Mapping decision makers: roles and seniority
Prospecting 10 min
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Business problem
You write to 'company X' and the email lands in info@ because you don't have a person. Or you write to the CEO when the Head of Sales makes the decision. Prospecting without a role map is sending blind — low effectiveness because you hit the wrong roles.
Proven method
Roles in the buying process:
- User — the person who uses the product (feels the pain most),
- Buyer/Decision maker — the person who approves the purchase (Head of Sales, CEO, CFO),
- Economic buyer — controls the budget (often higher, e.g. founder),
- Champion — an internal advocate who promotes you,
- Influencer — an opinion leader (specialist, consultant),
- Gatekeeper — guards access (assistant, reception, info@). The selection rule: PRIMARY = the person who (a) feels the problem, (b) has budget or influence over budget, (c) is reachable. For every lead you define the primary + 2 secondary roles. AI generates the list of potential roles from research and points out the primary with justification.
Market example
- BAD
- Unstructured prospecting without ICP filters and generic outreach to random accounts.
- GOOD
- Company X (agency, 20 people): AI research → potential buyers: CEO/Founder, Head of Sales, Sales Director. Primary: Head of Sales. Why: manages the sales process and has influence over the budget. Secondary: Founder (budget), Sales Manager (user). Plus: gatekeeper (reception/assistant — we don't write, we bypass via direct contact with the primary).
Ready-to-use prompt
You are a B2B advisor. Context: I'm analyzing the company [NAME/URL] for selling [PRODUCT]. It's a [INDUSTRY, SIZE] company. Task: Map the buying roles for this company: 1. List the potential roles: CEO/Founder, Head of Sales, Sales Director, CMO, COO, CFO, Head of Ops, specialist (user) 2. Point out the PRIMARY decision maker with justification (why this person: budget? problem? decision?) 3. Point out 2 secondary roles 4. List 6 title variants for the primary (because 'Head of Sales' can be 'VP Sales', 'Sales Director'...) Format: sections, specific.
Model rekomendowany: Claude 3.5 Sonnet / GPT-4o Copy and paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity
ALTERNATYWNE SCENARIUSZE
Variations & alternative scenarios
Technical product version: the primary may be CTO/Head of Engineering — adapt the roles.
HR/benefits version: primary = Head of People / HR Director.
Practical exercise
Take 5 companies from your list. For each: write potential roles, point out the primary with justification and 6 title variants. Write down the pattern — you'll use it in research.
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