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Internal champion strategy: identify, enable, and mobilise the internal advocate who will push the deal through
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/claudient-gtm:champion-builderThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
- You're mid-deal and realise you don't have anyone fighting for you inside the account
/deal-review to maintain deal health/mutual-success-planAssess whether [Name / Title] is a strong champion for this deal.
## Context
Account: [company name]
Contact: [name, title]
Interactions so far: [number of meetings, what was discussed]
Deal size: $[ACV]
Stage: [current stage]
## Champion qualification tests
Run each test and mark: Passed / Failed / Untested
### Test 1 — ACCESS
Has this contact given you access to the economic buyer and other key stakeholders?
Evidence:
- [ ] Introduced you to the economic buyer (or offered to)
- [ ] Given you names and roles of other stakeholders in the decision
- [ ] Facilitated a meeting above their own level
Status: [Passed / Failed / Untested]
If failed: This person may be a coach or coach-level contact, not a champion. A champion opens doors. A coach gives advice.
---
### Test 2 — INFORMATION
Has this contact shared confidential or sensitive information that shows trust?
Evidence:
- [ ] Told you about internal politics or decision-making dynamics
- [ ] Shared the names of competing vendors and their relative standing
- [ ] Told you about budget constraints or approval processes
- [ ] Warned you about potential obstacles before they became problems
Status: [Passed / Failed / Untested]
If failed: They're being professionally polite, not advocating. A real champion treats you as a trusted partner, not a vendor.
---
### Test 3 — ADVOCACY IN YOUR ABSENCE
Is this person selling on your behalf when you're not in the room?
Evidence (ask indirectly):
- "How are you describing what we do to [executive]?"
- "Who else have you mentioned us to internally?"
- "What feedback are you getting from [economic buyer / IT / procurement]?"
Signs of true advocacy:
- They've mentioned you to people you haven't met
- They've defended you against objections raised by others
- They've used your talking points or ROI data in internal conversations
Status: [Passed / Failed / Untested]
If failed: You have a passive contact, not a champion. You need to actively coach them and give them reasons to advocate.
---
### Test 4 — PERSONAL WIN
Does this person win personally if your deal closes?
What's in it for them:
- [ ] Solves a pain that makes their job harder / more embarrassing
- [ ] Makes them look good to their manager
- [ ] Achieves a goal they're personally measured on
- [ ] Removes a problem they're personally accountable for
If the champion wins only abstractly ("our company will be more efficient"), the personal motivation to fight for your deal is low.
Status: [Passed / Failed / Untested]
---
## Champion assessment result
| Test | Status |
|---|---|
| Access | Passed / Failed / Untested |
| Information | Passed / Failed / Untested |
| Advocacy in absence | Passed / Failed / Untested |
| Personal win | Passed / Failed / Untested |
**Verdict:**
- 4/4 Passed: Strong champion — enable and mobilise
- 3/4 Passed: Developing champion — coach and give tools
- 2/4 or fewer: Coach / Sponsor, not a champion — do NOT rely on this person to close the deal. Find a real champion or create one.
Create a champion enablement package for [Name] at [Company].
## Context
Champion: [name, title]
Their goal: [what they're trying to achieve personally and professionally]
Their audience: [who they need to convince internally — economic buyer name/title, other stakeholders]
Our solution: [one-sentence description of what you sell]
Key business case: [the measurable ROI or outcome]
Deal size: $[ACV]
Timeline: [close date]
## Package contents:
### 1. Internal pitch script
What they say to [economic buyer / their team / procurement] when pitching this solution internally.
Audience: [economic buyer name and title]
Opening (30 seconds):
"[Name], I've been evaluating [solution category] and found one that directly addresses [specific pain
point we've discussed]. I want to walk you through why I think this is worth a closer look."
The business case (90 seconds):
"Currently, [current situation that costs us time/money/risk]. We've quantified this as [X hours/week /
$Y in cost / Z% risk exposure]. [Vendor] has a track record of cutting that by [percentage or amount]
for companies like ours — [reference customer if available]."
The ask:
"I'd like to get you in a 30-minute conversation with their team to see if it's a fit. Based on what
I've seen, I think it's worth your time. Can we set something up for [day/week]?"
Anticipated objection and how to handle it:
Q: "Why can't we build this internally?"
A: "We looked at that. The build cost alone would be [X] months of engineering time, and we'd still
need to maintain it. [Vendor]'s solution is already built and running at scale."
---
### 2. One-page business case document
A document the champion can circulate or attach to an internal approval email.
Format:
**[Company Name] — Business Case: [Solution Name]**
Problem: [1 sentence]
Current cost: [$X per year / X hours per week / X% risk]
Proposed solution: [vendor and product in 1 sentence]
Expected outcome: [specific measurable outcome, with evidence — benchmark or reference customer]
Investment: $[ACV/year]
Payback period: [X months at these savings]
Recommended next step: [specific action — "approve pilot / approve evaluation / approve full rollout"]
Decision deadline: [why we need to decide by [date]]
---
### 3. Objection handling guide for your champion
Common objections the economic buyer or procurement will raise, with responses:
**"We don't have budget."**
Response: "This isn't in the current budget plan, but the ROI case is strong enough to justify
a budget exception. I can put together the business case for [Finance/CFO]. The payback is [X months],
which is within our standard threshold for exceptions."
**"Why now? We can do this next year."**
Response: "There's a real cost to delaying. Every [month/quarter] we wait costs us [specific amount
or hours]. And [vendor] pricing goes up [X]% in [month] — we can lock in current pricing if we
sign before then."
**"We have a vendor we've used for years. Why switch?"**
Response: "Our current vendor handles [X], but they don't do [specific gap]. The workarounds we
use today cost [time or money]. This isn't a wholesale rip-and-replace — it's filling a gap
[current vendor] can't fill."
---
### 4. Stakeholder map — who else to engage
Identify who the champion should loop in proactively (before they object later):
| Stakeholder | Role | Their likely concern | What to tell them |
|---|---|---|---|
| [IT/Security] | Security review | Data handling, compliance | [vendor] is SOC 2 Type II certified. Offer to connect with their security team. |
| [Finance] | Budget approval | ROI, payback | See business case document above |
| [Legal] | Contract review | Terms, liability | Standard MSA with [X]-month liability cap. Legal review typically takes 2 weeks. |
| [End users] | Adoption | Change management | Pilot with [N] users before full rollout. Champion to host internal demo. |
My champion [Name] at [Company] has gone quiet. They were responsive through [stage] but I haven't
heard from them in [N] days since [last interaction].
## Context
Last meaningful conversation: [summary of what was discussed]
Last commitment they made: [what they said they'd do]
Current deal status: [stage, close date]
Possible reasons they've gone quiet:
- Internal priorities shifted
- Executive sponsor pulled support
- They're embarrassed about a stalled internal approval
- Competitor is gaining ground
- They left the company (check LinkedIn)
## Re-engagement strategy
Step 1 — Soft touch (Day 1):
Send a value-add email. Not "checking in." Give them something useful.
Template:
Subject: [Something specific to their industry or a recent trigger]
"[Name], saw [specific news / industry report / competitor announcement] and thought of what
you mentioned about [specific pain]. Wanted to share [relevant insight / customer story /
new feature that addresses their pain]. Happy to reconnect if the timing is right."
Step 2 — Direct ask (Day 7 if no response):
Subject: Quick question on [Company] + [our company]
"[Name], I want to be respectful of your time. Has the evaluation been deprioritised, or is
there something I can help you move forward internally? Happy to adjust our approach if priorities
have shifted."
Step 3 — Go around / multi-thread (Day 14 if still quiet):
Identify one other stakeholder in the account and reach out independently.
"Hi [other stakeholder], I've been working with [champion's name] on [solution category]. I
wanted to introduce myself and see if there's anything I can do to support the evaluation."
Step 4 — Formal breakup email (Day 21):
Subject: Closing out [Company] / [Our Company]
"[Name], I haven't heard back and don't want to keep interrupting your day. I'm going to
close out our opportunity for now. If things change or the timing improves, I'm always happy
to reconnect. Best of luck with [their goal]."
The breakup email often produces a response. If it doesn't, the deal was already dead.
User: My champion at Meridian Health is Maria, the Director of Revenue Cycle. She passed the information test (told me about their CFO being hard to reach and their procurement rules). But she hasn't introduced me to the CFO yet and when I asked, she said "let me find the right time." Deal is $120K, 60 days old, close date is end of next month.
Output:
## Champion Assessment: Maria, Director of Revenue Cycle
| Test | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Access | FAILED | Has not introduced you to CFO despite being asked |
| Information | PASSED | Shared CFO accessibility challenge and procurement rules |
| Advocacy in absence | UNTESTED | No evidence either way |
| Personal win | UNTESTED | Do you know what Maria is personally measured on? |
**Verdict: Developing champion.** Maria trusts you (information test passed), but she's not yet
fighting for the deal. The CFO access test failure is a yellow flag at $120K — she should
be more motivated to push this through if she truly owns the pain.
**Root cause hypothesis:** "Let me find the right time" is usually one of two things:
1. She doesn't feel confident enough in the ROI case to put her name on it with the CFO
2. She has internal permission concerns — she may not feel she has the authority to make this intro
**Recommended actions:**
1. **Give her the pitch script.** Book a 30-minute call with Maria — not to sell her further, but
to help her prepare to sell internally. Walk through exactly what she'd say to the CFO.
Say: "Maria, I want to make sure I'm making this as easy as possible for you. Can we spend 30
minutes so I can help you prepare for that CFO conversation?"
2. **Build the one-page business case she can send.** At $120K, the CFO will want a paper trail.
Give Maria a document she can forward — so introducing you becomes optional.
The document should show: current cost of the problem, expected ROI, implementation timeline,
and a specific ask (30-minute conversation with the CFO).
3. **Set a deadline.** "Maria, our pricing holds through [end of month]. After that, I can't
guarantee the same terms. I want to make sure we have enough time for the CFO conversation —
can we target getting that meeting in the next two weeks?"
Work with us: Claudient is backed by Uitbreiden — we build AI products and B2B solutions with developer communities. uitbreiden.com · Reddit · YouTube
Guides creation, editing, and verification of skills for AI coding agents using test-driven development with subagent scenarios. Use when authoring or debugging skills.
npx claudepluginhub claudient/claudient --plugin claudient-gtm