Champion Building
The deliberate process of identifying, developing, and empowering an internal advocate within a target account who will sell your solution to their colleagues, influence the buying decision, and navigate internal politics on your behalf.
Deals Without Champions Do Not Close
In enterprise B2B sales, you are not in the room when the real decision gets made. Your champion is. They are the one presenting your solution to their VP, defending the budget to finance, and convincing the technical team that implementation will work. Without a champion, you are relying on your demo slides to sell themselves in a committee meeting you will never attend. That does not work.
MEDDIC makes the champion a required qualification criterion for a reason. Deals without identified champions close at less than half the rate of deals with strong champions. The champion is not optional — they are the single most important factor in complex B2B sales.
How to Build a Champion
| Phase | Action | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Identify | Find the person with the pain, influence, and willingness | Right person |
| Educate | Give them deep product knowledge and competitive positioning | Arm them |
| Enable | Provide internal selling materials — ROI decks, one-pagers, objection responses | Equip them |
| Empower | Make them look good internally by providing insights their boss values | Strengthen them |
| Support | Be available when they need you — quick answers, executive access, references | Back them up |
Testing Your Champion
A champion who agrees with everything you say but never takes action is not a champion. Test them by asking for small commitments: can they set up a meeting with the economic buyer? Can they share the competitive evaluation criteria? Can they tell you who else is being considered? A real champion reciprocates by giving you access and information. If they only take and never give, reassess the relationship.
When Your Champion Leaves
It happens. People change jobs, get restructured, or move teams. This is why multi-threading is essential. If your entire deal rests on one champion and they leave, the deal collapses. The moment you identify a champion, start building relationships with other stakeholders so the deal survives personnel changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you identify a champion?
A real champion has three qualities: they have the pain your product solves (personal motivation), they have influence within the organization (political capital), and they are willing to spend that influence to advocate for you (willingness to act). Someone who loves your product but has no organizational influence is a fan, not a champion. Someone with influence but no personal stake will not fight for you when it gets hard.
What is the difference between a champion and a coach?
A coach gives you information — org charts, budget cycles, decision processes. A champion takes action — they sell internally, set up meetings with stakeholders, and advocate for your solution in rooms where you are not present. You need both, but only a champion moves the deal forward.
