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There’s a piece of sales advice that gets thrown around constantly.

“Always get to the decision maker.”

We want to be in the rooms where decisions are happening as much as possible. But, while the advice is factually correct it’s incomplete and short-sighted. Because as much as you want to be in those rooms, you don’t always get the chance.

If you follow that advice too literally, you’ll end up dismissing one of the most important relationships in any deal you’ll ever work.

For eight years I sold software to local and state governments. My main contacts were department directors like Building Officials, Planning Directors and Community Development Directors. They were the end users. People who knew exactly where the problems were and what mattered the most to be fixed.

But getting it approved? That was a different story.

Budget wasn’t always available and had to be built from scratch. It needed sign off from a City Manager. Almost always, it went to City Council for approval (sometimes needing multiple meetings to get a resolution). Even if you were replacing another vendor and budget was already in place, there were still “checks and balances” to be competitive.

And in government, there’s an extra layer because they’re often required to take the lowest cost bid unless you can prove why your solution is worth more. (Don’t even get me started on RFPs, we’ll save that for another week).

The people I was working with weren’t just collecting information, they were championing the entire project.

They might have even been the ones standing in front of the public at a council meeting and presenting their best option (and defending it).

And the ones who moved deals forward all had one thing in common.

They were responsive.

→ They treated this like it was their project to deliver.

When they didn’t know something, they went and found out. They knew how to navigate their own organization and weren’t shy about doing it.

That’s your champion.

A champion isn’t just your main point of contact.

They might be one of several decision makers. They might have full authority on vendor selection but still need to build the budget case from zero. They might be more committed to this project than their own colleagues who should care just as much.

→ That’s the point. They are actively championing the project itself.

Not just passing information along. Not just being polite on calls.

They want this to happen. And that energy is something you can feel early if you’re paying attention.

But a champion isn’t defined by their title or where they sit in the org chart.

It’s defined by how they show up.

Every time you’re working with a new contact, you’re trying to figure out three things. Each of these provided intel into how the inner workings of this specific project and the overall organization function so you can’t assume.

You must ask.

Question to start this conversation: “How does your organization typically make a decision like this?”

Pro tip: If they can’t clearly talk through exactly what has to happen for this to get done then you’re either working with someone with no authority or they’ve never done this before. Either one requires more clarification so you can completely understand what roadblocks you might be up against.

You need names and roles. Not so you can go around your champion, but so you can help them navigate.

If they’re going to present this internally, you want to know what that room looks like before they walk into it.

Question to start the conversation: Who ultimately makes the final decision on both the vendor and the budget?

If you don’t know who makes the call, you can’t properly equip them to make a strong business case.

Pro tip: I’ve had several times in my career where the main point of contact claimed to be the decision maker but wasn’t. Remember, they might make the decision on the vendor but do they make the decision on the budget and getting the project supported?

This is the question most founders skip because it feels uncomfortable.

But, we need to know the things that could derail this to get ahead of it.

Question to start the conversation: “Is there any reason you see yourselves not moving forward on this project?”

If your champion knows the objections coming their way, you can help them get ahead of them. If they don’t know, that’s useful too.

Pro tip: Knowing what can blow this whole thing up is critical as you position yourself during calls and presentations. If you’re talking about the headwinds they might be experiencing then it only makes you more of an advisor and less of someone selling them a widget.

Here’s what separates a real champion from someone just going through the motions.

When they don’t know something, do they go find the answer?

Watch what happens after a call when a question comes up they couldn’t answer in the moment.

Do they follow up?

Do they go dig?

Or does the conversation drop off completely?

That follow through, or lack of it, tells you more about the deal than anything they say on the call.

The other tell is whether they keep others in their organization at arm’s length when it comes to you. If they’re vague about who else is involved, hesitant to loop anyone in, or always have a reason why a next step can’t happen yet then they might not fully trust you (or anyone for that matter).

They might be a point of contact but that doesn’t mean they are a champion.

And that’s information you need early.

Once you understand where your champion sits, your whole approach shifts from selling to partnering.

You’re not trying to close them. You’re trying to make them successful in moving this forward.

That might look like:

A question worth asking directly:

“What do you need from me to make this easy for you to present internally?”

It puts the ball in their court. And how they answer tells you immediately how prepared and committed they actually are.

The deals that move are the ones where your champion feels like you’re in it with them. Not waiting on the other side of the table for an answer.

This is about long term partnerships. Not a quick win.

The decision maker you never meet may say yes or no largely based on how your champion represents what you bring to the table.

That’s not a small thing.

That’s everything.

Look through your active deals right now and for each one ask:

Bonus question: Either way, how does a decision get made?

If you’re unsure on any of these, that’s your next conversation.

Let me know in the replies, I read and respond to every one of them.

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