Asking your prospect to be the Champion?

Has anyone formally asked your internal contact to be your champion?

If so, how did you do it, and was it successful?

Maybe not as direct as "Will you be my champion?", but along the lines of "Will you be my internal point person" or something like that.... I've seen this approach recommended from some of the "sales influencers" we are all overloaded with on social.

I have a deal that has expanded quickly to the entire company. The initial discovery was good, and first demo generated interest and we had another demo with the larger team. Now that the requirements, team, and evaluation has expanded I've been thinking about a way to approach this. My champion does not have DM power, but is a heavy influencer, and has already given me access to DMs.

I want to set expectations around him being the main POC - coordinating teams internally, doing quick debriefs with me, and helping provide additional insight on the teams thoughts during the evaluation. My give would be reassuring him that I'll do whatever I can do get the deal done because I feel it's a real win for them internally, and formally giving him permission to tell me to fuck off if the project died. The give is a little weak compared to my ask, but I don't know what else I can do.

So how have you guys done this without just being awkward and saying "Wil you be my champion?".

We have a debrief next week, and I'm thinking about setting the expectations of team (My Company and His Company). Something like "I feel there is a lot of value we can deliver for you. This project has expanded a lot in the last two weeks. In order to have the most successful evaluation, and make sure we are not wasting anyone's time, I'd like to set some commitment expectations." Then lay out some expectations and ask if he is willing to be the point person for them.