One of the most dangerous assumptions in sales is believing that a supportive contact is the same thing as a real champion.
They are not the same.
A supportive contact likes your solution. A champion has influence, urgency, credibility, and a personal or business reason to help drive the decision internally.
I’ve seen sellers confuse the two many times. The buyer is friendly. They respond quickly. They say positive things. They invite others to meetings. So the seller assumes they have a champion.
Then the deal gets stuck.
The contact says, “We’re still discussing internally.”
Or, “Leadership wants to wait.”
Or, “Procurement is asking us to compare other options.”
Or, “We need to revisit this next quarter.”
What happened?
Often, the seller was relying on someone who could participate in the process but could not lead it.
In complex selling, internal influence matters. Your contact may believe in the value of your solution, but if they cannot explain the business case, handle objections internally, or connect your solution to executive priorities, the deal is vulnerable.
The strongest sellers qualify their champions, not just their opportunities.
They ask questions like:
“Who else needs to believe this is worth doing?”
“What concerns might come up internally?”
“How would this be prioritized against other initiatives?”
“What would you need from me to help make the case?”
“Is this something you would personally advocate for?”
Those questions reveal a lot.
I once saw a seller rely heavily on a director-level contact who was enthusiastic throughout the process. The seller forecasted the deal confidently. But when the decision reached the executive team, the contact could not defend the investment. The business case was too thin, and the seller had not built enough access beyond that one relationship.
The opportunity did not fail because the solution lacked value. It failed because the selling strategy depended on the wrong person carrying the deal internally.
This is where the Champion Development and Stakeholder Alignment components of Iconic Selling become especially valuable.
The course helps sellers understand how buying groups work, how influence moves inside organizations, and how to identify whether a contact can actually help advance a deal.
But again, Iconic Selling is not just about watching videos and taking notes. The real value comes from applying the material with guidance. I coach each sales professional one-on-one so they can look at their actual accounts and ask: Do I have a real champion? Who is missing? Where is the influence? What conversation needs to happen next?
That level of application changes how sellers think.
A buyer who likes you can make the process pleasant. A true champion can help make the decision happen.
Knowing the difference is one of the marks of a mature seller.
About Carl Erickson
Carl Erickson is the founder of Iconic Selling and the President and CEO of Beacon Worldwide. With more than 30 years of sales leadership experience, Carl has helped top sellers close six and seven-figure deals in industries like technology, healthcare, and energy. His client-centric Iconic Selling Framework is a proven pathway to building trust, delivering value, and consistently closing high-value deals. Carl’s mission is simple. Help salespeople sell the way buyers actually want to buy.