3 Strategies To Prepare Yourself or Your Sales Team for a Revenue-Generating 2026

Read time: 4 minutes

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It’s nearly SKO season.

And while most teams will spend two days in generic training, staring at endless slides, trading buzzwords, and loudly declaring this is the year of “big pipeline”, only a small handful will actually turn that noise into revenue.

We’ve spent the past 2 years working with and training sales teams across biotech and life sciences, from scrappy scale-ups to the big shiny established types. And one thing is crystal clear: the teams that take their SKO prep and delivery seriously are the ones who actually win.

The top performers treat SKO like pre-season training. They tighten their ICP. They sharpen their messaging. They practice their motions until it feels natural. These are the true contenders.
They walk out of SKO ready to hit Q1 like it owes them money.

This month, we’re sharing three priorities that should show up in your SKO to help your team turn SKO energy into real pipeline and real deals in 2026.

1) Sharpen Your ICP and Messaging

If you want reps smashing targets in 2026, they need to know exactly who they’re talking to and why that person should care. This isn’t just a send better emails exercise. It affects every conversation, from first touch to PO to repeat business.

Too many teams still define their ICP as scientists. That’s like saying your favourite food is food. Technically true. Completely useless.

Getting this right means being brutally clear about:

• Who you serve

• What they’re trying to get done

• What’s blocking them

• How you’re uniquely positioned to help

When we run workshops, the biggest unlock is always clarity. Once reps truly understand their buyer’s world, their workflows, their pressures, and priorities, everything tightens up. Discovery is sharper, demos land better, and proposals feel tailored instead of templated.

And most importantly, the buyer feels understood.

If your messaging is generic, you’re just more noise. If your messaging speaks to their day-to-day reality or their business problems, you’re a strategic partner!

If you and every rep on your team can not answer these questions, then you do not understand your ICP

• Who are we targeting?

• Why them?

• Why now?

• Why choose us instead of the other lot?

And then you’ll see the answers show up everywhere:

• Account segmentation

• Territory plans

• Discovery questions

• Cross-sell motions

• Executive conversations

• Renewal and expansion strategy

This is the foundation. Get your ICP and messaging dialled in, and the rest of your commercial machine gets easier, faster, and a hell of a lot more productive.

Podcast Pick:
How to talk about outcomes instead of features
https://youtu.be/CJT28wqHYVA?si=KP7I9u_QAMw2k3jk

2) Territory Plans That Drive Pipeline

If your reps leave SKO without a proper territory plan, they’re already on the back foot.
Hope is not a strategy.
Neither is “I’ll just chase whoever replies”.

Top performers treat their territory like a business. They know which accounts matter, who sits around the table, and what play they’re running. Everyone else just wings it and wonders why the pipeline looks anaemic.

Start with prioritisation

We use this simple matrix to help reps decide where to spend their time.

Top Accounts (high potential, high engagement): Keep momentum, expand and multi-thread.

Growth Potential (high potential, low engagement): Hardest work, biggest payoff. This is where new revenue hides.

Maintenance Accounts (low potential, high engagement): Nice people, limited upside. Stay efficient.

Service Accounts (low potential, low engagement): Be polite, don’t camp here.

If reps live in Maintenance or Service accounts because they’re comfortable, they’re wasting time.

What every territory plan should answer

• Which accounts have real upside? Tip: Chase opportunity, not familiarity.

• Where is engagement weak? Tip: Use signals, comments, and intros to open doors.

• Who are the key players? Tip: Always ask who else needs to be involved.

• Which strategy fits each account? Tip: One play per account, chosen on purpose.

• What’s happening this quarter? Tip: Add owners and due dates, or it won’t happen.

Territory plans are living documents. People move, funding shifts, programmes appear. Update monthly and stay ahead.

When reps know exactly where to hunt and how, everything sharpens.
Meetings improve, your pipeline grows, and forecasts stop looking like creative writing.

Podcast pick:
How to properly prioritise accounts in your territory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMz8tb3HKc&list=PLNpnig-8yQuwbM5AueF_cDRub_GQW5FB2&index=11

3) Prospecting Mastery and Multi-Channel Discipline

If your team is relying on one channel, they’re already losing.
Email alone won’t cut it.
LinkedIn alone won’t cut it.
And yes, hiding behind your inbox instead of picking up the phone definitely won’t cut it.

The teams winning right now take a multi-channel, signal-driven approach. They show up where their buyers are, more than once, with relevance. Not spam, not essays, but with messages that speak to real problems.

Prospecting isn’t about hammering people. It’s about starting sensible conversations with the right people at the right time.

The four rules

• The list is the strategy. Tip: Build from ICP first, then enrich.

• Signals tell you when to strike. Tip: Prioritise warm signals over cold guessing.

• Use every channel that makes sense: Email, LinkedIn, calls, events, referrals. Tip: If you only use the channels you’re comfortable with, you’ll lose to someone who doesn’t.

• Relevance beats volume, always: One tailored message outperforms ten vague ones. Tip: Speak to workflow, not product.
  

What good looks like

• They reach out with context, not brochures

• They reference real work the buyer is doing

• They follow up without being annoying

• They know the one next step they’re asking for

• They don’t try to close the deal in the first message
  

It’s all about micro-commitments, small steps that build familiarity and trust. That’s how deals start long before they hit the CRM.

Buyers remember the people who make their life easier, not the ones shouting into their inbox.

Podcast pick:
Cold Email Isn’t Dead, But It Needs Resuscitating https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf5VwS3joJU&list=PLNpnig-8yQuwbM5AueF_cDRub_GQW5FB2&index=14

Wrapping Up

The real question isn’t what did you do at SKO?

It’s what are you putting in place to make next year a winner?

• Are you tightening your ICP?

• Are you helping reps prioritise properly?

• Are you building prospecting habits that actually create pipeline? 

Because that’s what moves the needle, not slogans on slides.

If you want support shaping a 2026 SKO that actually drives revenue rather than applause, we can help. 

We’ve designed and delivered SKO sessions and full programmes for teams across biotech and life sciences, and we’d love to do the same for you.

If you'd like us to design your 2026 SKO, please get in touch.
👉 https://succession.bio

See you out there, and here’s to making 2026 a problem for your competitors.

1. Lead Generation: We’ll build target lists, write scientifically relevant messaging, and send messages on your behalf to book qualified sales meetings with biotech and pharma companies.

2. Training for Reps: A skill development platform for life science sales reps who want to improve their sales skills, exceed their quota, and take the next step in their career.

3. Training for Teams: If you want to upskill your team around prospecting, driving to close, key account management, AI, or any other topic, we can put together a training plan specific to your organization’s needs.

4. Strategy Call: Need more than training? Want help implementing and executing your sales strategy? In a 30-minute call, we will assess your company’s current situation and identify growth opportunities.