How to tell a real champion from a friendly contact.
Plenty of lost deals had a "champion" who was only being polite. Here is how to test the people you are counting on before the forecast does it for you.
What a champion actually is.
In MEDDPICC, the champion is the person inside the buying company who sells for you when you are not in the room. They have real influence with the people who decide, and they are willing to spend their own credibility to get the project done.
That last part is what separates a champion from a friendly contact. Plenty of people will take your calls, say nice things about the demo and tell you the team loved it. Very few will walk into their boss's office and argue for you. Deals get forecast on the first group and closed by the second.
Four tests a real champion passes.
Run these on every contact you are counting on. If someone fails most of them, you have a coach or a supporter. That is useful, but it is a different person to forecast on.
Signs you are talking to someone who is only being polite.
Watch for these before the forecast call. Any one of them is worth a direct question to your contact.
Every stakeholder read from what they actually did.
SalesOgre reads the communication patterns in your notes, emails and calls and classifies each stakeholder as a champion, supporter, nervous stakeholder or blocker. It shows you the sentence that led to the read, so you can judge it yourself instead of taking a label on faith.
When a champion goes quiet, it shows up in your morning priorities next to the deals it puts at risk. When you need to arm a champion for the internal sell, SalesOgre drafts the champion toolkit and the follow-up for you to review.
- Nothing goes out until you approve it.
- Every read shows the sentence behind it.
Keep reading.
Common questions. Straight answers.
What is the difference between a champion and a coach in sales?
A coach gives you information and advice. A champion does that and also has influence with the people who decide and is willing to argue for you internally. You can have several coaches in a deal. You forecast on the champion.
How do you test a champion?
Ask for something that costs them a little, such as a meeting with the economic buyer or their name next to a date on the plan. A real champion either does it or tells you exactly what is in the way.
What should you do if your champion goes quiet?
Treat it as a deal risk. Reach out with a specific reason to talk, and start building a relationship with a second stakeholder so the deal does not hang on one person.
How does SalesOgre identify champions?
It classifies each stakeholder from the communication patterns in your notes, emails and calls, and shows the sentence behind each read. The full scoring approach is on the MEDDPICC deal scoring page.