids they can use right away.
• Integrate tool practice into sessions. For example, run scenarios in the same CRM or enablement platform reps use daily.
• Secure technology budgets and licenses early so everything is ready for hands-on learning and practice.

When sellers train the way they’ll perform, SKOs become launchpads for stronger execution in the field.

3. Create Clear Objectives and a “Golden Thread”

Too many SKOs feel like a collection of disconnected sessions rather than a unified experience. Sellers want to understand how everything ties back to the strategic direction.

How to apply this in SKO planning:

• Define one strategic theme, your “golden thread,” that connects every session back to company priorities and sales goals.
• Share clear SKO success goals or metrics ahead of time, so participants already know what success looks like.
• Require every presenter to start their first slide with an “aligned goal” statement showing how their content ties to the golden thread.

Clarity creates cohesion and cohesion ensures your SKO drives execution long after it ends.

4. Build in Follow-Up and Accountability

Even the best SKO can lose momentum if learning stops when the event ends. Participants want structured post-SKO follow-up that helps them sustain and apply their learning.

How to apply this in SKO planning:

• Plan a four- to eight-week follow-up series of microlearnings and manager huddles to reinforce key commitments and sustain accountability.
• Share tools, such as a manager coaching guide, that help leaders reinforce the key behaviors and tools introduced.

This post-event cadence turns SKO inspiration into measurable performance gains.

5. Don’t Overlook the Fundamentals: Budget, Coaching and Content Quality

While interactivity, tools, focus and follow-up lead the list, respondents also emphasized ongoing challenges: securing adequate resources, delivering high-quality content and deepening coaching. These may not be new themes, but they remain essential for SKO success.

How to apply this in SKO planning:

• Reserve part of the budget exclusively for facilitation and coaching, and protect it from being reallocated.
• Audit every presentation for relevance and clarity; cut anything that doesn’t tie back to your strategic goals.
• Publish a manager coaching toolkit with conversation guides and reinforcement tips aligned to the event’s themes.

When the fundamentals are strong, the rest of your SKO plan builds on a solid foundation.

What Sellers Want Most

Respondents don’t want another presentation. They want to connect, practice and apply what matters most.

To design your 2026 SKO for lasting impact, focus on these essentials:

• Design for interaction: Ensure attendees are active participants.
• Deliver tangible take-homes: Give reps tools they can use immediately.
• Map everything to a clear goal: Connect sessions to strategy.
• Plan for reinforcement: Make post-SKO follow-up part of the plan.

When you build your 2026 SKO around what sellers value most — interaction, relevance and reinforcement — you transform it from a one-time event into a lasting driver of behavior change and sales performance.