6 Reasons Your SKO Might Be Losing Traction (and How to Regain Momentum)

Most post-SKO failure points aren’t dramatic; they’re subtle, early, and easy to miss.

A handoff without clear ownership. A message no one knows how to apply. Managers told to coach, but not told how. The result is a slow, steady drift back to old habits. Activity resumes, but not the right kind. Priorities blur. Momentum fades quietly.

Here are six things to watch out for to spot the breakdown early, and how to recover momentum before it slips further.

1. No Clear Owner for Post-SKO Execution

Let’s start with a simple question: Who owns the execution of your SKO priorities now that the event is over?

If the answer isn’t immediate or specific, that’s a red flag.

One of the most common post SKO breakdowns happens because the event had an owner, but the follow-through didn’t. 

In other words, the message was delivered. The goals were clear. But now, weeks later, it’s unclear who's responsible for making sure it all happens.

What follows might be a well-meaning game of assumption:

• Sales leadership thinks enablement is handling it.
• Enablement thinks the managers are taking it from here.
• Managers assume they’ll be told what to do.

And reps? They’re back in the field, working leads and trying to remember what the new focus was.

When ownership is unclear, momentum evaporates. Not because people don’t care, but because no one’s job is to keep the gears turning.

To keep your SKO from stalling, assign a clear post-SKO execution owner and make sure the decision is thoughtful.

The best fit is likely someone who:

• Has visibility across teams (sales, enablement, ops)
• Can drive alignment without creating more red tape
• Has enough authority to influence both reps and leaders
• Understands the business priorities behind the SKO themes

In some orgs, this might be a sales enablement leader. In others, it might be a regional VP, a revenue operations manager, or a dedicated task force with shared accountability.

Once named, that owner should have a clear charter. Their job is to:

• Ensure SKO priorities are consistently reinforced
• Equip managers with enablement tools and messaging
• Track adoption and gather feedback from the field
• Report back to leadership on what’s sticking and what’s stalling

You may not need a complex task force. But you do need clarity. Without it, even the best SKO strategy will lose its grip.

2. You Never Defined What Success Looks Like

After the SKO, your team might remember the mission. They might even repeat the priorities you shared. But can they describe what success looks like in the next 30 days?

Too often, we stop at the strategic headline: "Drive value-based selling," or "Lead with the customer's agenda." Those are solid goals, but they’re not direction.

Without clarity on how to act, even the most motivated teams will revert to old habits. Managers don’t know what to coach. Reps don’t know what to change. And you have no way to know whether your SKO actually stuck.

Here’s a better approach:

• Define 2–3 observable behaviors that would signal your SKO message is taking root
• Get specific on the details: what would you hear on a call? What would show up in a pipeline review?
• Align those success markers to your broader business goals

You’re not telling people what to do next. You’re identifying what success will look like when they’re doing it well.

Examples might include:

• Reps leading with a problem-based POV in discovery
• Managers probing for decision criteria in forecast calls
• Use of new messaging or tools reflected in recorded calls or CRM entries

If people can’t picture what "good" looks like, they can’t move toward it. And if you can’t observe it, you can’t coach it.

3. Your Message Was Clear, But the Next Step Wasn’t

Defining success is only half the job. If you want new behaviors to take root, your team needs a simple, structured way to start practicing.

That doesn't mean launching another program. It means creating visible, repeatable motion that turns goals into habits.

Here's how to build it:

1. Anchor one behavior: Choose a single SKO takeaway to emphasize (e.g., opening with a customer POV). Avoid the trap of trying to activate everything at once. If everything is important, nothing gets prioritized.
2. Give managers a coaching cue: Provide a consistent question or observation to use in 1:1s (e.g., “What’s the problem behind the problem?”). Make it part of their normal workflow, not an add-on.
3. Assign reps a practice task: Ask reps to bring two examples where they applied the new behavior. This could be a call snippet, a CRM note, or a story shared in a huddle. The point is to create visibility and invite reflection.
4. Reinforce in team meetings: Use team huddles to surface friction points, highlight wins, and celebrate progress. Ask for examples. Keep it light, but consistent.

You’re not checking a box; you’re reinforcing a shift. And if that shift doesn’t show up in how your team talks, plans, and sells, it didn’t happen.

Stick with the behavior long enough to evaluate it. If it’s landing, build on it. If it’s not, adjust. But don’t move on just because the calendar did.

4. Managers Were Inspired, But Not Equipped

For most managers, no matter how well the message landed at the time, once the SKO ends, the calendar takes over. 

Suddenly, they’re drowning in forecast calls, escalations, internal asks and none of it connects to what was just rolled out. There’s no follow-up prompt. No built-in way to check for progress. No one asking, “How’s it going?” So the SKO message fades, not by choice, but by design.

If you want reinforcement to happen, make it as turnkey as you can:

1. Give them a relevant coaching prompt: One question to ask in every 1:1 that anchors the SKO message (e.g., “How did you apply the new POV this week?”)
2. Focus their attention: Tell them what to look for on calls, in CRM, or in rep behavior that reflects progress
3. Provide a check-in structure: A quick Slack message or shared doc to capture what’s working, what’s not, and what to surface in team huddles
4. Take admin off their plate: Provide a pre-built 5-minute call review format or plug-and-play template they can drop into their next huddle

And then follow up. Not just in enablement syncs, but in pipeline reviews, staff meetings, and QBR prep. If managers aren’t being asked how they’re reinforcing the SKO, they’ll assume it’s optional.

Reinforcement isn’t a side task;  it’s how the message sticks. Give managers the tools and backing to lead it, or don’t expect it to show up.

5. Reps Don’t See How It Connects To Their Worlds

One of the fastest ways an SKO loses traction is when reps can't see themselves in it.

The message might be clear. The strategy might be right. But if reps can’t answer, “What does this change about how I sell?” it won’t stick.

That’s not a motivation issue. It’s a translation issue.

The SKO likely introduced themes like a new ICP, a sharper value narrative, or a shift in deal qualification. But if that insight doesn’t show up in how reps build pipeline or move deals, it gets forgotten.

This is where role-specific enablement matters. Don’t just repeat the headline; operationalize it:

• For hunters: What’s different about how we open new conversations?
• For account managers: What should change in how we deepen or expand relationships?
• For SDRs: What’s the shift in messaging, targeting, or follow-up cadence?

Equip frontline managers with these distinctions. Use real deals in team huddles to make the shifts visible. Share examples, reverse-engineer wins, spotlight reps applying the change.

Adoption happens when the message stops being a deck and starts showing up in the field. Make it local. Make it obvious. Make it real.

6. No Mechanism for Feedback or Course Correction

Even the best SKO plan is just that: a plan.

Once it hits the field, things change. Reps adapt. Customers react. Managers see friction no one anticipated. And that’s where your best insight lives: what’s working, what’s stalling, and what needs to evolve.

But if there’s no feedback loop, you miss the signal. You might assume silence means alignment, when instead the team is experiencing hesitation, confusion, or quiet drift.

You need a way to capture those insights, and use them to guide what you reinforce, adjust, or double down on.

Try this:

• Run a quick manager pulse check: On a regular cadence, ask your front-line managers: “What’s landing? What’s missing?”
• Collect short rep stories: “Where did the new message help? Where did it fall flat?”
• Close the loop: Share what you heard and what’s changing as a result

When the field sees that their feedback shapes what happens next, buy-in deepens. They’re not just executing the message; they’re improving it.

That’s how you keep the SKO alive: not by sticking to the plan, but by evolving with the team that’s executing it.

Keep the SKO Message in Motion with ASLAN+ 

Most SKO plans lose steam in the execution phase, not because the message was wrong, but because it wasn’t reinforced.

ASLAN+ helps sales teams:

• Reinforce key behaviors in the moments that matter
• Practice and apply the right messaging with AI-guided coaching
• Equip managers to lead change consistently and confidently

The kickoff got you aligned. ASLAN+ helps you activate.

Explore how ASLAN+ can help your team sustain momentum and turn strategy into action.

Schedule a consultation today!