qualify
The champion is not the buying committee
Map champion, economic buyer, users, procurement, and security.
Roles that matter
The champion wants you to win. The economic buyer owns the budget. Users live in the workflow. Procurement controls the PO path. Security and IT can block the install or data access.
Filled scorecard example (fictional)
Names and company are invented for teaching. This is not a real deal.
| Name | Role | Attitude | Cares about | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priya Shah | Champion (Dir. Warehouse Ops) | Positive | Cycle time, headcount pressure | Weekly 30-min; owns user intros |
| Marcus Lee | Economic buyer (VP Supply Chain) | Neutral | Payback < 9 months, risk to service levels | Midpoint + final; send ROI draft week 3 |
| Elena Ruiz | Power user (Shift lead) | Negative | Extra clicks, training time | Shadow one shift; co-author exception list |
| Tom Nguyen | Procurement | Neutral | MSA, vendor onboarding, PO timing | Kick off vendor packet week 1 |
| Sam Okonkwo | IT Security | Negative | SSO, data residency, SOC2 | Security questionnaire due week 2 |
Convert negatives and neutrals
Negative users often come around once they feel they are contributing. Neutral procurement and security contacts come around when you start a documented path early.
When the champion also signs
If the champion is also the economic buyer, the cycle gets shorter. Map the users and gatekeepers anyway.
FAQ
- Who is the economic buyer?
- The person who owns the budget and can write the check. Sometimes that person is also the champion.
- When do I map procurement?
- Before the commercial decision. Start in week one and run it in parallel with the pilot.
Claims and patterns on this page are paraphrased from practitioner session notes and the Startup Bible (Pilots that convert). See Sources.