So first let’s get something out of the way: pointing a camera at a speaker in a room and having people log in virtually does not make a good hybrid event.

A hybrid sales kickoff is exactly what it sounds like. – not just virtual, not just all in-person, either. There are a lot of common missteps when hosting SKO’s wherein sales enablement managers plan an in-person event that is also kind of filmed in the audio is terrible. This is bad, and just wastes people’s time. In a good hybrid event, both in-person and virtual attendees take away the same amount of value.

So that means if you’re going to have a speaker or a keynote, have people that are coming in virtually to be able to ask questions, plan a Q&A, make the back and forth clear and simple, etc. As for content, planning the agenda and understanding what kind of hybrid materials  you want to cover, it’s important to consider the three E’s: Education, Entertainment, and Engagement. These are the three takeaways attendees can have for a kickoff.

Education is easy – just follow the rules above. But for entertainment and engagement, you may want to put more effort in. For every valuable in-person session you have, you’ll also want to mirror that with a meaningful, valuable virtual experience.

If you’re doing pitch practice in person, how do you facilitate that? Is it breakout rooms in a zoom? Is it, is it something else? By keeping the virtual aspect also in mind, you’re going to nail your hybrid event and everybody in your team’s going to feel valued, whether they can make it in-person or not.