Key takeaways
- B2B purchases usually involve a group, not one person.
- Map roles first: the users, the owner of the problem, the budget holder and the approvers.
- Company pages and announcements show who holds which role.
- Your first contact is the best source on how the decision is made.
- Record the buying group so the next seller does not start again.
Who counts as a decision maker
A decision maker is anyone who can approve, block or shape the purchase, not only the person who signs.
In most B2B deals there is an economic buyer who owns the budget, a champion who wants the change, users who will live with it and reviewers such as IT, security or procurement. Missing one of them is a common reason a deal stalls late.
Which roles usually decide on your product
The roles that decide depend on what you sell and how large the buyer is, so work them out from your own won deals.
In a company of forty people the founder may approve everything. In a company of four hundred, a head of department chooses and finance approves. Look at your last few wins and note who replied first, who joined the calls and who signed; that pattern is your starting map.
Where can you find decision makers' names
Find names on the company's own pages first, then in public profiles and announcements.
- The leadership, team and about pages on the company website.
- Press releases, hiring announcements and conference speaker lists.
- Public professional profiles, filtered by role and seniority.
- Job adverts, which often name the team a new hire reports to.
- Annual reports and company filings for larger organisations.
How do you confirm who decides
Confirm it by asking, early and directly, how decisions like this get made.
Good questions are open and practical: "Who else would want a say in this?" and "How did you choose the last tool in this area?" The answers show you the process as well as the people. Write them against the account so the map survives a hand-over.
Should you contact the most senior person first
Not always: start with the most senior person who owns the problem you solve.
Writing to the chief executive of a large company about a team-level tool usually ends in silence or a forward. Writing to the head of the team that feels the pain, with a clear reason, is more likely to start a real conversation, and that person can bring in the budget holder when it matters.
How to identify decision makers, step by step
Work from roles to names, then confirm.
- List the roles involved in your recent won deals: who replied, who joined calls and who signed.
- Match those roles to the prospect's size and structure.
- Find the names for each role on the company's pages, in announcements and in public profiles.
- Contact the person who owns the problem first, with a reason that fits their role.
- Ask who else is involved, and record the buying group against the account.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsName up to ten target companies with at least one role and one location, add a seniority filter, and a lead search fills a CRM segment with the people it finds. Work emails are found where possible, with a confidence score.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisAsk an assistant to read a company's leadership pages and public announcements and summarise who holds which role, with numbered citations.
Common questions
How do you find out who is on the buying committee?
Ask your first contact who else takes part, then check the company site and public profiles for the users, the owner of the problem, the budget holder and approvers such as IT or procurement.
Is it acceptable to contact several people at the same company?
Yes, if each message is relevant to that person's role and you are open about it. Avoid sending the same note to five people at once.
What if your contact will not say who decides?
Ask about the process instead of the people, such as what happened the last time they bought something similar. If they still cannot say, they may not be close to the decision.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
