What is a Champion?
A champion is an internal advocate within your prospect's organization who actively promotes your solution, helps navigate internal politics, and influences the buying decision in your favor.
Champions are critical for complex B2B sales where multiple stakeholders are involved. Without an internal champion, deals often stall due to inertia, competing priorities, or lack of consensus.
Champion Characteristics:
- Strong influence within the organization
- Personally benefits from your solution
- Understands both the technical and business value
- Willing to invest time in your sales process
- Can navigate internal politics and stakeholders
Why Champions Matter
Deal Velocity
Deals with champions close 2-3x faster.
With a champion:
- Internal advocacy keeps deals moving
- Stakeholder alignment happens faster
- Competitors get disadvantaged
- Urgency increases through internal championing
Win Rates
Championed deals win significantly more often.
Champion Impact:
- With champion: 40-60% win rate
- Without champion: 10-20% win rate
Enterprise Deals
Champions are essential for enterprise sales.
Complex enterprise deals require:
- Multiple stakeholder alignment
- Technical validation
- Business case development
- Internal selling
Champion vs. Other Stakeholders
| Stakeholder | Role | Your Focus |
|---|---|---|
| **Champion** | Internal advocate | Empower, inform, support |
| **Economic Buyer** | Controls budget | Show ROI, business case |
| **Technical Buyer** | Evaluates fit | Demonstrate capabilities |
| **User Buyer** | Will use solution | Show usability, outcomes |
| **Blocker** | Opposes project | Address concerns or isolate |
Finding Champions
Signals of Champion Potential
Champion Indicators:
- Asks deep questions about your solution
- Shares internal context and politics
- Offers to introduce you to other stakeholders
- Responds positively between contacts
- Shows personal investment in outcomes
Champion Discovery Questions
Ask During Discovery:
- "Who else needs to be involved in this decision?"
- "Who else is affected by this problem?"
- "Who would be the primary user of this solution?"
- "Who's been through a process like this before?"
Champion Identification
Look for These Signs:
- They invite you to meet their boss or team
- They share internal documents or context
- They ask about implementation details
- They introduce you to other stakeholders
- They respond proactively between your touches
Developing Champions
Earn Trust
Championship must be earned, not bought.
Trust-Building Actions:
- Demonstrate expertise and knowledge
- Follow through on every commitment
- Provide value between meetings (insights, resources)
- Be responsive and available
- Show you understand their business
Empower with Tools
Give champions what they need to advocate effectively.
Champion Enablement:
- Slide decks for internal presentations
- Business case templates
- ROI calculators
- Case studies and social proof
- Competitive comparison sheets
- Answers to common objections
Strategic Guidance
Help champions navigate their organization.
Coaching Topics:
- Which stakeholders to approach first
- How to frame the business case
- Common objections and how to address
- Timeline and implementation considerations
- How to get consensus on decisions
Protect Your Champion
Don't let your champion burn out.
Champion Protection:
- Do the heavy lifting for them
- Make them look good to their team
- Don't ask them to sell on your behalf
- Provide air cover when they take risks
- Thank and recognize their contributions publicly
Champion Challenges
Loss of Champion
Champions leave, change roles, or lose influence.
Mitigation:
- Build relationships with multiple stakeholders
- Document champion relationships in CRM
- Develop backup champions
- Maintain engagement even with main champion
Champion Competence
Sometimes champions lack skills or influence.
Assessment:
- Do they have actual influence?
- Are they respected by peers?
- Do they understand the politics?
- Can they articulate the business case?
Hidden Blockers
Internal opposition can defeat even strong champions.
Detection:
- Ask "What could derail this project?"
- Identify who opposes and why
- Understand political dynamics
- Help champion address opposition
Champion Anti-Patterns
The "Job Preservation" Champion
They want your solution only to justify their job.
Signs:
- Blocks implementation or change
- Resists outside involvement
- Focuses on maintaining status quo
The "Credit Seeker"
They champion primarily for personal recognition.
Signs:
- Demands all credit for your solution
- Excludes others from conversations
- Focuses on visibility over outcomes
The "Over-Committer"
They champion initiatives they can't deliver.
Signs:
- Over-promises on timelines
- Underestimates change required
- Loses credibility when reality hits
Key Takeaways
- Champion = internal advocate promoting your solution within prospect's organization
- Champions increase win rates 2-3x and accelerate deal velocity significantly
- Find champions through discovery: who references others, asks deep questions, responds proactively
- Develop champions by: earning trust, empowering with tools, providing strategic guidance
- Protect your champion: do heavy lifting, make them look good, prevent burnout
- Build multiple stakeholder relationships in case champion leaves or loses influence
- Not all "champions" have actual influence—assess competence and political skills
- Enterprise deals rarely close without an effective champion
Sources:
Related Terms
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Total sales and marketing spend divided by new customers. Lower is better.
Cadence
Sequence and timing of touchpoints in outreach campaign.
Call-to-Action (CTA)
Specific action you want prospect to take. Clear CTA improves conversion.
CAN-SPAM Act
US law regulating commercial email. Requires opt-out mechanism and sender identification.
