Champion: internal inspection questions
Inspection questions to select, identify, develop and test potential champions, and to confirm that a validated champion actively sells for you.
Grey
Status: No champion and no potential champions identified
Guiding light principle: Select & Identify. You may have “friends” within the account, but you have no indication yet whether these “friends” have any influence, access to the EB, or a personal win tied to your solution.
- Describe to me the potential champion’s answers to your questions during the discovery meeting.
- What character traits did you uncover in them?
- Have they ever done something like this before? When?
- Did you confirm with anyone else that this person is of champion caliber? Who?
- What does our SE think about this person?
- Has our SE identified a potential technical champion?
Yellow
Status: Identified potential champion, but haven’t confirmed personal win and/or tested as champion
Guiding light principle: Develop and Test. A potential champion has emerged from the pack as a “Change Agent” who will tell you the truth and share important information. You are aware that this potential champion needs your solution, and you’re aware of his/her personal win. This potential champion has access to the EB or has a clear plan to gain access.
- Did he/she tell you who the EB is?
- Tell me how they are assisting you to influence the DC and the DP.
- Explain to me what he/she has done to get you access to the EB.
- Tell me how they have helped you get answers to MEDDICC.
- Explain to me what his/her personal win is.
Green
Status: One or more champions validated, with personal wins tied to us winning
Note: For C = Green, the EB must be Yellow or Green.
Guiding light principle: Actively sells for you. The individual or individuals have emerged, and you have seen tangible evidence of their support, such as sponsoring meetings with the EB, modifying decision criteria, adding or removing events in the decision process, and/or assisting in the development, authoring and distribution of metrics, success stories or ROIs.
- Describe the tangible evidence that they are selling for us when we aren’t there.
- How have they helped us?
- Will they forget you when this is over?
- Will you forget them?
Go deeper on Champion
The owner with a personal interest in solving the pain, who drives it inside the account.