Big deals don't happen without a little scheming with your champion (a little story from way back in 2016) Setting: Some random pub near Waterloo 🍻 One of my our deals' champions was in town for an event This was our swing deal for the quarter - and year It was going to catapult my rep to be amongst the top in EMEA Fortunately for us, he agreed to meet me for a drink between sessions (Wasn't a hard ask - he was my champion at his previous employer) It was one of the most pivotal champion meetings I can recall We talked about: ✅ How our deal was trending ✅ Which execs were in favour - and why ✅ Which execs were skeptical - and why ✅ What we still needed to overcome ✅ How we can build a more credible business case ✅ Where internal urgency could be found - and aligned with While he was a champion of ours from previous ↳He was a champion here because he knew we could help If all went according to plan, the outcomes would be a big career boost for him In other words - there was a big something in it for him From this one meeting, we had co-authored a plan to win. From this one meeting, we knew exactly what work was left to do. From this one meeting, we had a mutual timeline to do that work. The deal happened according to plan. 💥 Our champion came through for him and us In all the meetings where we weren't invited He fought the battles we could never fight The battles we did our best to prepare him for. It made the quarter and year for my rep - and our team Which wouldn't have happened without a tested champion Nor would it have happened without a little scheming It's not enough to find a champion Nor enough to develop them to fight for you Not even enough to test them to ensure they're ready Oftentimes - a little scheming is needed to co-author that plan to win Happy selling. 🏔
Great story, love these
I have had a few great champions. They are willing to be honest with you, knowing that you are going to be honest back. That honesty means that you don’t have to sell, because you are building a deep trust with your champion. With that trust, you can build a plan/scheme that is best for everyone involved.
Relationships and understanding what’s important to the people in front of you
Awesome story Chris Neenan 🏔! So much insight and power in the scheming :)
Enterprise Sales Northern Europe @Shopify | ex-Meta
9moLove this!!! It rings a bell :)