SaaS Growth

That someone is your champion. The person who believes in your solution, has organizational credibility, and sells on your behalf when you're not in the room.

Without a champion:

You don't know what's really happening internally
You can't influence stakeholders you don't have access to
You lose to vendors with better internal advocates
Deals stall because nobody's driving them forward
Objections surface late because you're not in the conversation

With a champion:

You get insider intelligence on decision processes and politics
They sell to stakeholders you can't reach
They navigate internal obstacles
They keep deals moving when you're not engaged
They fight for you in budget and procurement discussions

The research backs this up: deals with engaged champions close at 60-80% win rates. Deals without champions? 15-25%.

Championship isn't luck. It's strategy. You can systematically identify potential champions, develop them into effective advocates, and leverage their influence to close deals.

Let's break down how.

The Champion Concept: Why Champions Are Critical in SaaS Sales

A champion is an internal advocate who actively sells your solution to their organization.

Not just:

Someone who likes your product
A user who's excited
A contact who responds to emails

But someone who:

Believes the solution solves a critical problem
Has organizational credibility and influence
Will invest their political capital advocating for you
Can navigate their company's buying process
Has personal incentive to make this happen

Champions are the bridge between you (external vendor) and the buying committee (internal decision makers).

Why Champions Matter

You can't be in every meeting. In enterprise sales, decisions happen in rooms you'll never enter. Budget discussions, stakeholder alignment meetings, executive reviews. Your champion is in those rooms representing your solution.

You don't understand internal politics. Every organization has politics, power dynamics, and unwritten rules. Champions know who really makes decisions, who has influence, and how to navigate internal resistance.

You can't sell to everyone. Enterprise deals involve 8-12 stakeholders. You can't build relationships with all of them. Champions have existing relationships and can advocate across the organization.

Deals need internal momentum. Without someone internally driving the process, deals stall. Champions create urgency, coordinate stakeholders, and push things forward.

Champions provide intelligence. They tell you what's really happening. Who's supportive, who's blocking, what objections exist, what competitors are saying. You can't strategize without this intel.

What Makes a Good Champion

Not everyone can be an effective champion. Look for these characteristics.

Credibility: Respected within the organization. When they advocate, people listen.

Influence: Can sway decisions. Not necessarily senior, but trusted and persuasive.

Motivation: Has personal or professional reasons to want this to succeed. Career advancement, solving their pain point, making their team more effective.

Access: Can reach decision makers and stakeholders. If they can't get to the economic buyer, they're limited.

Understanding: Deeply understands the problem and your solution. Can articulate value without you.

Commitment: Willing to invest time and political capital. Champions who are passively supportive but won't actually advocate don't move deals.

The ideal champion is a mid-to-senior leader (director, senior manager) with cross-functional relationships, organizational tenure, and genuine belief that your solution solves their problem.

Identifying Champions: Finding the Right Internal Advocate

Champions aren't assigned. You discover and develop them.

Characteristics of Effective Champions

Professional motivation:

Owns the problem your solution solves
Measured on outcomes your product improves
Career advancement tied to solving this issue
Recognition opportunity (successful project leadership)

Organizational characteristics:

2+ years tenure (knows how things work)
Cross-functional relationships (can influence beyond their team)
Track record of driving change
Trusted by leadership

Personal traits:

Proactive and action-oriented
Good communicator (can explain complex ideas)
Politically savvy (knows how to navigate organization)
Willing to challenge status quo

Engagement signals:

Asks detailed questions about implementation
Introduces you to other stakeholders
Responds quickly and thoroughly
Does homework between meetings
Advocates in meetings you're not in

Motivation Assessment

Why would someone champion your solution?

Problem-solving motivation: Their team is suffering from the problem you solve. They need this to work.

Career motivation: Successful implementation makes them look good. Promotion, recognition, expanded responsibility.

Team motivation: They care about their team's effectiveness and satisfaction. This helps their people.

Competitive motivation: They want their department/company to be better than competitors or peers.

Mission motivation: They genuinely believe in the vision you're selling. They want the organizational change.

Ask directly: "What would successful implementation of this mean for you and your team?" "How does this align with your goals this year?" "What's the upside for you personally if this works?"

Their answers reveal whether they have skin in the game.

Influence and Credibility

Can they actually influence the decision?

Influence indicators:

Tenure: Long-tenured employees have more credibility
Past successes: History of driving successful initiatives
Relationships: Know and respected by decision makers
Domain expertise: Subject matter expert in relevant area
Title/seniority: Directors+ typically have more influence

How to assess:

"Walk me through how decisions like this typically get made." "Who would you need to get on board?" "When you've advocated for tools in the past, how did that go?"

If they say "I don't really have much say in these decisions," they're not your champion. They might be a user or supporter, but not someone who'll drive the deal.

Access to Decision-Makers

Can they reach the people who matter?

Access indicators:

Direct reporting relationship to economic buyer
Regular meetings with executive team
Cross-functional project experience
Invited to strategic planning discussions

Questions to ask:

"Do you work directly with [economic buyer]?" "How often do you interact with [decision maker]?" "Who would you bring into this discussion?"

If your champion can't get to the economic buyer, you have two options:

Use them to get you access
Find a different champion with better access

Personal Win Alignment

What's in it for them?

Personal win categories:

Career advancement: This project shows leadership capability, drives promotion consideration.

Problem resolution: The pain they're experiencing goes away, making their life easier.

Team performance: Their team becomes more effective, reflecting well on them.

Budget justification: They can reallocate budget from inefficient tools to this better solution.

Recognition: Successful implementation gets noticed by leadership.

Skill development: Learning new capabilities, expanding expertise.

The stronger their personal motivation, the harder they'll fight for the deal.

Champion Development: Building Effective Advocates

Finding a potential champion is step one. Developing them into an effective advocate is the work.

Building Trust and Rapport

Champions advocate for vendors they trust.

Trust-building actions:

Be honest about limitations: "Here's what we don't do well. Here's the workaround."

Admit when you don't know: "Great question. I don't know but I'll find out."

Deliver on commitments: If you say you'll send something, send it on time.

Protect their reputation: Don't make them look bad in front of their stakeholders.

Respect their time: Be prepared, efficient, and valuable in every interaction.

Provide value beyond your product: Share industry insights, introduce them to peers, offer helpful resources.

Trust isn't built in one meeting. It's earned through consistent reliability.

Providing Value and Support

Champions need to see value for themselves, not just for the organization.

Value you can provide:

Career support: Recommend them for speaking opportunities, introduce them to your network, offer to be a reference for their next role.

Professional development: Share industry reports, invite them to exclusive events, provide early access to product roadmap.

Problem-solving help: Help them solve adjacent problems, even if not with your product.

Internal credibility: Make them look smart in front of their stakeholders through sharp presentations and valuable insights.

Time savings: Make their life easier through responsiveness, thorough documentation, and efficient processes.

When you make your champion successful, they reciprocate by championing you.

Equipping with Resources

Champions need materials to sell internally when you're not there.

Champion enablement toolkit:

Business case template: Pre-filled with ROI calculations and data from POC or similar customers. They customize and present internally.

Executive presentation: Slide deck for executive stakeholder meetings. Outcome-focused, not product-focused.

Comparison analysis: How you stack up vs. competitors or status quo. Honest assessment of tradeoffs.

Customer references: Contact info for 2-3 similar customers champion can talk to directly.

FAQ document: Answers to common objections and questions (security, integration, pricing, implementation).

Implementation plan: What the rollout would actually look like (timeline, resources, risks).

ROI calculator: Spreadsheet they can customize with their numbers to show payback and ongoing value.

Give champions tools to advocate effectively. Don't make them build business cases from scratch.

Coaching for Internal Selling

Champions aren't professional sellers. They need coaching.

Coaching areas:

Stakeholder mapping: Help them identify who needs to be involved and what each person cares about.

Objection handling: Role-play common objections and practice responses.

Business case presentation: Review their presentation, tighten messaging, anticipate questions.

Political navigation: Discuss organizational dynamics and how to navigate resistance.

Timeline management: Coach on creating urgency and keeping momentum.

Meeting strategy: Before key meetings, discuss goals, attendees, and how to position.

Example coaching conversation:

You: "You mentioned [CFO] is concerned about budget. How are you planning to address that?"

Champion: "I'll show the ROI calculation."

You: "Good start. What specifically resonates with [CFO]? Does she care more about cost savings or revenue impact?"

Champion: "Probably cost savings."

You: "Great. Focus there. Walk her through the time savings first, then show how that translates to cost avoidance. Also mention we can do annual payment to spread the cost."

You're not doing their job, but you're helping them be more effective.

Creating Joint Success Plans

Align on what success looks like and how to get there.

Joint success plan components:

Shared goals: What are we trying to achieve? (theirs: solve problem, yours: close deal)

Timeline: Key milestones and deadlines

Stakeholders: Who needs to be engaged, by when

Success criteria: How we'll know POC/pilot succeeded

Risks: What could go wrong, mitigation plans

Roles: What you'll do, what they'll do

Check-ins: When and how often we sync

Joint success plans create partnership, not vendor-customer dynamic. You're collaborating toward mutual success.

Champion Enablement: Arming Your Advocate

Champions can only sell as well as you equip them.

Business Case Templates

Give them the structure to justify the investment.

Business case structure:

Executive Summary (1 page):

Problem statement
Recommended solution
Investment required
Expected ROI and payback
Implementation timeline
Risks and mitigation

Detailed Analysis (3-5 pages):

Current state assessment
Impact quantification
Solution evaluation
ROI calculations
Implementation plan
Success metrics

Appendix:

Vendor evaluation criteria
Customer references
Technical requirements
Contract summary

Pre-fill as much as possible. Champion customizes with their data and organizational context.

ROI Calculators

Spreadsheet tools that quantify value in their numbers.

ROI calculator inputs:

Team size
Average hourly rate
Current time spent on workflows
Current tool costs
Implementation time

Calculated outputs:

Annual time savings (hours and dollars)
Tool cost consolidation savings
Productivity gains
Total annual benefit
Payback period
3-year ROI

Make it simple to use and conservative in assumptions. You want credible numbers, not inflated projections.

Presentation Materials

Slides champions can present to stakeholders.

Executive deck (10-15 slides):

Problem we're solving
Why now (urgency)
Recommended solution
How it works (simple workflow)
Customer proof points
ROI and business case
Implementation approach
Next steps and timeline

Technical deck (for IT stakeholders):

Architecture overview
Integration approach
Security and compliance
Data management
Performance and scalability
Support model

Customize these for their organization. Replace generic content with their use cases and data.

Proof Points and References

Social proof champions can cite.

Reference package:

3-5 customer case studies (similar industry/size)
Customer quotes and testimonials
Reference call contacts (customers willing to speak)
Video testimonials (if available)
Analyst reports mentioning you
Industry awards or recognition

Make it easy for champions to say "Companies like ours have seen [results]."

Objection Handling Guides

Arm champions to address concerns.

Common objections and responses:

"Too expensive" Response: "Here's the ROI calculation showing 6-month payback. What we're really comparing is cost of solution vs cost of problem."

"Current tool works fine" Response: "Define 'fine.' We're spending 10 hours/week on workarounds. That's $200K/year in lost productivity."

"Not the right time" Response: "Every quarter we wait costs us [quantified loss]. When is the right time?"

"Too complex to implement" Response: "Implementation is 4-6 weeks with [vendor's] dedicated support. Similar teams were live in 30 days."

"What about [competitor]?" Response: "We evaluated them. Here's the comparison. For our use case, [your solution] is better because [specific reasons]."

Give champions confidence to handle resistance.

Multi-Threading Strategy: Building Champion Redundancy

Never rely on a single champion. Organizations change.

Why Multiple Champions Matter

Champion risk mitigation:

Champions leave companies
Champions lose influence (reorganizations, demotions)
Champions get pulled into other priorities
Champions face internal resistance and need allies

Cross-functional buy-in:

IT champion sells technical fit
Business champion sells ROI and outcomes
Executive champion provides sponsorship and budget
User champion proves adoption potential

Perspective diversity:

Different champions influence different stakeholders
Multiple advocates make it harder for blockers to kill deal

Momentum sustainability:

If one champion gets busy, others keep deal moving
Multiple engagement points = more visibility = less likely to stall

The goal: 2-4 champions across different functions and levels.

Mapping the Organization

Understand organizational structure to identify champion opportunities.

Mapping exercise:

Draw the org chart (as much as you know)
Identify stakeholders (decision makers, influencers, users)
Map champion candidates (who could advocate?)
Note relationships (who knows/trusts who?)
Identify gaps (which stakeholders have no champion relationship?)

Questions to ask your primary champion:

"Who else would benefit from seeing this?" "Which departments would need to be involved in rollout?" "Who typically weighs in on decisions like this?" "Are there other teams facing similar challenges?"

Use your champion to expand your network within the organization.

Building Redundancy

Develop multiple champions systematically.

Multi-threading approach:

Primary champion: Your main advocate, typically business owner or project lead.

Executive champion: Senior stakeholder (VP+) who provides air cover and budget approval.

Technical champion: IT or technical lead who validates architecture and security.

User champion: End user who can speak to day-to-day value and adoption feasibility.

Cross-functional champion: Leader from adjacent department who could expand usage.

Each champion sells different aspects to different audiences.

Executive Sponsorship

Executive sponsors are special champions.

Why executive sponsors matter:

Ultimate budget authority
Can override objections from below
Provide urgency and priority
Sign off on contracts
Drive organizational change

How to develop executive sponsors:

Get introduced through your primary champion
Run executive briefing (30 min, outcome-focused)
Share strategic value, not product details
Connect with your executive sponsor (peer relationship)
Keep them informed without over-communicating

Don't: Try to go directly to executives early. It backfires. Use champions to get warm intro.

Cross-Functional Alignment

Champions in multiple departments create unstoppable momentum.

Cross-functional champion strategy:

Scenario: You're selling work management tool. Primary champion is in Marketing.

Expansion champions:

Product team: Show how this improves product launches
Sales operations: Demonstrate campaign tracking benefits
Services team: Prove project delivery improvements
IT: Engage on integration and scalability

Each champion sells their department on their use case. Collectively, they build case for enterprise-wide rollout.

This is how $50K departmental deals become $500K company-wide deployments.

Champion Engagement Tactics: Keeping Advocates Engaged

Champions are busy. You need to stay valuable without being needy.

Regular Check-Ins

Maintain relationship through consistent touchpoints.

Check-in cadence:

Active deal: Weekly 15-min calls
Evaluation phase: Bi-weekly 30-min calls
Post-purchase: Monthly check-ins

Check-in agenda:

Progress update (where things stand)
Blockers or challenges (what's slowing us down)
Upcoming milestones (what's next)
How you can help (what champion needs)

Keep it short, valuable, action-oriented.

Executive Briefing Centers

For high-value champions, offer exclusive experiences.

Executive briefing center visit:

Tour your office
Meet product and leadership teams
Roadmap preview
Strategy discussion
Networking with other customers

This builds relationship depth and gives champions confidence in your company's stability and vision.

Advisory Boards

Invite champions to customer advisory boards.

Advisory board benefits:

Early access to roadmap
Influence on product direction
Networking with peer companies
Recognition and status
Closer relationship with your team

Structure:

Quarterly meetings (virtual or in-person)
10-20 customer companies
Product roadmap discussions
Use case sharing
Best practice exchange

Advisory boards turn champions into long-term advocates who stay engaged post-sale.

Early Access Programs

Give champions exclusive access.

Early access opportunities:

Beta features before general release
Private product previews
Advanced training sessions
Executive office hours
Customer-only events

This makes champions feel valued and gives them insider knowledge to share internally.

Recognition and Rewards

Acknowledge champions publicly (with permission).

Recognition tactics:

Feature them in case studies
Invite to speak at your events
Highlight in customer success stories
Nominate for industry awards
Thank them in front of their leadership

Don't: Bribe with kickbacks or inappropriate incentives. Recognition should be professional and authentic.

Navigating Champion Challenges: When Things Go Wrong

Champions aren't guaranteed success. Be prepared for setbacks.

Champion Departure

Your champion leaves the company.

When this happens:

Immediate actions:

Ask for introduction to their replacement or peer who'll take over
Get current status documented while they're still there
Understand new stakeholder dynamics
Adjust relationship strategy

If they're going to a new company:

Stay in touch (potential future customer)
Ask for introductions to their network
Offer to be reference for them

Champion departures aren't deal-killers if you've multi-threaded. If you only had one champion, you're in trouble.

Loss of Influence

Champion gets reorganized, demoted, or loses credibility.

Signals:

They stop being included in key meetings
Other stakeholders talk over or around them
Their recommendations aren't followed
They're less responsive (disengaged)

Response:

Assess whether they're still valuable
Identify rising stars or new influencers
Broaden your champion base
Don't abandon original champion (could recover influence)

Organizations change. Adapt to new power dynamics.

Competing Priorities

Champion gets pulled into urgent initiatives.

Signals:

Meetings get rescheduled repeatedly
Response time slows
Engagement drops
Other projects mentioned more

Response:

Create urgency: "To hit [timeline], we need [action] by [date]"
Reduce burden: "I can handle [task]. You just need to [smaller ask]"
Executive escalation: Engage executive sponsor to re-prioritize
Pause deal: If timing is wrong, stay in touch and revisit when priority shifts

Don't fight losing battles. Sometimes pausing is smarter than pushing.

Internal Politics

Champion faces political resistance.

Common political issues:

Turf wars (other departments feeling threatened)
Budget battles (competing initiatives)
Legacy relationships (existing vendor has powerful friends)
Organizational change resistance

How to help:

Understand the political landscape through champion
Build relationships with resistors
Find compromise positions
Arm champion with data to overcome political objections
Engage neutral third parties (consultants, analysts)

Politics kill deals. Don't ignore them.

Resistance and Skepticism

Champion encounters internal skeptics.

Types of skeptics:

Budget skeptics: "Too expensive"
Change skeptics: "Current way works"
Vendor skeptics: "Unknown company, too risky"
Technical skeptics: "Won't work in our environment"

Equip champion to respond:

Provide data and proof points
Offer to meet with skeptics directly
Run targeted demos or POCs
Share relevant customer references
Address specific concerns with technical evidence

Skepticism is healthy. Champions need tools to convert skeptics into supporters.

Post-Sale Champion Leverage: Continuing the Relationship

Champions remain valuable after the deal closes.

Implementation Success

Champions ensure successful rollout.

Champion role post-sale:

Drive user adoption within their team
Coordinate cross-functional rollout
Escalate issues to leadership
Keep implementation on track
Provide feedback to improve

Support your champion through implementation:

Regular check-ins
Quick issue resolution
Training support
Executive updates for their leadership

Successful implementation makes champions look good, strengthening relationship.

Expansion Opportunities

Champions open doors to new departments and use cases.

Expansion paths:

Other departments ("Marketing uses this, Product should too")
Additional use cases ("We started with X, but could use for Y")
Upgraded tiers ("We've outgrown Starter, need Enterprise")
More users ("Team has grown, need more seats")

Champions who see value will advocate for expansion.

Reference and Advocacy

Champions become your best marketing.

Reference activities:

Reference calls with prospects
Case study participation
Speaking at your events
Testimonials and quotes
Online reviews (G2, Capterra)
Social media advocacy

Make it easy:

Prepare questions in advance
Record and transcribe calls (with permission)
Draft content for their review
Respect their time
Thank them publicly

Happy champions generate more deals.

Case Study Participation

Document champion success stories.

Case study structure:

Company background
Challenge/pain point
Why they chose you
Implementation approach
Results achieved (quantified)
Champion quote

Use case studies in sales cycles, on website, in presentations. Champions who participate become part of your growth story.

Community Leadership

Invite champions to lead in customer community.

Community leadership roles:

Advisory board member
User group organizer
Content contributor (blog posts, webinars)
New customer mentor
Beta tester
Feature feedback provider

Community leaders are your most engaged customers and strongest advocates.

Conclusion: Champions as Competitive Advantage

In complex B2B sales, champions are the difference between winning and losing.

You can have the best product, the slickest demo, and the lowest price. But if your competitor has a strong internal champion and you don't, they'll win.

Championship isn't luck. It's strategy:

Systematically identify potential champions
Develop them through trust, value, and enablement
Arm them with tools to sell internally
Multi-thread to reduce risk
Maintain relationships post-sale

The investment in championship pays off through:

Higher win rates (60-80% vs 15-25%)
Shorter sales cycles (champions accelerate deals)
Stronger customer relationships (champions drive adoption)
More expansion revenue (champions open new opportunities)
Better references (champions become advocates)

Build champions, and they'll build your business.

Ready to develop champions? Learn how enterprise sales motion provides the context for championship and how sales qualification helps identify potential champions early.

Explore more:

Tara Minh

Operation Enthusiast