How can we track the impact of the sales kickoff on actual sales performance and deal closures?

This is a tricky one. There are tangible and intangible metrics for every SKO. And to honest, depending on the stage of your company, leadership disposition, and company objectives...you'll lean harder into tangible or intangible. Let me list out a few in each category I've seen success with in my career:

Tangible:

• Product participation - what percentage of ramped AEs sold a given product/sku/license/ etc in a given quarter.

• Pipe generation - pipe associated with a particular area of focus.

• Pipe maturation - pipe progressed in quarter with a particular area of focus.

• Session scores or NPS - basic satisfaction scores on content, done for each SKO session. Some use NPS but I prefer a simple 0-5 scoring system for simplicity.

Intangible:

• Sales leadership sentiment before, during, after

• Quality of content and audience participation

• C-suite sentiment during and after

A good SKO should have a balance of tangible and intangible. This certainly isn't a scientific answer but the SKOs I've been most proud of leave you and your stakeholders with a feeling of confidence and pride. I can feel the successful ones right now as I write this.