What is Champion?
A Champion is an internal advocate within the prospect's organization who actively supports your deal and sells on your behalf when you're not in the room. Unlike a Coach (who provides helpful information) or a Contact (who simply responds to outreach), a Champion has influence, takes personal stake in your success, and actively works to navigate internal politics and gain buy-in from other stakeholders.
Why Champion Matters
In complex B2B sales, you can't be in every meeting where your deal is discussed. Budget reviews, technical evaluations, and executive conversations happen without you. Without a Champion fighting for your solution in those rooms, deals stall and die. Champions are force multipliers—they do selling work you literally cannot do yourself. Champions also de-risk the purchase decision for their organization. They're putting their reputation on the line by advocating for you, which signals to other stakeholders that someone with internal context believes this is the right choice. Their endorsement carries weight that no amount of external selling can match. The absence of a Champion is a critical deal risk. If you can't identify someone who genuinely wants you to win and is willing to work for that outcome, your probability of closing drops dramatically. No Champion often means no deal.
94%
of deals with strong Champions close
28%
close rate without a Champion
3x
faster sales cycles with Champions
How Champion Works
Identify potential Champions
Look for stakeholders who have pain you solve, personal benefit from your success, and organizational influence. Champions need both motivation and power.
Test their commitment
Ask them to take small actions: make introductions, share internal context, review your proposal. Champions say yes; Coaches hedge.
Enable their success
Give them the ammunition to sell internally: business cases, competitive analyses, ROI calculators, presentation materials. Make them look good.
Align on mutual goals
Understand what they personally gain from this project succeeding. Career advancement? Solving their problem? Align your success with theirs.
Maintain the relationship
Stay close to your Champion, provide updates, and warn them of potential objections. They need to stay informed to advocate effectively.
Protect and reward them
Never put your Champion in a bad position. After the deal closes, make sure they're recognized for their good decision.
Best Practices
Champion-test early: ask for actions, not just information—Champions act
Look for personal win, not just organizational value—Champions need skin in the game
Build multiple Champions when possible—single-Champion deals are fragile
Arm Champions with materials they can use in internal meetings
Debrief Champions after internal discussions—they're your eyes and ears
Never surprise your Champion—warn them before competitors or issues emerge
Celebrate Champions after the deal—their reputation matters for future projects
If your Champion leaves, you need a new Champion fast—deals don't survive Champion exits
Common Mistakes
- • Confusing a Coach with a Champion—Coaches inform; Champions act
- • Assuming every friendly contact is a Champion—test with action requests
- • Not enabling Champions with materials—they can't sell what they can't explain
- • Single-threading on one Champion who may change roles or leave
- • Putting Champions in awkward positions—don't make them look bad internally
- • Forgetting Champions after the deal closes—they remember, and so does your reputation
- • Not asking directly: 'Can I count on your support to move this forward?'
Related Terms
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