10/10/2023-Champion Development

Any TOP 10%er will tell you they can’t crack new business – and grow big accounts – without the help of a champion buyer who advocates for them.

The champion you need inside each of your key accounts is not necessarily the person you get along with the best. Sometimes, your BFF customers are the ones who help you the least. (It’s a bonus if your champion and closest customer friend are the same person.)

You’ll limit your pool of potential champs if you only focus on your BFF customers.

Champion development starts with determining who you can help the most… and the fastest. Champions aren’t gonna move earth for you because you both like (fill in the blank hobbies, food, sports teams), they’ll go to bat for you because they believe in you and your company.

Developing champions will be easier if you envision specific actions you want from them. So, today, create a list of items you want your champions to do for you. Think more specifically than the standard, "They’ll go to bat for me" and, "getting the order signed."

Specifically, what do you need your champ to do for you?

You’re doing great if you immediately respond with "make introductions" and "provide information" on your list. Keep going.

After you’ve rattled off specifics on a few key accounts, you’re ready to answer the most important question… what can you do for them?

The fastest way to develop champions is to test what they’re willing to do for you by asking. You’ll never know the limits of their willingness unless you start asking for favors…things that go a bit above and beyond the normal.

Understand the second you do that, you obligate yourself. A question like "What can you do to help me with X inside the org?" obligates you to return in kind…bigger.

So, dig to find out how to serve your champion before asking your favor.

Developing champions is a selfless game that requires much more giving than receiving. That giving requires creativity and probing. To find out what really matters to your Champion, you must do some detective work. It starts with the question, "How do I make this prospect/client look good?" "How can I add value to this person’s professional life?"

Often, the best strategy is to come out and ask her or him. Staying alert and observant when talking to others in the org doesn’t hurt either.

Champion development includes favors, but it hopefully won’t be like the favor-swapping prominently seen in The Godfather movies.

Take a break from developing your champion strategy today and watch this 5-minute under-the-radar clip from The Godfather II, the epic sequel to the classic 1972 film The Godfather. (The Godfather II received eleven Oscar nominations and is among the first sequels in the Academy Awards history to win the Oscar for Best Picture.)

If there’s a way you can make your client shine inside their company, you’ll figure it out…or there won’t be any quid pro quo.