In my time working in B2B SaaS, I've watched many major shifts.
The draw of customer success, focus on product-led growth, the rise of digital CS, the importance of time-to-value, and more recently AI-powered automation.
The consistent thing throughout?
Companies that win are the ones who understand that strategic human relationships drive revenue.
📣 Let me drop some stats
More than 74% of companies now have dedicated customer onboarding teams.
Yet 75% of users abandon a product within the first week if onboarding is confusing.
We've invested heavily in technology, process, and automation.
So, what are we missing?
Buyers and users trust internal voices.
Customer references influence a whopping 80-85% of all B2B purchases.
Your customers need someone inside their walls who understands, believes in, and actively promotes your solution.
Don’t leave this to chance.
As AI takes over the transactional parts of onboarding, the strategic soft skills become more valuable, not less.
Identify real influence. Build continuity. Leverage champions for revenue.
“I get it Clare, so what do I do about it??”
Good question! Keep reading. ↓
🧪 The Project: Champion Multiplier System
This framework treats champions as what they actually are: revenue drivers. These strategic plays require human judgement, relationship intelligence, and forward thinking.
Step 1: Spot strategic thinkers
During onboarding, watch for the person who naturally translates your product into their organisation's language.
Not just the person asking the most questions, but the one providing answers to their colleagues.
👉 Here's an example setting where you may notice it:
In a group call, present a product feature and then stay quiet.
Watch who immediately connects it to a real workflow, who mentions other teams that could benefit, who asks about implementation across departments.
This highlights strategic thinkers who naturally see the bigger picture.
They are the ones already planning how to deploy it.
This mindset makes them natural expansion scouts, not just product champions.
When you identify this early, you can position them correctly from the start.
Step 2: Champions as expansion intelligence
Your champion sees revenue opportunities you don't.
They know which teams are struggling, which budgets are available, which problems aren't being solved.
This intelligence is gold.
Set up a quarterly conversation.
Not a check-in about product usage. (You have data for that, don’t waste face time with a customer on it).
👉 Frame it directly:
"You understand your business better than I ever will. Where are people still manually doing what we could automate? Which teams complain about the same problems you've solved?"
This is a strategic (there’s that word again) discussion about where else in the organisation your solution could add value.
🔍 Note: When they identify an opportunity, document it in your CRM with their name attached. Track which expansion deals came from champion intelligence versus your standard account planning. You'll probably find the deals they identify close faster because there's already internal advocacy.
Step 3: Build a succession plan
Champions leave.
Promotions, new jobs, restructures.
When they go without a succession plan, your adoption advantage disappears immediately.
👉 Towards the end of onboarding, ask directly:
"If you weren't in this role tomorrow, who on your team would naturally pick this up?"
Aim to build a relationship with that secondary person.
Send them relevant insights. Include them in strategic conversations. You're creating organisational depth.
If your champion moves on, you already have a warm relationship with their successor.
Step 4: Leverage champions in your sales process
Your champion has more credibility in reference calls than you'll ever have.
They're not on your payroll. They're speaking from lived experience.
Brief your champion before reference calls with the prospect's specific situation.
Your job is to facilitate, not sell.
👉 Prepare them with three strategic questions:
“What problem were you actually trying to solve? What nearly went wrong during implementation? What would you do differently knowing what you know now?”
This format gives prospects the unfiltered truth.
It builds trust faster than any polished pitch.
Step 5: Document champion knowledge
Your champion has built internal resources, solved problems, and developed workarounds that don't exist in your official materials.
This is institutional knowledge.
When they leave, it disappears unless you've documented it.
CSMs can add this step to their quarterly plan.
👉 In a casual conversation find out what actually works.
What questions do new users always ask? What mistakes do people make? What shortcuts have they discovered? What objections do they hear internally?
Turn these insights into resources their team can use after they're gone.
🤓 The Analysis
There is no reason why you can’t start this today with your clients.
The deeper you go with your customer champions, the more revenue there is to be gained.
