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 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 on the customer side who has authority and assertiveness and favors 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,
• warns you of risks and dangers,
• shows you weaknesses and mistakes as well as your strengths.

His goal is your profit. The decisive factor is what motivates him. Because it depends on how far he goes and how long he holds out.

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?

Imagine if you had to do without this support. How much more uncertain would your own actions become? How much time would you spend guessing instead of doing the right things at the right time?

Without a champion, it becomes imprecise.
You work with assumptions instead of clarity.

And yet there is often the feeling that you can still make it.

Champions also work behind the scenes

The second view is simpler and at the same time more uncomfortable: Is there no one on the customer side who wants you to win? On what basis should a decision be made in your favor?

Sounds simple. But it’s not.

In many decision-making processes, there is no clear vote, but rather a balance. Arguments stand side by side, interests against each other. The decision is not necessarily based on logic.

It falls out of preference.

This is particularly clear in sales, where it applies fundamentally to decisions. Decisions are always made by people.

And this is exactly where the role of the champion comes into play. If nobody in the decisive circle wants you to win, it will be difficult to influence the outcome in your favor.

If it is argued that you have also won missions without a champion, this is only true at first glance: These missions were not won without a champion. The champion was simply not visible. The champion is not a pure sales phenomenon. It is an expression of how decisions are made in the first place.