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B2B Sales Glossary:
Buying Committee & Stakeholders
Master the essential revenue and financial metrics that drive B2B SaaS success. From ARR and MRR to retention metrics and customer economics, these terms are critical for understanding pipeline health, forecasting growth, and making data-driven decisions.
Champion
Short Definition
What is a Champion?
A Champion is an internal advocate with the power and motivation to actively promote your solution, drive consensus across the buying committee, and influence the final decision. Unlike coaches, champions have personal credibility tied to your success and work to overcome internal objections.
True champions possess three traits: organizational influence (access to economic buyers), technical credibility (peer respect), and personal motivation (direct benefit from the solution). They organize executive meetings, counter concerns, and rally end users. In B2B deals with 6-11 stakeholders, champions are essential for converting opportunities into signed contracts.
Why Champions matters in B2B sales
Champions are mission-critical for "Hitting Your Number" because they convert pipeline quantity into quality revenue. Deals with verified champions show 3x higher close rates than those relying solely on coaches or single contacts. They surface and neutralize internal resistance before it reaches your deal, keeping opportunities on track for commit.
For "Closing Deals Faster," champions compress decision cycles by 25-35% through preemptive alignment. Instead of waiting for procurement roadblocks or legal reviews, they grease the wheels internally, ensuring your proposal lands with multiple stakeholders already onboard.
How to Use Champions in Your Sales Motion
1. Identification
Look for "active selling" behaviors—champions introduce you to economic buyers, defend your pricing to procurement, and challenge status quo thinking in meetings. Validate with the Champion Champion test: "If I leave the room right now, will you advocate for moving forward without me?"
2. Activation
Arm champions with battle cards, ROI calculators, and customized business cases they can share internally. Co-create talking points for their 1-on-1s with blockers and executives.
3. Amplification
Ask champions to own specific internal milestones: "Can you get us on next week's exec staff meeting?" Track their activity in CRM as leading indicators of deal progression.
In forecast calls, champion strength becomes a key input alongside pipeline coverage and stage velocity. Weak or missing champions = pipeline risk.
Key Metrics and Benchmarks
Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Champion and Economic Buyer?
Economic buyers control budget; champions control process and consensus. You need both.
How do you turn a coach into a champion?
Prove outsized ROI through proof of concept, then ask them to risk political capital by advocating publicly.
What if procurement blocks your champion?
Equip them with pricing strategy rebuttals and legal templates.