Internal Champions in B2B Deals: How to Identify and Develop Them

The internal champion is your force multiplier inside the account. They've decided they want to buy your solution and are working internally to convince others. Without a champion, you're always the outside vendor pushing your product. With one, you have an insider who understands the political and technical landscape and can navigate it on your behalf.

Identifying champions early and developing them effectively is one of the highest-ROI activities in ABM. A strong champion can cut deal cycles in half and overcome objections that a salesperson alone couldn't.

What is an Internal Champion?

An internal champion is someone inside the target account who has decided your solution solves a real problem, is actively advocating for it internally, and has credibility with decision-makers. Champions are typically end users or team members who've seen the problem firsthand and recognize the value in solving it.

Key characteristics of a champion:

• They've experienced the problem your solution addresses
• They've seen a demo or used your product and believe it's valuable
• They have influence with decision-makers, even if they don't have formal authority
• They are willing to spend time and political capital internally to push the deal forward
• They understand the internal landscape well enough to navigate objections and build consensus

Not every champion has the same title or level. Some are junior individual contributors with lots of credibility among peers. Others are managers or directors. The title matters less than the influence.

Why Champions Matter

Champions accelerate deals because they carry credibility inside the account that no external salesperson can. An executive trusts their colleague who uses the product more than they trust a vendor.

Champions also help navigate the political landscape. They understand internal dynamics: which departments are competing, whose buy-in is essential, what concerns need addressing. This knowledge is invaluable for an external sales team trying to navigate complex organizational structures.

Champions also test your product in a real environment and often provide feedback that improves the deal fit. They catch problems or objections before the formal evaluation and help you solve them.

Finally, champions stay with accounts even after the sale. They become strong users and often drive adoption, expansion, and retention. A champion from the early stage often becomes your primary contact for future growth.

---

Identifying Potential Champions

Potential champions are typically people who:

• Are frustrated with the current process or tool
• Have suggested solving the problem
• Volunteer to test your product
• Ask detailed questions about how it solves their problem
• Follow up after demos with enthusiasm and questions
• Say things like "If we could just..." or "The ideal solution would..."

Look for these signals in early conversations. Someone who is asking detailed questions is often considering whether the solution is real and whether they can internally justify investing time in it.

Also identify champions by process. In your target account, who attended the initial discovery call? If someone volunteered to attend or was enthusiastic in the meeting, they're likely a potential champion. Who requested a demo? Who asked for access to test your product? Those are champion signals.

Champions aren't always the person you expected. An executive assistant might carry more influence than a director. A practitioner in the department might be more enthusiastic than their manager. Look for actual signals of advocacy, not titles.

Developing Champions

Once you've identified a potential champion, actively develop them.

Give them exclusive information: Share insights, case studies, or research that they don't have. Help them understand the opportunity better than others in their organization. This makes them more credible when they advocate internally.

Help them build the business case: Provide them with ROI models, implementation guides, and talking points they can use internally. Make it easy for them to advocate. If they have to do all the work, they may not follow through.

Involve them in solution design: Ask them how the solution could work best in their environment. What features matter most? What integration would be most valuable? Involving them in design makes them invested in the outcome.

Empower them to be your liaison: Make them the official liaison between your team and their organization. Give them a way to escalate concerns, request additional demos, or surface objections. They become your primary entry point.

Celebrate their wins: When they make progress internally (e.g., get approval for a proof of concept, schedule an evaluation), recognize it. "I know it took effort to get executive sign-off on the POC; that's a big win." This reinforces their advocacy.

Provide them with execution support: When they encounter internal objections, help them address them. "I hear from customers that the IT team often worries about X; here's how we address it. Feel free to share this with your IT contact." You're equipping them to win.

Be responsive to their timeline: If your champion is pushing for a decision, be fast to respond to requests. Responsiveness builds trust and momentum.

Avoiding Champion Dependence

While champions are valuable, depending on a single champion is risky. If the champion leaves the account, gets sidelined internally, or loses influence, the deal can stall.

To avoid this, develop multiple champions when possible. Get at least two strong advocates. If one is focused on the product/use case, get another focused on business/financial impact.

Also, build separate relationships with other stakeholders. Your champion should be your strongest internal relationship, but not your only one. If the buying committee is all relying on the champion to relay information, you're at risk.

Diversify the coalition. Work with the champion but also maintain relationships with other influencers and decision-makers.

---

Identifying Fake Champions

Some people appear to champion your solution but aren't actually influential. They might be enthusiastic end users, but lack credibility with decision-makers. Or they might be solo practitioners who can't speak for the broader team.

Real champions have influence. Signs of a real champion include:

• Other people defer to them in meetings
• They get callbacks when they request meetings with busy executives
• Their opinions shape decisions
• They've successfully pushed through organizational changes before
• Others seek their input on important decisions

If someone is enthusiastic about your product but doesn't have these signals, they're a strong user, not a champion. That's still valuable, but don't over-index on them for deal progression.

Common Mistakes with Champions

Mistake 1: Underestimating the effort required from a champion: Pushing a deal internally takes time and energy from their day job. Don't ask them to do all the evangelizing. Support them with resources and talking points.

Mistake 2: Over-relying on a single champion: If one person is your entire strategy, you're at risk. Develop relationships broadly.

Mistake 3: Losing touch with your champion: After initial engagement, some teams stop communicating with champions. Stay in touch. Understand what obstacles they're facing. Proactively provide resources they need.

Mistake 4: Treating a champion like a salesperson: A champion advocates internally, but they're not your salesperson. Don't ask them to make calls or attend external events. They have a day job.

Mistake 5: Not creating visibility into deal progress for the champion: Champions feel ownership of the deal. Keep them informed. "We got feedback from IT on this concern; here's what we're addressing." This keeps momentum going and shows progress.

Champions After the Sale

The internal champion often becomes your primary contact after the sale. They understand the product, they've been through the evaluation, and they have credibility internally. Support them through implementation and adoption.

Involve them in expansion conversations. They're your best source of information about unmet needs and growth opportunities.

Champions are assets that compound in value over time. A strong champion relationship often leads to expansion deals, renewals, and customer advocacy.

---

Takeaway

Internal champions are advocates inside target accounts who have credibility with decision-makers. Identify them by looking for signs of problem awareness and enthusiasm. Develop them by providing resources, involving them in solution design, and supporting them in internal advocacy. A strong champion accelerates deals, navigates political obstacles, and builds long-term customer value. Develop at least one champion in every major deal.