What makes someone a champion?

They have advocated for you in a room you were not in. Enthusiasm in meetings with you is not evidence; acting on your behalf without you is.

How do you test whether you have a champion?

Ask them to do something that costs them internal capital — arrange a meeting with the economic buyer, circulate a business case, get a security review started. Willingness and follow-through are the test.

Can you win without a champion?

On transactional deals, routinely. On complex deals with several stakeholders, rarely — someone has to carry the argument when you are not in the room.

What if your champion leaves?

Treat it as a material risk event, not an inconvenience. Champion departure is among the strongest churn and slip signals, which is why multi-threading exists.

Champion

Someone inside the buying organisation who wants the purchase to happen and will advocate for it when you are not in the room.

The distinction that matters

Three things often recorded as 'champion'

Type	Behaviour	Value in the deal
Friendly contact	Takes your calls, likes the product	Information, little influence
Coach	Tells you how the organisation works	High — but will not advocate
Champion	Argues for you when you are absent	The one that moves the deal

Source: Distinctions stated here

The evidence test

For each element of qualification, ask what you would show a sceptic. A name in a champion field is a record. An instance of that person defending the project in a meeting you were not in is evidence. Most qualification failures are the first mistaken for the second.

Developing one

Give them something that makes them look good internally — a business case in their language, a benchmark they can cite, an answer to the objection they will face.
Ask for a small act of advocacy early. Willingness is more informative than enthusiasm, and it is better to learn it in week two than week ten.
Make sure they can articulate the value without you. If they cannot repeat the argument, they cannot carry it.
Multi-thread anyway. A single champion is a single point of failure, however good.

RELATED TERMS

MEDDIC

An enterprise qualification framework covering Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain and Champion — a checklist of what must be known before a deal is credible.

Multi-Threading

Building relationships with several stakeholders in a buying account rather than relying on one contact.

Discovery Call

The conversation in which a seller establishes whether a real problem exists, who owns it, and what solving it is worth.

Economic Buyer

The person who can authorise the spend — not who recommends it, and not who signs the paperwork, but who controls the budget decision.

COMMON QUESTIONS

What makes someone a champion?: They have advocated for you in a room you were not in. Enthusiasm in meetings with you is not evidence; acting on your behalf without you is.
How do you test whether you have a champion?: Ask them to do something that costs them internal capital — arrange a meeting with the economic buyer, circulate a business case, get a security review started. Willingness and follow-through are the test.
Can you win without a champion?: On transactional deals, routinely. On complex deals with several stakeholders, rarely — someone has to carry the argument when you are not in the room.
What if your champion leaves?: Treat it as a material risk event, not an inconvenience. Champion departure is among the strongest churn and slip signals, which is why multi-threading exists.

Champion

The distinction that matters

Developing one

RELATED TERMS

COMMON QUESTIONS

FURTHER READING