Ever spent hours trying to track down the right person to talk to at a company, only to end up with a generic info@ email and zero replies? You're not alone. If you're in sales, recruiting, or just need to reach actual decision makers—not gatekeepers—finding the right contacts is half the battle. This guide is for anyone who wants a straight-shooting, step-by-step way to get that list, using Wiza (a tool that cuts through a lot of the manual work, but isn't magic).
Let's get into it.
Why Finding Decision Makers Is Harder Than It Should Be
Before we dive in, let's be clear: most company directories, LinkedIn searches, and scraped lists are packed with bloat. You’ll see a lot of “Analyst,” “Coordinator,” or “Specialist” titles. These folks are great, but they’re rarely the people who can say "yes" to your pitch.
The real decision makers—VPs, Directors, Heads of X—aren’t always easy to spot. Job titles vary. People change roles. Sometimes, companies hide their org charts on purpose.
That’s why most “contact lists” are a waste of money and time. You need a way to cut through the noise, fast.
Step 1: Get Set Up With Wiza (and What to Expect)
First things first: what is Wiza?
At its core, Wiza is a browser-based tool that helps you pull contact info from LinkedIn Sales Navigator searches and exports it into a spreadsheet. It works best if you already have a Sales Navigator account, but you can still get some value without one—it’ll just be limited.
What you’ll need: - A LinkedIn account (free or paid; Sales Navigator is much better) - A Wiza account (they have free trials, but expect to pay if you’re doing this seriously) - The Wiza Chrome extension
Honest take:
If you’re expecting 100% verified emails and perfect job titles, you’ll be disappointed. No tool can do that. But if you want to save hours of manual copy-paste and get mostly-accurate data, Wiza is solid.
Step 2: Define the Decision Maker Profile—Don’t Skip This
Don’t just search for “CEO.”
“Decision maker” means different things at different companies. For a 10-person startup, the founder decides everything. At a Fortune 500, a Director in your target department might be your best bet.
How to get specific:
- List the job titles that actually buy what you’re selling. For example: “VP of Marketing,” “Head of Operations,” “Director of IT.”
- Consider alternate titles. Some companies use “Lead,” “Manager,” “Head,” or “Owner.”
- Decide on company size and industry. Selling to 5-person agencies? Or to global banks? The title and decision-making power shift a lot.
Pro tip:
Check a few LinkedIn company pages. See who’s actually in the role you want to target. Don’t trust your assumptions—companies love making up new titles.
Step 3: Build a Targeted Search in LinkedIn Sales Navigator
This is where you get the most value out of Wiza.
Why use Sales Navigator?
The free version of LinkedIn is fine for browsing, but it’s clunky for serious prospecting. Sales Navigator lets you filter by title, industry, location, company size, and more. If you’re doing this regularly, it’s worth the investment.
How to set up a killer search:
- Go to Sales Navigator and click “Lead Filters.”
- Enter your list of job titles (use Boolean search: "VP of Marketing" OR "Head of Marketing" OR "Director of Marketing")
- Add industry filters. Be specific—don’t just pick “Information Technology” if you mean “Cloud Computing.”
- Set company size. If you’re after SMBs, pick the 11-50 or 51-200 brackets. For enterprise, go bigger.
- Filter by geography if it matters.
- Optional: Filter by keywords in the profile, years in current position, or other fields that help you get only the right people.
What to ignore:
Don’t bother with the “Seniority Level” filter alone—it misses tons of real decision makers with non-standard titles.
Step 4: Use Wiza to Scrape and Export the List
Now the magic (well, the automation) happens.
Using Wiza: 1. With your LinkedIn Sales Navigator search results open, click the Wiza Chrome extension. 2. Choose the number of profiles to scan (you can limit it to the first 100, 500, or more depending on your plan). 3. Start the scan. Wiza will go through the profiles and try to find verified email addresses and company info. 4. When it’s done, download the CSV.
What actually works: - Wiza is fast and usually gets you 50–80% coverage on verified emails. That’s about as good as it gets in this industry. - It pulls in job titles, companies, and LinkedIn URLs so you can double-check the data.
What to watch for: - Some emails will be generic—or worse, bounce. Always expect some duds. - If your search is too broad, you’ll get a lot of irrelevant contacts. - Wiza sometimes grabs old or outdated info, especially if a profile hasn’t been updated in years.
Pro tip:
Always spot-check your CSV. Don’t just fire off a mass email. A quick scan for obviously wrong or weird titles saves you embarrassment later.
Step 5: Clean and Prioritize Your List
Automation is great, but it’s not a substitute for judgment.
How to clean your list: - Filter out junior titles or irrelevant departments (e.g., don't email the “HR Manager” if you’re selling software to IT). - Remove duplicates. - Double-check for “fake” or placeholder emails (test@company.com, etc.). - Prioritize contacts by seniority, company size, or whatever matters most to your outreach.
Tools that help:
You can use Google Sheets, Excel, or a CRM like HubSpot or Pipedrive for this. There are also email verification tools (ZeroBounce, NeverBounce), if you want to further clean your list.
What not to stress about:
A few imperfect entries won't kill your campaign. Perfect is the enemy of done.
Step 6: Reach Out—But Don’t Spam
You’ve got your list. Now what?
How to get replies: - Write short, honest emails. Don’t sound like a robot. - Personalize—mention something specific about the company or person if you can. - Don’t send eight follow-ups. Two or three is plenty. - Never use a “spray and pray” approach. If you wouldn’t reply to your own email, don’t send it.
What works: - Ask a direct question or offer something genuinely useful. - Subject lines that are clear, not clickbait (“Quick question about [topic]” beats “Exclusive opportunity!” every time).
What to ignore:
Anyone promising “guaranteed” open rates or “AI-powered” outreach with zero effort. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Step 7 (Optional): Iterate, Refine, Repeat
Don’t expect your first batch to be perfect. Tweak as you go.
What to adjust: - Are you getting replies from the right people? If not, revisit your LinkedIn search filters. - Are your emails bouncing? Use a different email verification tool. - Is your message getting ignored? Rethink your approach—don’t just blame the list.
Pro tip:
Every industry, and sometimes every quarter, your “ideal” title or company target will shift. Don’t set it and forget it.
Keep It Simple (and Keep Moving)
Finding decision makers in any industry is never “push button, get leads.” But with tools like Wiza, plus a little smart filtering and a skeptical eye, you can build targeted, high-quality lists without wasting days hunting through LinkedIn by hand.
Stay focused:
- Define who you actually want.
- Use automation, but don’t trust it blindly.
- Clean up your lists, keep your outreach honest, and don’t overthink it.
Test, adjust, and you’ll get sharper with every round. Now go find the people who can actually say “yes.”