If your sales team keeps chasing the wrong contacts and watching deals stall, you’re not alone. Enterprise accounts are a maze—job titles rarely mean what you think, org charts are hidden, and a “Director” might have zero power. This guide is for anyone who needs to break into big companies and actually reach people who can say “yes.” I’ll walk you through how to use Datagma to spot real decision makers, filter out dead-ends, and avoid spinning your wheels.
Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Stop Guessing—Define What a Decision Maker Is (For Real)
Before you fire up another tool, get clear on what you’re looking for. In big companies, “decision maker” is rarely about job titles alone. Here’s what matters:
- Budget authority: Can they actually approve spending?
- Influence: Do others listen to them, or are they a figurehead?
- Role in buying process: Are they a blocker, a champion, or the final signer?
What to ignore:
Don’t waste hours on every “VP” or “Director”—these titles are thrown around like confetti. Instead, focus on job responsibilities and reporting lines in context.
Pro tip:
Ask your existing customers who actually signed off on deals. Patterns will emerge.
Step 2: Target the Right Accounts First
Datagma works best when you’ve already narrowed down which companies matter. Don’t get sucked into boiling the ocean. Use these criteria to make your list:
- Company size: Are you after global giants or mid-market players?
- Industry and fit: Does the company actually have the problem you solve?
- Tech stack: Are they using tools you integrate with or replace?
Once you have a focused list (not 10,000 random domains), Datagma becomes a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
Step 3: Use Datagma to Map the Org—Not Just Find Names
This is where Datagma shines. It’s not just a contact database; it gives context on who reports to whom and who influences decisions.
How to do it:
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Search for your target company.
Enter the company domain or name. Datagma will pull up a list of employees—don’t just skim the first page. -
Map out the org structure.
Datagma often shows reporting lines, direct reports, and peer relationships. - Look for clusters: Who do multiple teams report up to?
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Spot dotted-line connections (sometimes just as important as direct reports).
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Zero in on relevant departments.
Say you’re selling HR software. Focus on HR, IT, and Finance—not every department.
What works:
- Org charts and reporting lines are gold. They help you avoid dead-end contacts and find influencers behind the scenes.
- Filtering by department and seniority cuts down on noise.
What doesn’t:
- Relying on just a job title search (“VP of Innovation”) without checking their actual team and scope.
- Taking the org chart as gospel—some info will be out of date, so sense-check with LinkedIn or company news.
Step 4: Filter for Buying Power, Not Just Seniority
Here’s where most sales teams get tripped up. Senior doesn’t always mean powerful. You want the people who own budgets and decisions.
How Datagma helps:
- Seniority filters: Filter by “decision maker,” “budget owner,” or similar tags if available.
- Job descriptions: Datagma often pulls in snippets or responsibilities. Scan for phrases like “P&L responsibility,” “vendor selection,” or “manages budget.”
- Custom tags: Some companies add “key influencer” or “project lead”—these can be more useful than titles.
Signs you’re on the right track: - They manage teams who’d actually use your product. - They’re involved in cross-department projects. - They show up in company press releases or announcements about new initiatives.
Red flags: - Lots of reports but no mention of budget or projects. - “Advisor” or “Consultant” roles—they rarely sign contracts. - Too many layers between them and the C-suite.
Step 5: Cross-Check and Validate—Don’t Rely on One Source
No tool is perfect. Org charts get stale, people move jobs, and companies change titles all the time. Here’s how to sanity-check your list:
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Check LinkedIn:
Does the person’s recent activity, endorsements, or posts line up with being a decision maker? Look for signs they’re leading projects or teams. -
Company press releases/news:
Are they quoted? Announced as leading new initiatives? This is a strong sign of influence. -
Mutual connections:
Ask coworkers or friendly customers if they’ve dealt with this person. A quick “Do they actually sign off?” can save hours.
What to ignore:
- Automated “influence scores” in prospecting tools—these are usually black boxes and not reliable.
- Out-of-date org charts—if something feels off, double-check.
Step 6: Build Multi-Threaded Outreach—Don’t Bet Everything on One Contact
Even if you find the “right” person, deals in enterprise accounts almost always involve a group. Here’s how to cover your bases:
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Identify champions, blockers, and budget owners.
Use Datagma to spot who works together on projects. Contact several people across different roles (e.g., the end user, their manager, and finance). -
Personalize your approach.
Reference specifics from Datagma—like a recent project or their reporting line. Skip generic “I see you’re the VP” emails. -
Keep your CRM updated.
Tag contacts as “champion,” “economic buyer,” etc.—not just “lead.” This helps your team avoid double-tapping the same person or missing key influencers.
Reality check:
Most deals stall when you rely on only one champion. Multi-threading sounds buzzwordy, but in practice, it just means not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Step 7: Track Changes—Decision Makers Move Fast
Big companies shuffle people around constantly. What’s true this quarter might be out of date next. Stay on top of it:
- Set up alerts in Datagma for job changes or new hires at target accounts.
- Schedule quarterly reviews of your contact lists, especially for long sales cycles.
- Watch for new projects or initiatives in the news—these often come with new decision makers.
Don’t:
- Assume your contact from last year is still there, or still in the same role.
- Let your CRM go stale—keep it fresh, or you’ll be chasing ghosts.
What Actually Works, and What to Ignore
Works: - Using org charts and reporting lines to find hidden influencers. - Cross-checking info across Datagma, LinkedIn, and your own network. - Tagging contacts by their buying role, not just their title.
Doesn’t: - Blindly trusting any tool’s “decision maker” label. - Chasing every VP you find (most have zero budget). - Relying on automation for outreach—personal context wins.
Ignore: - Fancy “AI-driven” recommendations with no transparency. - Lists of 10,000+ contacts—you’ll drown in data and never get traction.
Keep It Simple—Iterate as You Go
Finding decision makers in enterprise accounts is messy—no tool, not even Datagma, will make it magic. But if you focus on real org structure, validate your info, and talk to several people at once, you’ll skip a lot of wasted effort.
Start small, sanity-check what you find, and update as things change. The more you do this, the sharper your instincts get.
And remember: It’s always better to talk to five right people than spam fifty wrong ones.