Sales Champion Development

I spent 2 hours interviewing 3 CFOs and they said something that terrifies every AE: "Most business cases that hit my desk are laughably bad." Here's what they told me about what makes them say yes to deals: CFO 1: "I see business cases all the time where sellers just made up numbers. They're guessing at our costs. They're inflating the ROI. It's obvious within 30 seconds, and I dismiss it immediately." CFO 2: "The worst ones are fluffy. 'Increased productivity' or 'improved efficiency' with no actual numbers. If you can't quantify it, I can't approve it." CFO 3: "Here's my test: I ask the champion, 'So you're committing to this?' If they backpedal, I know the business case is phantom. No one's actually putting their neck on the line." Then I asked: What makes a GOOD business case? All three said the same thing: 1. It's simple. Not a 40-page deck. One page. Clear ROI. Clear timeline. 2. It's realistic. Show a range. Best case, base case, worst case. Don't just show one perfect number. 3. The champion owns it. The internal champion built it WITH you. They can defend every number. They're willing to commit to the outcome. Here's the killer insight: CFOs don't just evaluate the business case. They evaluate whether the CHAMPION believes in it. If your champion can't defend the numbers, you lose. If your champion built it with you and can articulate the value, you win. The lesson: Stop building business cases FOR your champion. Build them WITH your champion. Make them co-author it. Make them own every number. That's how you get CFO approval. P.S. These 7 strategies will help you CLOSE more deals in a GTM crisis: https://lnkd.in/d_DkYTSH

“I’ll have to run this by our CFO.” That line has killed more deals than bad pricing, long sales cycles, or weak demos. Here’s the truth: Your champion isn’t trained to sell. And yet 99% of reps hand them a 25-slide vendor deck and pray it somehow gets executive approval. That’s not enablement. That’s deal suicide. In enterprise sales, you will not always be in the room. Your champion—no matter how well-intentioned—has to carry your deal up the chain. And if you don’t equip them to do it in executive language, you’ve already lost. Executives don’t care about feature sets. They care about: - Profitability - Risk - Market share - Growth But most sellers send over jargon-filled PDFs that die on the first scroll. Here’s what I do instead: I build what I call a Champion Selling Aid (inspired by The Challenger Customer and refined through years of $1M+ deals). It’s a one-page executive memo—co-created with your champion—that distills the entire deal into the only things execs actually care about: 1. The core issue → One line that frames the problem at the highest level. 2. Why it matters → Translate the pain into executive KPIs (profit, revenue, churn, risk). 3. Desired outcome → What success looks like in their words. 4. Background → Proof of work already done (pilots, security checks, stakeholder interviews). 5. Options → Do nothing, hire more people, or implement your solution. 6. The ask → Clear, simple, and budget-aligned. Sometimes I even rebrand it into their internal template so it feels like their deck, not mine. Lately, I’ve been using AI to help champions polish these into crisp, executive-friendly emails and memos. But the principle stays the same: Don’t just sell to your champion. Sell through your champion. If your deal lives or dies on whether a mid-level manager can pitch your product… you’re not just rolling dice—you’re throwing them away. Stop handing over vendor decks. Start equipping champions to speak the only language that matters: executive outcomes. That’s how you turn “I’ll run this by my CFO” into “My CFO already said yes.”

One of the reasons I love working across elite sport and business is because of how transferable the skills and lessons are. Here are six that show up time and time again: 1. Pressure is a skill - The best reframe pressure as a privilege. - If you’re pursuing greatness, pressure is inevitable - the goal isn’t to avoid it, it’s to use it. In business, pressure moments are where trust is built, reputations are shaped, and leadership is revealed. 2. Emotional intelligence drives performance - Elite performers don’t suppress emotions: they recognise, regulate, and use them. - Your ability to understand your own state (and others’) directly shapes decision-making, communication, and outcomes. 3. Visualisation gives you an edge - The best rehearse success before it happens - they’ve already “been there” mentally. - In business, visualising key moments (presentations, conversations, decisions) creates clarity, confidence, and sharper execution when it matters. 4. Resilience is speed of recovery - It’s not about avoiding failure, it’s how quickly you reset from it. - Setbacks are part of high performance. The advantage comes from how fast you recover and re-engage. 5. Your self-image sets your ceiling - Elite performers don’t just train skills, they train identity. - How you see yourself quietly defines what you believe is possible, and therefore what you’re willing to pursue. 6. Ruthless responsibility - The best take full ownership of their actions and growth. No excuses. No blaming. - They don’t wait to be told what to do they decide what needs to be done. - They understand their own limitations and take responsibility for pushing beyond them. And more than anything, the clearest similarity is that training your mind gives you an edge. No matter what field you are in - if you have mastered your mind, you gain the biggest advantage. ♻️ repost if this resonated. Also I would love to hear a lesson you have either learnt from business or sport that helps you in life.

Leadership isn't headcount. It's leverage. 1 great leader can have a 10x, 20, 50x impact on an org. The 1:10 leadership multiplier effect most sales managers miss. One great leader can turn one good hour into ten better reps next week. That's the job. Especially in Q4 when "more pressure" is the default move and the worst strategy. Most teams crank dashboards and pipeline reviews. The teams that scale install clarity and coaching. What this looks like in practice: Coach champions, not just reps: Your champion isn't a trained seller. Give them the 90‑second story, a simple 3‑slide exec deck, an internal email they can forward, and rehearse it with them. If they can't sell it internally, you don't have a deal. Teach buyer psychology before pipeline: Deals don't stall for lack of features. They stall from fear, effort, and uncertainty. Reduce perceived risk, reduce the lift, increase decision confidence. Pilots, phased rollouts, clear success criteria. Manage the buying process, not just the sales stages Mutual plans with real owners and dates. Movement from meeting to proof, not meeting to "next meeting." Adjust your management style to the cycle Transactional motion? Tight cadences, clean talk tracks, speed and repetition. Enterprise motion? Stakeholder maps, multithreading, champion enablement, risk removal. Different games, different coaching. A simple 30‑day multiplier plan: Week 1: Publish "what good looks like" for discovery, recap, and next‑step design. One page each. No fluff. Week 2: Ship a Champion Kit (talk track, exec slides, CFO/IT one‑pagers, internal email). Role‑play it. Week 3: Add a 10‑minute buyer‑psych block before pipeline review. Make it a ritual. Week 4: Let two reps run the drills while you coach the coaches. Build coaches, not dependents. Track lift in: -Multi‑threading per opportunity -Movement from meeting → proof/pilot -Champion‑initiated next steps -Manager coaching hours vs behaviour changes When leaders LEAD and leverage systems, there is no greater multiplier across an org. As leaders get better the team gets better. Leverage baby. Leverage

Getting buy-in is one of the most underrated UX skills and ironically, it’s the one thing most juniors avoid because it feels like selling. But here’s the shift: Buy-in isn’t persuasion. It’s alignment. And you can do it without being pushy, political, or manipulative. Here’s the simple blueprint I teach my mentees (and use myself): 1️⃣ Start with their goal, not your idea Instead of leading with “I think we should redesign…” start with: “What’s the outcome we’re trying to drive?” When someone feels heard first, they’re far more open to the solution second. 2️⃣ Show the problem, not your preference Skip the “I like / I don’t like.” Lead with evidence: A user quote A friction point Data that signals a drop-off A pattern you observed in testing This shifts the conversation from opinion vs. opinion → shared problem vs. solution. 3️⃣ Present options not ultimatums People resist when they feel cornered. Try: “Here are two paths we can take. Want to walk through the trade-offs?” Giving choice = giving ownership. And ownership = buy-in. 4️⃣ Connect your idea to business impact The fastest way to lose buy-in is to stay in “design land.” Make it practical: “This reduces onboarding time.” “This lowers support tickets.” “This helps us hit the Q3 activation goal.” Speak their language and the conversation changes instantly. 5️⃣ Invite pushback early Nothing kills momentum like a surprise objection at the finish line. Instead: “Before we run with this, what concerns do you see?” This transforms critics into collaborators. 6️⃣ Close with clarity Always end with one crystal-clear next step: “Do we feel aligned on path A?” “Is this the direction you’d like me to move forward with?” “What’s the priority for this sprint?” Buy-in without a next step is just a nice conversation. This is how you get buy-in naturally not through pressure, but through partnership.

Most deals don't die because you lost to a competitor. They die because your champion couldn't sell your solution internally. I had a rep this week who's vendor of choice. VP of Talent loves them. Pricing is aligned. Technical fit is perfect. But they need C-suite and board approval. And the rep hasn't talked to any of them yet. This is where 90% of deals stall out and die. Here's how I told her to fix it: Step 1: Study how the champion has closed deals before "When you got Bamboo HR and Coursera approved, what did that process look like? How did you present it to the C-suite? What made them say yes?" You need to know her playbook. Because if you don't know how she successfully sold internally before, you're guessing. Step 2: Offer to co-create the business case Don't just hand her a document and hope she reads it. "Some of our customers find it helpful to put together a one-pager for the internal conversation. What if we spent 30 minutes co-writing it together so you look really good to your C-suite?" Step 3: Pre-arm her for objections Walk through pricing. Then ask: "Pricing aside, remind me what you like most about us?" Let her articulate the value again in her own words. Then pressure test her conviction: "What would happen if Bamboo or Coursera cut their pricing by 50% to keep your business? Would you still choose us?" If she can't confidently say "Yes, we'd still switch," you have a problem. Because the CFO is going to ask the exact same question. Step 4: Link it to executive priorities "When you talk to the CHRO and CFO about this problem, what do they say? What do they believe will happen if you don't solve it?" You need to connect her problem to their priorities. Otherwise, it's just a nice-to-have that gets deprioritized. Here's what most reps get wrong: They think their job ends when the champion says "I want to buy." It doesn't. Your job is to arm your champion to sell for you when you're not in the room. That means co-creating the business case. Pre-arming them for objections. Linking to executive priorities. Because if your champion walks into that C-suite meeting unprepared, your deal is dead. And you won't even know why.

After 15 years coaching elite performers, I've identified 8 rare traits they all share. While talent matters, the real differentiators are all mental: 1. Extreme Ownership (High Agency) Elite performers take full responsibility for their outcomes. They don't blame circumstances, other people, or bad luck. They ask: "What could I have done differently?" This isn't about being hard on yourself. It's about believing you have the power to change your results. 2. Clear, Specific Goals Here's something that surprised me: 86% of people don't set goals. Just having clear goals puts you in the top 14%. The best performers have specific, measurable targets that guide their daily decisions. They know exactly what they're working toward. 3. True Deep Self-Awareness Most people think they're self-aware. Very few actually are. Elite performers understand: - How they think under pressure - What triggers their best and worst responses - Their strengths and genuine limitations - What they need to perform well They observe their own minds without judgment. 4. Discipline Over Motivation Motivation comes and goes. Discipline shows up every day. The best performers have systems that work when they don't feel like it. They've learned to execute regardless of how they feel in the moment. 5. Constantly Learning High performers are obsessed with getting better. They seek feedback. They study their craft. They're curious about what they don't know. The moment you think you've figured it all out is the moment you start declining. 6. Psychological Flexibility This is the anchor skill I train all my athletes to develop. It's the ability to: - Clearly identify your values - Align your behavior with those values - Persist when it gets difficult Values-aligned performers make better decisions under pressure, recover faster from setbacks, and maintain energy over the long term. 7. Endurance (Not Grit) I used to think grit was the answer. I've changed my mind. What separates elite performers isn't just persistence. It's the ability to work really hard for a really long time without burning out. They understand: - When to push - When to rest - How to build adaptive capacity (stress + recovery) 8. Self-Complexity The best performers don't over-index on any one identity. They're not just "the CEO" or "the athlete." They're multidimensional humans who can keep perspective when one area struggles. This is what allows them to stay resilient through setbacks and maintain performance over decades, not just seasons. What's interesting about these traits: They're not about talent. They're not about IQ. They're about how you think, how you work, and who you're becoming. Most people focus on the 20% that's missing. Elite performers give their full effort to the 80% they already have. That’s not even the best part, either: Every one of these traits can be developed. They're skills, not gifts.

Your “champion” just moved companies/different department/got promoted and your deal is about to die This scenario kills more enterprise deals than price objections and competitive threats combined. Your internal advocate moves out and their replacement has different priorities. Your 6-month sales process becomes a 6-second "not interested" email. Most sellers find one person who likes them and pray nothing changes. “But I identified the Champion, the Paper Process, the economic buyer….and the Gong scorecard says my deal was at 80%” This is why looking at stupid scorecards that check “Did Timmy do ABC activities” matter a lot less than “Did Timmy run a good call and does Timmy have multiple relationships” Smart sellers build champion networks, not champion relationships. They identify 3-4 people who could advocate for the solution from different angles The Power Champion ➡️ Has budget authority or strong influence with those who do The Technical Champion ➡️ Understands the implementation and can address technical concerns The User Champion ➡️ Will actually use the solution and can speak to day-to-day value The Coach Champion ➡️ Understands internal politics and can navigate organizational dynamics When one champion moves, gets busy, or changes priorities, you still have multiple advocates working for you and you build genuine value for multiple stakeholders. Each champion type needs different information and support: ➡️ Power Champions want business impact and ROI data. ➡️ Technical Champions want implementation details and integration capabilities. ➡️ User Champions want ease of use and productivity improvements. ➡️ Coach Champions want to understand how to position this internally. Single-threading kills deals. Multi-threading saves them.

The vision of a champion is of someone lying exhausted on the ground having left nothing out there. And absolutely...there is that… There is the ‘drenched in sweat’ character whose effort is through the roof.... “Whose Face is marred by sweat and dust and blood...who strives valiantly...” But then let me say this. And perhaps this is just my opinion. That’s not enough. Sweat isn’t enough. Blood isn’t enough. Dust isn’t enough. Or perhaps it’s more like this...sweat doesn’t make you a champion...and it might not be the main ingredient. Blood and dust may not be essential parts of the recipe. What about good intelligent practice and learning design? Doesn’t sound very cool does it? What about a strong mental framework co-created by coach and player or sport psych and player? Again, not very cool. What about self skills...self awareness, self regulation, self reflection? Ugh...so dull. What about the cognitive skills of anticipation and decision-making? Search-decide-execute…perception-action? What about healthy and safe environments that are psychologically informed with micro, meso, and macro considerations discussed daily? What about the development of personality characteristics? (“Dan, you’re so boring!”) And you know what the problem is? Perhaps I am dull, because over the past 27 years I’ve learnt that becoming a champion isn’t that funky. It’s hard...not sweaty hard...but intellectually hard. It’s enjoyable but not in a ‘swings’ and ‘roundabouts’ enjoyable way…more a joyous seriousness kinda way. Sweat, blood…dust - these are a given. That’s not the tough stuff. The hardest part of the journey is the thoughtful approach the traveller and their companions have to engage with.

The core drivers of elite athletes and world class leaders By now you must know that I am obsessed with super-performers. I have witnessed and observed them in fortune 100 board rooms as well as at Olympic games and World Cups. I cannot get enough! I am lucky enough to be at the EuroCup in Germany this week where I am witness again to the incredible dedication, skill, and strategic thinking of elite athletes. This got me thinking about the striking similarities between these top-tier athletes and the successful business leaders I have the privilege of collaborating with. Here are some common characteristics that drive both to excel: 1. **Discipline and Consistency**: Just as athletes adhere to rigorous training regimens, business leaders consistently work hard, stay focused, and maintain discipline to achieve their goals. 2. **Resilience**: Both athletes and leaders face setbacks and failures. Their ability to bounce back, learn from mistakes, and keep pushing forward is crucial to their success. 3. **Teamwork and Leadership**: Success on the field and in the boardroom often depends on effective teamwork and the ability to inspire and lead others toward a common goal. 4. **Strategic Thinking**: Athletes and business leaders both need to think several steps ahead, anticipate challenges, and develop strategies to outmaneuver their competition. 5. **Adaptability**: The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and environments is vital. Whether it's a sudden shift in market trends or a surprise move by an opponent, adaptability ensures continued progress. 6. **Passion and Commitment**: A deep passion for their sport or business fuels the drive and commitment needed to overcome obstacles and achieve excellence. Watching the EuroCup, it's clear that the qualities that make athletes excel on the field are the same ones that drive business leaders to success. Which of these qualities is a focus for you right now? For me, it's adaptability. Things are moving fast and I'm excited by the pivots this moment in tech history is going to demand of me. #EuroCup #Leadership #BusinessSuccess #AthleteMindset #Teamwork #Resilience #Strategy #Adaptability ---