John Barrows, sales professional and writer of the book “I want to be in sales when I grow up”, talks about three different types of people that advocates your products within the companies they work at: Fans, Coaches, Champions.
These are the end-users of your products. They love your products, they will talk someone’s ears off evangelizing your product. They have no real impact of decisions or budget.
Coaches help you navigate the map of a company. Who to talk to, when to talk to them, and what is going on at the company. “You didn’t hear it from me, but… this is what's happening”.
These are the people that can take a chunk of the budget. They might not have direct authority, but they have a seat at the table when the conversations are happening. At that same table others will be advocating their favorite so make sure your champion has the correct data and arguments to advocate your product.
Do you know if your advocate is really a champion, fan or coach?