We asked two sales leaders what reps need to give their champions ahead of internal talks

The hardest part of a deal often happens where the rep never is — the champion making the case to peers and skeptics on the committee. Most reps hand over a deck and hope.

What should a rep actually equip a champion with for that internal conversation, and what's the asset reps most often get wrong?

Leslie Venetz

Founder - The Sales-led GTM Agency

Two areas of champion enablement I see reps miss are, co-creating assets with your champion and helping them plan for potential barriers to the deal. 

If you co-create assets like the slide deck, your champion has the opportunity to provide input to ensure the deck meets their needs and expectations.

As part of the co-creation process, it’s an opportunity for sellers to act as trusted advisors.

Questions that help your champion under potential hurdles like. “What types of questions does your boss usually ask when considering new vendors.” or “If this agreement wasn’t approved, what do you think the reason would be?”  help your champion show up to internal conversations more confident and prepared. 

Davidson Hang

Head of Business Development - Untap Your Sales Potential

If you're never in the room where the decision is being made, there's a good chance the deal isn't going to happen.

A true champion doesn't just tell you they'll advocate for you — they help you prepare for internal meetings and, more importantly, find ways to get you access to the people who ultimately make the decision. 

Ideally, it should feel like you're an extension of their team, not an outside vendor.

If they won't let you engage with executives, get curious instead of frustrated. Understand why.

Sometimes you need to earn credibility with managers and individual contributors before presenting the business case to leadership.

Great enterprise sales are built on trust, access, and alignment — not just a great presentation.