I worked for a great VP of Sales and when we would discuss my deals he would always ask me “Do You Have a Champion?” Ninety-nine percent of the time I’d say yes. His next question would be “How do you know you have a champion?” Now the answer to that question would vary, so over the course of working for him I came up with my Top 5, and here they are in no particular order:
Question: How do you know you have a Champion?
Answer:
- During the course of the meeting Sally let the project team know she has used our product in her last company and was very pleased with it. Not only did she say she used it, but gave detailed examples of how it was used, how it improved productivity, how it improved collaboration and how it increased sales. She also aligned it with their current goals and objects for the project.
- Sally reached out to me after the meeting and let me know the timeline and the roles of the project team. She also told me there would be 5 vendors including us. Three will be eliminated. Two will go into a 30-day pilot. She also asked if I could give her an example of some questions to ask in her next product meeting.
- I called Sally last night at around 7 and asked if she could get me in front of the Technical Buyer? I told her I wanted to get his take on some product roadmap items. I got an email from her today and she lined up the meeting for next week.
- I asked Sally if based on our pricing we were in the ballpark and where we sat relative to our competitors. She let me know we were 15% higher in pricing but the team feels we provide more value. She gave me some bullet points to hone in on in the next meeting around the additional value we provide.
- Sally called me last night and let me know the team is leaning heavily in the direction of a competitor and she believes it is a done deal.
Of course these are just some examples that would lead one to believe there is a customer champion, but if you do hear things similar to the above, it’s a very good bet this person is in your camp and will provide you with good insight into your deal’s progress.
Please share your examples to know if you have a true champion on your deals.
