How to Find Decision-Makers at Any Company (Without LinkedIn Premium)

Finding the right decision-maker at a company is half the battle in B2B sales. The wrong contact wastes weeks of effort. The right contact — reached at the right time — can turn a cold outreach into a booked meeting. Here is a systematic approach to identifying B2B buyers at any company.

The 3 people you need to find at every account

Most B2B purchases involve three distinct roles. Missing any one of them slows the deal:

• The economic buyer — approves the budget. Usually VP, CRO, CFO, or CEO depending on company size. This person signs the contract. Getting them involved early shortens the sales cycle.
• The champion — uses the product daily and advocates internally. Usually a manager or director. They feel the pain you solve. They sell for you when you're not in the room.
• The technical evaluator — assesses security, integration, and implementation. Usually IT, Security, or RevOps. Needs to say yes before the deal can close. Often the reason deals stall.

Method 1: Search by title and department

The most direct method is to search a B2B contact database for your target company by title and department. Know the exact job titles that typically own your buying decision at each company size:

• 1–50 employees: CEO or Founder typically makes the buying decision themselves
• 51–200 employees: VP of Sales, Head of Marketing, or COO depending on your category
• 201–1000 employees: VP or Director level — the person with budget for your deal size
• 1000+ employees: Director or VP with divisional budget; C-suite only for large deals ($100k+)

Method 2: Use job postings to identify decision-makers

Job postings are underused as a prospecting signal. A company hiring for a role in your buyer's department tells you: (1) they're investing in that area, (2) the hiring manager is a decision-maker, and (3) they have an active budget.

Search job boards for companies hiring for roles adjacent to your product. A company hiring an "SDR Manager" is building an outbound sales team — they need prospecting tools. The VP of Sales overseeing that hire is your economic buyer.

Sendburg's buying signal detection automatically surfaces companies actively hiring in your target departments, so you can reach the decision-maker at exactly the right moment.

Method 3: LinkedIn navigation

LinkedIn remains the most reliable source for current job titles and reporting structures. Navigate to the company page → People → filter by department → sort by seniority. Look for Director, VP, or Head-of-level titles in the relevant department.

The limitation: LinkedIn shows you who someone is but doesn't give you their direct email or phone. Pair LinkedIn for identification with a contact database like Sendburg to reveal their verified contact details.

Method 4: Use AI company briefings

AI company briefings (like those generated by Sendburg's Burg AI) tell you who leads each function at a company, based on analysis of their website, job postings, press releases, and public data. Instead of manually searching LinkedIn for the right contact, you can ask: "Who leads revenue operations at Notion?" and get a data-backed answer with verified contact information.

Common mistakes when finding decision-makers

• Going too senior too early — emailing the CEO at a 500-person company for a $10k deal wastes everyone's time. Start with the VP-level champion who feels the pain.
• Ignoring the technical evaluator — sales reps frequently skip IT/Security because they're "not the buyer." These people can kill a deal that the VP of Sales already approved.
• Contacting outdated titles — people change jobs frequently. Always verify that a contact is still at the company before reaching out. Using unverified data wastes credits and hurts deliverability.
• Only reaching one contact per account — multi-threaded accounts close faster and at higher rates. Reach the champion AND the economic buyer simultaneously.

The fastest workflow in 2025

The fastest way to find decision-makers at scale: (1) Build an ICP filter in Sendburg targeting company size, industry, and tech stack; (2) Use the AI briefing to identify the champion and economic buyer at each matched company; (3) Reveal their verified email and direct dial; (4) Add to your sequence. The entire process takes minutes per account rather than hours of manual research.