TL;DR
A champion is your internal advocate inside a prospect account — someone who wants your product to win and actively sells it to colleagues and decision-makers when you're not in the room. Without a champion, enterprise deals stall or die in committee. Finding and developing a champion is the most important relationship in complex B2B sales.
A champion is not just someone who's enthusiastic about your product. A real champion meets three criteria: they want your product to win, they have the access and influence to make it happen, and they're willing to stick their neck out internally on your behalf.
How to identify a potential champion:
Signs someone could be your champion: - They schedule follow-up meetings proactively without you having to chase - They introduce you to colleagues and decision-makers without being asked - They share internal context you wouldn't normally get ("our CFO is going to ask about...") - They've had the problem before and understand its impact - They have something to gain from solving the problem (a promotion, hitting a target, a pet project)
How to develop a champion:
Give them tools to sell internally. A champion without ammunition is just an enthusiast. Equip them with: - A one-pager summarizing the business case in terms their CFO will respond to - An ROI model with your assumptions that they can customize - Reference customers in their industry they can call - Answers to the objections their leadership will raise
Make them the hero. Frame every internal win as their initiative: "You identified this, you drove this process, you're delivering this to the business." Champions fight harder for solutions they own.
Champion ≠ economic buyer. The champion is typically a practitioner or manager-level advocate. The economic buyer is often a more senior executive who signs off on budget. Your champion's job is to get you access to the economic buyer and influence their decision. Never skip the economic buyer — even the best champion can lose a deal if the CFO vetoes.
What happens without a champion: Multi-stakeholder deals without a champion die in committee. No one is fighting for you in the conversations you're not in. Identify champions early or de-prioritize deals where no one inside the account cares enough to advocate.
From Cactus: Cactus teaches clients to identify champion signals early in the discovery process and arm them properly — it's the highest-leverage investment in any enterprise sales cycle.
Cactus Marketing embeds with B2B tech startups to turn strategy into pipeline. We've worked with 60+ companies, supported 12 exits, and contributed to $7B+ in client valuations.
Book a free 30-minute call — we'll give you a concrete plan for your situation.
Book a free strategy call →How do I hire my first SDR?
Hire your first SDR only after you've personally closed 5–10 customers and can articulate exactly what messaging, ICP, and objection handling worked. An SDR hired before the founder has figured out the sales motion will fail — they need a playbook to follow, not to build one from scratch.
What should an SDR quota be?
A typical SDR quota in B2B SaaS is 8–15 qualified meetings booked per month, or $150–300K in pipeline generated per quarter. The right number depends on your ACV, lead source, and market. Set quota based on what's achievable from proven activity metrics, not what would be convenient for the business.
How do I onboard an SDR?
Build a structured 30-60-90 day plan with clear milestones: product mastery in week 1, ICP and messaging training in week 2, supervised calling in week 3, and independent ramping with quota from day 31. Document everything — the SDR should have a playbook on day one, not six weeks later.
What is a good SDR conversion rate?
A good SDR conversion rate is 2–5% of outbound contacts to qualified meeting, and 25–40% of qualified meetings to SQL (sales accepted opportunity). Below these benchmarks suggests targeting, messaging, or qualification issues — not necessarily SDR execution.