In every sales methodology I’ve ever been taught, there’s always a glowing definition of the customer champion

They’re positioned as the internal hero, the person who advocates for you, has influence, guides you through internal politics, gives you insights you could never uncover alone, sells on your behalf when you’re not in the room, and is personally invested in the success of your solution

Beautiful in theory. Messy in real life

When I sold to the London Borough of Bromley, our “champion” turned out to be something very different: a double agent

We’d done the textbook work, identified their personal win, validated it, even pressure-tested it

And when it came time to write the critical report that would go to the council board and ultimately to the politicians for sign-off, it looked like everything was lining up perfectly

The report was being drafted over a weekend, and we heard something that would make any salesperson think they’d already won: our sponsor was calling the competition for more details

Picture it, if a prospect rang you on a weekend asking about your product for the final report, you’d assume the deal was already yours

I guarantee their salesperson walked into the office Monday morning believing it was in the bag for them

But here’s the twist

Our champion wasn’t gathering details to help them win

They were gathering details to strengthen the case against the competitor and in favour of us

They needed the competitor’s weaknesses, not their features.

And yes — we won the deal

Conclusion: Champions Aren’t Fantasy Characters - They’re Human

The romantic idea of the perfect champion can lure even experienced sellers into complacency

Champions have agendas, pressures, internal politics, and sometimes they play both sides to get the outcome they believe is right

The real skill isn’t just finding a champion, it’s understanding them, validating where their interests truly lie, and staying close enough to the deal that you don’t get blindsided by assumption

The best sellers don’t take champions at face value; they stay curious, stay engaged, and stay in control