The decision makers at a company are the people who will approve, champion and use what you sell. Finding them means mapping each role in the purchase to a named person, confirming they still hold the seat, and deciding who to contact first. A senior title on its own doesn’t tell you any of that.
Deals rarely fail because the rep picked the wrong company. They stall because the rep had one contact, and that one contact couldn’t sign, moved on, or went quiet.
What a mapped buying group includes
The decision maker. The senior person who approves the budget and signs. Usually not the first person to reply.
The champion. The person with the problem and the standing to push the purchase through internally. Often a director or senior manager in the team that feels the pain.
The end user. The person who will use what you sell every day. On a new account, your proof point. On a customer, your path to the next seat.
Larger purchases add more people: finance, IT, security or procurement can each slow or stop a deal. Map them when the deal size calls for it, but start with the three people who decide whether the conversation happens at all.
Why one contact isn’t enough
Gong Labs research found that winning deals have, on average, at least three people from the buyer’s side in meetings, while lost deals often have one. Treat that as a pattern, not a guarantee: healthy deals attract more contacts, so adding names alone won’t save a deal that has no fit. But a deal that rests on one person carries one point of failure.
How to find the decision makers at a company
1. Start from the account, not the title. Searching “VP of Sales” across a market returns everyone with those words in their title. Pick the account first, then ask who inside it owns the problem you solve.
2. Decide which roles this purchase needs. A tool bought by one team needs a decision maker, a champion and an end user. A purchase that touches security, data or finance needs those owners too. Write the roles down before you search.
3. Map people to each role. Use department, seniority and the range of titles the role carries at companies of this size. A “Head of Revenue Operations” at a 200-person company and a “Director of Sales Systems” at a 5,000-person company may hold the same seat.
4. Confirm they’re still there. In Lusha’s study of 148,000 records, 12.25% of US sales leaders changed roles in 12 months. Check the current employer and title before anyone writes a message.
5. Look for change inside the group. A new executive in their first 90 days, a promotion, or a champion who left all change who decides. A new leader reviews vendors. A vacated seat is a new person who has never heard your pitch.
6. Rank who to contact first. Weigh how strong the role match is, how senior the person is, and whether a signal gives you a reason to reach out now. The highest title is not always the right first call.
7. Thread in order. Open with the person likeliest to reply and carry the message inward. Reference what you heard from one role when you reach the next, without name dropping.
8. Keep the map current. Recheck open deals and key accounts on a set cadence. A buying group you mapped last quarter is already out of date.
How to tell a decision maker from a senior title
Seniority answers “how high up is this person.” The question that counts is “does this person own the outcome of this purchase.” Three checks help: the role sits in the department that owns the budget, the title matches the scope of what you sell at this company’s size, and the person has been in the seat long enough to sign, or is new enough to be reviewing everything.
What to capture for each person
| Field | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Name and current title | Confirms the person still holds the seat you’re targeting. |
| Role in the decision | Tells the rep whether this person signs, pushes or uses. |
| Role score | Shows how confident the match is, so the rep starts with the strongest. |
| Department and seniority | Supports routing and the angle of the first message. |
| Days in role | Flags a new leader in their first 90 days, when vendors get reviewed. |
| Verified email and direct phone | Reaches the person, not a general inbox. |
| Account signal and date | Gives the reason to reach out now. |
| CRM status | Separates net new contacts from people your team already knows. |
Buying group checklist
- Every role this purchase needs has a named person, or a note saying it’s open.
- Each person’s current employer and title have been confirmed.
- New leaders, promotions and departures in the last 90 days are flagged.
- People already in your CRM or in an open deal are marked.
- The group is ranked, and the first contact is chosen for a reason.
- A recheck date is set.
Common mistakes
Choosing by seniority alone. The highest title may not own the problem, and a cold message to the CEO rarely starts the right conversation.
Single threading. One contact means one point of failure. If they leave or go quiet, the deal goes with them.
Trusting an old org chart. People move. A map from six months ago sends reps to people who have left.
Revealing everyone up front. Pulling every email and phone at a company spends credits on people you’ll never contact. Map and rank first, then reveal the few you need.
How to find the decision makers with Lusha
Lusha’s Buying Group maps the people who decide at an account to three roles: the decision maker, the champion and the end user, each with a score. You see the ranked table before you spend anything, and reveal contact details only for the people you choose.
In Lusha Workspace. Pick a company and open Buying Group. Contacts appear sorted by role and score. Filter to the role you need and reveal that contact from the same screen.
In Claude or ChatGPT. Connect Lusha and ask for the buying group at one account or across your top accounts. The assistant returns the roles and scores, then reveals only the contacts you pick.
Through the MCP. Call the buying group tool from any agent you build, and pass the mapped roles into your routing or CRM.
What it costs: viewing the ranked table is free. Revealing an email costs 1 credit and a phone number 5. The full breakdown is in how Lusha credits work.
Example prompt: map the buying group at an account
Find the people who will decide on buying [what you sell] at [company or domain].
Map them to three roles:
- the decision maker who signs
- the champion who pushes it through
- the end user who lives with it
For each person, give:
- current title, department and seniority
- role score
- a flag if they joined, were promoted or changed roles in the last 90 days
Don't reveal emails or phone numbers yet.
Rank who to contact first and say why, then ask me which contacts to reveal.Replace the two brackets and run it. The prompt holds the reveal until you choose, so you spend credits only on the people you’ll contact.
FAQ
What is a decision maker in B2B sales?
The person who approves the budget and signs for a purchase. They usually rely on a champion and on input from the people who will use the product.
How do I find out who the decision maker is at a company?
Start from the account, list the roles the purchase needs, map a named person to each role by department, seniority and title, confirm they’re still in the seat, and rank who to contact first.
What’s the difference between a decision maker and a champion?
The decision maker signs. The champion has the problem and pushes the purchase through internally. Nearly every deal needs both.
How many people are in a B2B buying group?
It depends on the purchase. A tool for one team may involve three people. A purchase that touches security, finance or procurement involves more. Start with who signs, who pushes and who uses.
How do I find decision makers in Claude?
Connect Lusha to Claude and ask for the buying group at the company. Claude returns each person’s role and score, and reveals contact details only for the people you choose.
Does it cost credits to see the buying group?
No. Viewing the ranked table is free. You spend credits when you reveal an email (1 credit) or phone number (5 credits).
How often should I recheck a buying group?
Before each campaign, and on a regular cadence for open deals and key accounts. Job changes, promotions and new executives change who decides.
