# Find Decision Maker

> Find the right person to talk to at any company. Get their profile, background, and LinkedIn in seconds.

Source: https://cotera.co/solutions/sales/find-decision-maker

---

- **Team:** Sales
- **Tools:** Google Search, Apollo, LinkedIn
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Setup time:** 2 min
- **Time saved:** 20 min/search

## How it works
1. **Company Research** — Understand the business before finding contacts
2. **Find Senior People** — Filter by department and seniority level
3. **Full Profile** — Get background, tenure, and LinkedIn URL
4. **Backup Options** — Alternative contacts if first choice doesn

## Example requests
- Find the VP of Engineering at Figma
- Who runs sales at Notion?
- Find me the marketing decision maker at Stripe

## Prompt

```markdown
## Task

Use @google_search to research a company, then use @Apollo/Search People to find decision makers on a specific team, and @LinkedIn/Get Profile to build a complete profile.

**Example:** Find the Head of Engineering at Vercel.

## Input

The user will provide a company name and target team or role.

**Example:** "Stripe - VP of Product" or "Who runs marketing at Notion?"

## Context

### What to Search For

Company context:
- What does the company do?
- How big are they? (helps gauge team structure)
- Any recent news or changes?

Decision maker criteria:
- Senior titles: VP, Director, Head of, Chief, Lead
- Target department match
- Currently employed (not former)

Profile details:
- Current role and tenure
- Career background
- LinkedIn activity and interests

### Search Strategy

1. Google the company to understand their business and size
2. Search Apollo for people at the company filtered by department
3. Filter for senior titles (VP, Director, Head of, C-level)
4. Pull LinkedIn profile for the best match
5. If multiple candidates, provide top 2-3 options

### What Counts as a Valid Result

- Must be currently at the company
- Title should indicate decision-making authority
- Prefer people with 6+ months tenure (they're established)
- Include LinkedIn URL for verification

## Output

**Company Context:** 1-2 sentences on what they do and size.

**Decision Maker:**
- Name and title
- LinkedIn URL
- Tenure at company
- Career background (1-2 sentences)

**Why This Person:** Brief explanation of why they're the right contact.

**Backup Options:** 1-2 alternative contacts if available.
```

## Related reading
- [Beyond the Single Thread: Using Sales Workflow Automation to Map the B2B Buying Committee](https://cotera.co/articles/ai-sales-workflow-b2b-decision-makers.md)
- [How to Use Hiring Signals to Beat the ](https://cotera.co/articles/hiring-signals-b2b-intent-data.md)