What is Champion (Sales)?
A champion is an internal advocate within the buying organization who has influence, access to the economic buyer, and a personal stake in your solution winning.
In enterprise sales, a champion is the person inside the prospect's company who sells on your behalf when you're not in the room. They're different from a coach or contact. A true champion has three qualities: power or influence, access to decision makers, and something personal to gain from your solution succeeding.
Champion vs Coach vs Contact
Not every friendly face is a champion. A contact answers your calls but can't influence the deal. A coach gives you information about the buying process but lacks organizational power. A champion actively sells internally, shares competitive intel, and coaches you on how to win. The MEDDPICC framework tests for champions specifically because deals without one close at drastically lower rates.
Testing Your Champion
The fastest way to test a champion: ask them to do something that requires effort. Can they get you a meeting with the economic buyer? Will they share the internal evaluation criteria? Do they push back on competitors in internal meetings? If the answer to all three is no, you have a coach, not a champion. Great reps test early and often rather than discovering the gap at the end of a 6-month sales cycle.
Building Champions
Champions aren't found. They're built. Help them look good internally by providing business cases, ROI models, and executive summaries they can present. Make their job easy. The best champions emerge when your solution solves a problem that's personally tied to their performance review or promotion. Find that connection and you'll find your champion.
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