Process
Champion Identification
Finding the person inside an account who feels the problem personally and will argue for you when you are not in the room.
What is champion identification?
A champion is not the most senior person on the org chart. It is the person whose work gets easier if you are bought, and who has enough internal credibility to say so. Champion identification is the process of finding that person early instead of discovering them in month three.
Signals of a real champion
- They describe the problem in their own words before you do.
- They tell you how budget actually gets approved at their company.
- They introduce you to someone else internally without being asked.
- They respond within a working day, consistently.
Signals of a false champion
- Endless enthusiasm with no internal movement.
- No ability to name the approver.
- They ask for material to "share internally" but never report back.
Why outbound should target champions first
Cold messaging a CEO in a 300 person company rarely works, and when it does the deal often stalls one layer down. Opening with the operational owner, earning their agreement, then multi-threading upward with their knowledge is slower on paper and faster in practice.