GTM kickoff and revenue kickoff: when the sales kickoff grows beyond sales

When sales, marketing and customer success start the year on different plans, the customer feels it first. A GTM kickoff, sometimes called a revenue kickoff or go-to-market kickoff, puts every team on one plan.

Widening the kickoff is how a company shows up as one company, not separate teams. It is really about a shared story and separate practice.

Too often, everyone is invited into a sales agenda. Customer success and marketing sit through quota content, and the rooms are booked for a sales-only format.

But widening the room only works when each function gets its own track.

In this guide, we'll show you how a revenue kickoff differs from a sales kickoff and how to plan a GTM kickoff that works for every team in the room.

Sales kickoff, revenue kickoff, GTM kickoff: what the names mean

A GTM kickoff and a revenue kickoff are usually the same event: a sales kickoff widened beyond sales. The names overlap, and companies use them loosely.

A company kickoff is wider still, because the whole company attends. See company kickoff meeting for that format.

For the sales-only version, read what a sales kickoff is.

Who attends a GTM kickoff

Every function that shapes the customer's journey can attend, and each one needs its own reason to be there.

• Sales roles: account executives, SDRs or BDRs and sales engineers need practice and the plan for the year.
• Customer success and account management: they need the handoff from sales and the renewal and expansion plan.
• Marketing: it needs the shared story and what sales needs from campaigns.
• Partnerships: they need the partner program and a place to practice joint pitches.
• RevOps and enablement: they need to show how handoffs, data and tools work across teams.
• Leadership: it needs one stage to explain the shared plan and to recognize every function.

Should you widen your sales kickoff?

Widen the kickoff when teams share targets or when handoffs between teams cost you deals, and keep it sales-only when the agenda is mostly practice and quota.

Signs to go wider

• Sales, marketing and customer success work toward shared targets.
• Handoffs between teams are causing lost deals or unhappy customers.
• You already invite marketing or customer success to the sales kickoff.
• You want one plan for the year across teams.

Reasons to keep it sales-only

• Most of the agenda is practice on deals and messaging.
• Quota and compensation content takes a large share of the time.
• Other teams would sit through sessions that do not apply to them.

You can also run a short sales-only block inside the wider event, so practice keeps its own room.

The track builder: who is in the room

List every function, then decide what it shares, what it owns and which room it needs. Treat each cell as an example to adapt.

Count the own tracks that run at the same time, because that is your breakout count.

Add the shared sessions on top, and send both numbers to venues.

Agenda shape for a revenue kickoff

Open together, work across functions, split into tracks, then close together with shared recognition. A typical structure has five parts:

1. Shared opening and plan. One story and one plan, so every function hears the same message.
2. Cross-functional workshops. Mixed groups work on handoffs and on the customer journey.
3. Function tracks. Each team practices what it owns, in its own room.
4. Shared recognition. Awards that include roles beyond sales.
5. One evening. A dinner or reception that mixes teams.

For full agendas, see the sales kickoff agenda guide or copy the 2-day or 3-day Google Sheets template.

For how to sequence the days, read the sales kickoff planning guide.

Rooms, venue and budget for a GTM kickoff

More functions usually mean more breakouts at the same time and a wider room block. The budget lines stay the same as for a sales kickoff.

See what moves a sales kickoff budget and the sales kickoff budget calculator.

For the room block and the venue types, the national sales meeting guide has a picker.

Speakers and recognition across functions

Give every function a place on stage and in the awards. A revenue kickoff loses its point when only sales is recognized.

• Include awards for non-sales roles, such as customer success or marketing wins.
• Invite product and marketing leads to speak, with a topic that sales can use.
• Add cross-functional practice, such as mixed teams working one customer account.

See how to choose and brief speakers, sales kickoff ideas and sales team building activities.

Getting the revenue kickoff organized

If you are the RevOps, enablement or field marketing lead behind the kickoff, send a brief with the dates, the headcount by function, the region and the number of tracks.

Vantly matches that brief with a local planner, who produces a turnkey event proposal with prices.

We send it within 48 hours, at no cost. Any price still waiting on a vendor's confirmation is marked as an estimate.

From there you work with one local planner and get one all-inclusive quote, rather than a separate search for every venue and vendor.

Invoices stay clear and structured too, and they come from one partner instead of from every vendor.

Browse local planners or see sample events that a local planner tailors to a brief. Teams that stay sales-only can start from the sales kickoff overview.

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Hand the logistics of your sales kickoff to a local planner

Send your dates or quarter, rough headcount and the cities your team flies from. We match your brief with a planner who books that destination, and they send back a turnkey proposal with prices.

Get my sales kickoff proposal

Free, personalized initial proposal within 48 hours. No commitment.

A wider kickoff works when every team knows why it is in the room. Give each one a track, and share the rest.

Frequently asked questions

What is a GTM kickoff?

A GTM kickoff is a yearly or half-yearly kickoff for every go-to-market team: sales, marketing, customer success, partnerships and revenue operations. It keeps the shared plan and recognition of a sales kickoff, adds cross-functional workshops, and gives each function its own track.

What is a revenue kickoff?

A revenue kickoff, sometimes shortened to RKO, is another name for a GTM kickoff. It is a sales kickoff widened beyond sales, so every team that touches the customer starts the year on one plan, with shared sessions and its own track.

Is a revenue kick off the same as a sales kickoff?

Not exactly. A revenue kick off keeps the core of a sales kickoff, such as the shared plan, practice and recognition, and adds more functions and cross-functional workshops. The names overlap, so ask what each company means by the term before you plan.

Who should attend a revenue kickoff?

Invite sales roles, customer success and account management, marketing, partnerships, RevOps and enablement, and leadership. Give each function a reason to be there, such as its own track or a workshop on a handoff, so nobody sits through content meant for another team.

How do you plan a GTM kickoff agenda?

Open with a shared plan, then run cross-functional workshops on handoffs and the customer journey. Split into function tracks, and close with shared recognition and one evening. The sales kickoff agenda guide has full templates you can adapt to the extra tracks.

What changes in rooms and budget for a GTM kickoff?

More functions usually mean more breakouts at the same time and a wider room block. Count the own tracks that run at once to find your breakout count. The budget lines are the same as for a sales kickoff, with more headcount behind each line.