Frequently asked questions
How do you confirm someone is the actual decision maker?
Three questions: "Will you sign the contract?" "Whose budget does this come from?" "Who can stop this purchase?" If all three point to the same person, you have the decision maker. If two of three point to someone else, you don't.
What's the cost of selling to the wrong decision maker?
Sales cycles stretch 40 to 60 percent. Conversion rates drop by half. The deal stalls in late-stage "verbal commitment" purgatory because the actual buyer is asking questions your champion can't answer.
How is the decision maker different from the economic buyer?
They're often the same person but not always. Economic buyer is whose budget pays. Decision maker is who chooses the vendor. In tightly-budgeted orgs (mid-market and below) they collapse into one. In enterprise they often split.
Can you sell a $50K product without meeting the decision maker?
In some PLG-influenced motions, yes, when the actual buyer is the user and procurement just signs the paperwork. Outside that flow, no. The deal will not close without direct decision-maker engagement at some point.
How do AI SDRs handle decision-maker identification?
AI agents can rank likely decision makers by role + tenure + recent activity and propose the top 2 to 3 with reasoning. The human still validates the call before deciding who to message; the AI's job is filtering to a credible short list.
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