The champion, a human being

The guiding principle “No champion, no deal” is one of the basic principles of sales and essentially states that no success (contract conclusion, commitment) is possible without the support of a strong “friend” on the customer side. But is that really true?

From a competitive strategy perspective, the champion is the person who has authority and assertiveness on the decision-maker side and favors you and your offer. A champion

• prevails over internal opponents,
• provides you with internal information,
• helps you to expand your network of contacts,
• supports you in your own positioning (products, proposed solutions, presentations, arguments),
• warns you of risks and dangers,
• shows you your weaknesses and mistakes as well as your strengths.

His goal is your profit. It is important to understand what motivates him, because his motivation is decisive for the degree and quality of his support and his own stamina. A champion is only human.

Without a champion, the picture remains diffuse

And so back to the initial question: Is “no champion, no deal” right? We can approach the answer from two angles, both of which are simple and obvious.

Imagine if you had to do without his support. How much more uncertain and imprecise would your own measures be? How much time would you spend guessing, wasting time, dithering and procrastinating instead of doing the right things right? These questions already give the right impression: it will be very difficult without a champion. Nevertheless, the feeling remains that you can still make it.

Champions also work behind the scenes

The second perspective is more precise:
If there is not at least one person on the customer side with a genuine interest in your success, how can a decision ever be made in your favor? This idea may seem simple, but it is precisely in its simplicity that the essence of the so-called champion lies. Nevertheless, the reality is far more complex: in many decision-making processes, there is a fragile balance of power that rarely results in a clear vote. After all, all eyes are on the small circle of decision-makers – the people who have the authority and assertiveness to set a binding direction.
But if this circle of all people – or even the central figure in it – does not become your champion, i.e. does not want you to win: On what basis do you then hope to win?

If it is countered that in the past we have also won contracts without a champion, then I say that these victories were not achieved without a champion, we just didn’t know him.