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April 8, 2022 - May 5, 2023
Why should they buy your solution, e.g., Human Resources Management Software? Why should they buy from Your Company? Why should they buy it now? Having a Champion able to answer these three questions, articulately will make them a very effective internal Seller.
This process will involve removing the branding and styling your content, so it doesn’t feature any of your solutions branding. It is also beneficial to give your Champion value-based documentation, such as any documents that calculate the return on investment or business case you have built.
Another way to build credibility is by Networking. Introducing your Champion to other people in your network is an excellent way of creating some social proofing around yourself.
engagement. Introduce your Executive Team: At the right time introducing senior executives from your company to your Champion goes a long way to demonstrate your commitment to their success.
Friendly, not necessarily Friends You don’t need to be friends with your Champion, but you do need to be friendly with them.
Elite Sellers know that they need to be pro-active. Sometimes, that means putting themselves in an awkward position with their Champion, where friendship has to come secondary to getting the deal done.
Champion Building Event - These events can take many shapes, from smaller, more intimate events such as a tasting experience at a restaurant through to a VIP experience at an industry event like an awards show. There are a few elements that a good Champion Building Event needs: It has to be a relatively exclusive event to give your Champion that VIP feeling. If you have invited multiple organizations to attend, ensure you have a good split of existing customers and prospective customers. My advice would be to split them 50/50. If places are limited, it is better to give up your seat to a happy
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Champion Email/Letter - A tool that can often be useful is to write to someone senior to your
Elevate their Career - Elevating your Champion’s career is a fantastic tool to make your Champion benefit from your audience. Subsequently, they’ll associate working with your company with their success. Examples of this are: Invite your Champion to speak at an event you are hosting Invite your Champion onto a Podcast Interview your Champion for an industry magazine, or blog post
Using your company profile to raise your Champions profile is likely to alert your competition. You need to prepare for the possible outcome of your competition reaching out. This is why you need to lay effective traps for your competition, at every stage!
Who was involved in creating the Decision Criteria? Who is included in the Decision Process? What resources are they in control of or have access to?
Killer-Question: Ask your Champion about the last time they worked on a deal like yours. Ask them about the steps they took to get the deal done and what obstacles they had to overcome. Their answers to these questions will help you quickly identify the level of power and influence they are operating have.
“In the conversations you’ve been having about my solution internally, has anyone raised any concerns or negative opinions?”
“What happens if we don’t win?”
You: “What happens if we don’t win?” Champion: “It’ll be a shame, but I guess we’ll try to carry on as we did before.” You: “What will that mean for you?” Champion: “Well, my team will be stretched, and we may have a tougher time hitting our annual numbers.” You: “will that impact your bonus?” Champion: “Yes.” BINGO. We now know financial gain is their vested interest. You could swap your last question for “Would that impact your chances of being promoted?” OR “Would that impact your chances of you winning awards?”
Not run any similar deals in their current company If your Champion has never bought a similarly priced solution at their current company, this is a Red Flag. It means you will need to work with your Champion to seek out what the Decision and Paper Process is pro-actively. Ideally, they can introduce you to someone who has been through the Decision and Paper Process with the company to discover the details of the processes.
Anecdote: Once I was in a deal with a major retailer and my Champion told me that the Procurement team gets measured on the percentage in which they can reduce the cost put in front of them. The Champion explained that procurement’s target was to achieve a reduction of 15% or more.
