What's the difference between a champion and a coach

This is a lesson I learnt the hard way a long time ago. The difference between a champion and a coach... It cost me quite a bit of time and money, so I hope this post helps you avoid making the same mistakes I did and, as a result, sell more effectively.

In any complex sales process, you need a champion. But all too often, salespeople find themselves dealing with coaches within their target organisations. The two roles are complementary in the sales process. But a key difference is that a champion has influence in the decision-making process and is proactive in making the deal goes to successful closure. Whereas a coach does not. Let’s look at this in more detail. 

Most sales methods include the concept of a champion. The champion, in simple terms, is the person who sells you or your product when you’re not in the room. He or she is your ‘inside person’ and gives you access to, and will influence, the ‘economic buyer’. As we know, if you have a product or service with sufficiently high value, then having a champion is essential to closing the deal. Having a champion is not as critical for lower-value deals. A champion is what is also known as an ‘emotional buyer’, as opposed to a ‘logical buyer’. All too often, salespeople engage with the logical buyer.

The difference between a logical buyer and an emotional buyer

What is the difference between a logical buyer and an emotional buyer? A logical buyer may appear, at first glance, to be the most suitable person to influence.

For example, for a company operating in cyber security, the CIO might be seen as a logical prospect. But there is a strong likelihood that this CIO has developed a way of working and managing cybersecurity. And implementing a new approach risks bringing about changes to their daily routine.

They will therefore be a potential “sniper” and oppose the cybersecurity solution being sold. Whereas there may be roles within the same organisation that are at much greater risk if the cybersecurity solution is not implemented. For example, the absence of this cybersecurity solution might prevent the sales team from selling the company’s solution. And this could impact their commission plans.

They will be emotional prospects with whom it is crucial to engage as quickly as possible, as they will be personally invested in the use of the cybersecurity solution in question. In this example, the CRO or VP of Sales could therefore be a champion for the cybersecurity solution; they will push for its deployment, whilst the CIO will resist its adoption as they will be responsible for its implementation (which may create work they do not want to do).

Thus, the champion will be emotionally invested; their own personal and professional success is at risk if they fail to resolve the problem that your solution addresses. Or they will be unable to secure what they could secure with your solution.

The difference between a coach and a champion

But let’s return to the difference between a coach and a champion. All too often, salespeople fail to make this distinction. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference because both a coach and a champion want your solution to succeed. But THE main difference is that the champion has influence and/or authority. Influence over the ‘economic buyer’ (EB) is more important than authority.

So, a coach:

1. Typically has more time to devote to you – coffee, phone calls, etc. .. -. But as a coach has no influence, it is important not to devote too much time to a coach without, however, ignoring them. Both mistakes are costly. If they are ignored, they may become a competitor’s coach and enable that competitor to navigate within your target organisation. But they do not have access to the buyer economic or are unable to influence it. The time invested with a coach will therefore be at the expense of identifying and nurturing the champion. The solution? “Play the game!”. Stay in touch but be aware of the limitations.

2. A coach will give you information; they want you to succeed but lack the necessary influence. They can therefore mainly give you access to the champion and help you understand how to articulate the message.

3. They may not want to give you access to the economic buyer. Why? Because they haven’t established their influence and their political capital isn’t as strong as that of a champion. By associating with you, they risk “burning their bridges”. This isn’t the case for the champion, who has strong political capital.

(As you’ll have realised, the mistake I mentioned at the start was investing time with a coach. He helped me run through my process but, mea culpa, when it came to engaging with the champion, I failed to spot the difference. I really regretted it...)

A champion, on the other hand,

1. Will be more “cautious” at first, more reserved. He’ll want to make sure he’s not dealing with just any old salesperson. He has influence within the organisation and doesn’t want his political capital diminished if he identifies a risk. He won’t shout “I’m your champion”. He will ensure he can use you for his own ends before dedicating time to you.

2. He will want to focus on resolving a problem that is “business-critical” in order to gain a personal advantage that he can leverage to strengthen his position and influence within the organisation. He may even dedicate a resource from his team to help you navigate the organisation.

3. A champion, by virtue of their influence, will grant access to the decision-maker once the proposal has been approved. They will introduce you to them and ensure that discussions align with the company’s decision-making criteria.

4. A champion will promote your service in your absence and downplay the importance of other solutions

Both can be ‘utilised’ in parallel to achieve different outcomes. For example, a champion will have “inside knowledge” of the decision-making process that the coach may not necessarily have. However, as a champion is naturally harder to access, it is the coach who will be informed more quickly if a competitor is targeting your prospect; this will be a more logical point of entry. Once identified, this can then be managed with the champion.

A question to ask your sales rep who says they have a champion?

If you are a sales manager and your sales rep tells you he has a champion, the test is simple. Just one question:

"What did your champion do last week that made the decision safer without us in the room?"

If the rep can't show concret evidence of that, then he doesn't have a champion hope as revenue.

How to identify and develop a champion?

Beyond being an ‘emotional buyer’ as defined above, identifying a champion involves being able to find, with the help of a coach for example, the key figures within the organisation. For example, someone who has recently been promoted or who is working on the organisation’s current critical projects. Because an “economic buyer”—someone who can allocate funds to your product—will not entrust a “business-critical” project to someone they do not trust 100%.

The role of a champion, as mentioned above, is to sell or influence the organisation in your favour when you are not there. It is naturally important to “develop” a champion around the specific features of your product or service. And so:

1. Educate your champion about your product/service and its positioning relative to the competition, including the alternative of doing nothing.

2. Help them understand the impact of NOT using your product, an impact obviously linked to what matters to the organisation: visibility, financial gain or any other strategic objective

3. Identify potential risks with them so that you can address them as soon as possible

One of the questions I ask executives before starting to work with them is often “Why do you have salespeople?”. Because whilst salespeople have many roles—including creating value through their questioning strategies rather than their presentations—one of their fundamental roles is to understand the decision-making process. And to influence it. This is what the correct use of a coach and a champion enables.