What is a Sales Champion?
A sales champion is an internal advocate within your prospect's organization who actively supports your solution and helps drive the deal forward from the inside. They're your ally on the inside, championing your cause when you're not in the room.
Champions are different from coaches. A coach provides information and guidance. A champion takes action - advocating for your solution, navigating internal politics, and rallying stakeholders.
In complex enterprise deals, having a strong champion is often the difference between winning and losing.
Why Champions Matter
Enterprise sales involves multiple stakeholders, lengthy approval processes, and competing priorities. Without a champion:
The deck is stacked against you:
- No one coordinates meetings with key decision makers
- Competitors' champions drown out your voice
- Internal obstacles derail the process unnoticed
- Your deal lacks urgency and prioritization
- You have insider visibility into the evaluation process
- Someone advocates for your solution in meetings you don't attend
- Objections are addressed before they reach you
- The deal moves through internal hurdles faster
Identifying Your Champion
Champion Characteristics:
- Personal stake: They benefit professionally if your solution succeeds
- Influence: Others listen to them and respect their opinion
- Understanding: They grasp both your solution and their organization's needs
- Action-oriented: They do more than provide info - they advocate
- Access: They can get you meetings with decision makers
- Nice but powerless (no influence)
- Information-only source (won't advocate)
- Personal connection only (no professional stake)
- Disrespected internally (low credibility)
- About to leave the company
Developing Your Champion
1. Earn Trust Through Value
- Solve a specific problem for them early
- Demonstrate genuine understanding of their challenges
- Be responsive and reliable
- Share insights that make them look smart internally
2. Equip Them for Success
- Provide materials they can share internally
- Help them build the business case
- Give them talking points for stakeholder meetings
- Make it easy for them to look good
3. Understand Their Motivation
- What's their personal win? (promotion, visibility, problem solved)
- What keeps them up at night?
- How does your success align with their goals?
4. Ask for Specific Actions
- "Can you get the economic buyer in the next meeting?"
- "Would you be comfortable presenting this option to your team?"
- "What concerns do you hear from others? How can we address them?"
Champion Types
The Power Champion:
- High influence + high authority
- Can approve or strongly influence the decision
- Rare but incredibly valuable
- Respected expert in the organization
- Influences technical evaluation and requirements
- Critical when technical fit is a key factor
- C-level or senior leader sponsor
- Provides air cover and accelerates approval
- Often cultivated by your executive sponsor
Common Mistakes
- Assuming your contact is a champion - Many reps mistake "nice" for "committed"
- Over-reliance on a single weak champion - One low-power champion isn't enough
- Not arming your champion - They need tools and talking points to advocate effectively
- Ignoring champion burnout - Asking too much without giving back
- Missing stakeholder changes - Your champion leaves or gets reorg'd
Key Takeaways
- A champion is an internal advocate who actively supports and promotes your solution
- Champions provide visibility, advocacy, and acceleration in enterprise deals
- Look for influence, personal stake, and action-oriented behavior
- Equip champions with materials and make them look good internally
- Always have a backup champion identified - single points of failure are risky
- A strong champion is one of the strongest predictors of deal success
Related Terms
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)
Lead accepted by sales for qualification. Bridge between MQL and SQL.
Sales Cadence
Structured sequence of touchpoints over time.
Sales Cycle
Time from first contact to closed deal. Varies by deal size.
SDR (Sales Development Representative)
Role focused on qualifying leads and booking meetings for AEs.
