The revenue kickoff (RKO) is becoming the new sales kickoff (SKO), but what exactly is an RKO? How do you know who to invite? What does an RKO entail? At Mereo we are working diligently to stay on top of all things RKO to help you create a successful program. The good news is that RKOs are similar to SKOs in terms of planning, but RKOs open more doors for opportunities to serve your buyers and your organization alike.
What Is the Difference?
At Mereo, we are seeing a shift from “sales” to “revenue” (i.e., sales enablement is now being referred to as revenue enablement). This change supports our stance on building sustainable revenue performance — especially in your RKO. Furthermore, choosing to make the switch from SKOs to RKOs should feel natural given the shift we are seeing in our market. An example of this is CEOs redirecting their focus to revenue and operational efforts.
The differences between an SKO and an RKO are minimal, but these small changes can make a huge difference. The two main differences are your program’s audience and your program’s goals. Let us first look at who will be attending your RKO.
Who Should be Invited?
As I mentioned before, your RKO’s audience will look similar to your SKO’s audience, but with a few extra members. In a traditional SKO, you would typically invite your sales teams and other teams who support them. In your RKO though, client success / client experience teams are introduced. With this addition, there are a multitude of benefits from including these teams in your program since client success / client experience teams focus on your clients’ post purchase experience which is the primary forum for identifying up-sells and cross-sells to your clients. Additionally, the client success / client experience teams often have primary responsibility for renewals (we unpack that a bit more below). Including these teams promotes sustainable revenue performance which results in repeat buyers.
You should still invite the usual teams (sales, marketing, etc.) as everyone is part of your organization’s revenue engine and provides immense value to your everyday operations.
What Should be Discussed?
SKOs focus heavily on sales and sales only. Over the years this framework has promoted the idea that your organization’s job is to sell buyers a product or service and that is all. The RKO still focuses on sales, but also adds the idea of sustainable revenue performance by homing in on your organization’s full revenue lifecycle. How does this support sustainable revenue performance? By ensuring that your organization and its products are serving your buyers. For example, SAAS companies used to focus on selling their license and moving on. Now, these companies work to sell the “right thing” in order to serve their clients and create return clients – AKA “renewals”, which are the kingpin to sustainable revenue performance and optimal market valuations. In addition to your other goals, consider adding sustainable revenue performance to your agenda.
Win Your RKO by Planning a Successful Program
If you are looking for additional support while you plan your RKO, we created a playbook to do just that! Get your free copy of the RKO planning playbook and create a victorious program.