How do I build champions who move the deal forward without me?

You have learned the deepest move in selling: you win through other people, not around them. Your champions carry the deal inside the account while you are elsewhere. That is leverage most never reach. Respect it and keep it sharp. The temptation when it works is to lean back and let momentum carry. But a champion left unfed loses confidence and standing over time. Their credibility is spent on you, and it needs replenishing with wins, information, and cover. After each stage, ask what your champion needs to stay strong inside: a proof point, a quick win, an answer to a rival's claim. Give it before they ask. Champions who feel backed keep advancing when you are nowhere in the room.