How to Find Key Decision Makers With a Person Search API

Scheduling a meeting to discuss a different meeting. 

Including the tasks you’ve already completed as you write a to-do list.

Sending a ‘quick follow up’ email for the 20th time. 

All of these things feel useful, but in reality they’re…kind of pointless. You know what else is pointless? Chasing contacts who aren’t in a position to say yes. 

Deals stall when you start too low in the org chart — which is why it’s important to identify the key decision maker right from the start. In today’s blog post, we’ll show you how to do exactly that using the Surfe Person Search API.

• Why Targeting Key Decision Makers Is Non-Negotiable
• Manual Prospecting Costs More Than You Think
• Use Case: Target Accounts – Give Reps a Head Start

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll be able to build lead lists of qualified, high-impact contacts who actually have the power to push your deal forward.

Seeya later, pointless work tasks. Here’s how to really make an impact. 

Why Targeting Key Decision Makers Is Non-Negotiable

Let’s be honest: selling to someone who can’t actually approve a purchase is like pitching to an empty chair. Sure, the person on the other end of the phone might smile, nod, even give you a verbal yes – but unless they have a budget and a title that unlocks decision-making power, your deal’s going nowhere.

Key decision makers are the difference between a conversation and a contract. Here’s why:

• Shorter sales cycles: when you cut out the middle layers, you cut out the waiting
• Real conversations: decision makers care about the bigger picture, and the outcomes your product will achieve
• No more “Let me loop in my manager”: you’re already talking to them, which means fewer changes of your pitch getting lost in translation

Sound obvious? It is. And yet, reps are still spending hours guessing who the right person is – scrolling LinkedIn, toggling between tabs, praying that “Head of Innovation Strategy” means what they think it means.

This isn’t effective – or efficient – particularly when you’re working at scale. Instead, you need targeting that’s based on actual data like seniority level, department, or company size, not vague job titles and hunches based on LinkedIn content.

Manual Prospecting Costs More Than You Think

So: you’ve got a list of target accounts. A solid strategy. A capable team.

You’re ready to nail this next quarter…but your reps are still spending hours trawling LinkedIn, trying to figure out who to contact. Problematic? Unfortunately so: 

• Every hour spent researching is an hour not spent selling
• Every junior contacted is another delay in the deal
• Every missed decision maker is a missed opportunity

Even the best sales playbook falls apart if your starting point is off. Reaching out to the wrong person means slower sales cycles, more internal handoffs, and a higher risk of getting ghosted halfway through (and we all hate being ghosted). 

Enter: the Surfe Person Search API. Let’s take a look at a use case. 

Use Case: Target Accounts – Give Reps a Head Start

Your reps just got a list of target accounts, but there’s precisely 0 context on who they should be reaching out to. This leads them to guesswork – and while they’re busy decoding org charts and reverse-engineering job titles, that pipeline isn’t filling itself.

Great. Fantastic. Now, what do you do next?

Here’s a smarter way to start. All you need to have to hand is the Surfe Person Search API. 

The Input

Start by inputting: 

• A list of assigned companies (based on territory, vertical, or segment)
• A target role or title (like “Director of Engineering” or “VP of Ops”)
• Optional filters like department, seniority level, or location

The Surfe Person Search API will then scan each company for people who match your criteria, returning a list of key decision makers — ideal for finding B2B contacts — complete with:

• Name
• Job title 
• Seniority 
• LinkedIn profile 
• Company info
• Email address and phone number

The Result

With everything they could possibly need to hand, your reps can get straight to outreach – without falling down any rabbit holes. They know exactly who to contact and why they’re relevant, which leads to faster outreach, higher response rates, and a stronger, more consistent pipeline.  

Instead of researching for hours, your team can just start selling. Love it!

Let’s Wrap It Up!

If you’re still manually checking titles and guessing who to contact, you’re behind. Sorry to break it to you. Enriching and filtering for key decision makers may seem like a simple step – but it’s one that changes everything. You’ll spend less time bogged down by research, and more time actually selling. Simple. 

FAQs about Finding Key Decision Makers 

What Is a Key Decision Maker in B2B Sales?

A key decision maker in B2B sales is someone with the authority to approve purchases, allocate budget, and say yes to your solution. Reaching out to people who don’t hold that power slows down deals and leads to internal handoffs that can derail your momentum. If you want faster, cleaner sales cycles, start your outreach with decision makers. 

Why Is It Important to Reach Key Decision Makers?

Reaching key decision makers is essential because they’re the ones who can actually move your deal forward. When you pitch to junior contacts, you risk getting stuck in approval loops or lost in internal discussions. Decision makers understand the business impact, control budgets, and have the authority to say “yes.” Targeting them from the start helps you close deals faster, avoid misalignment, and have more meaningful conversations.

How Do You Identify Key Decision Makers at a Company?

Identifying key decision makers usually involves looking at job titles, seniority level, and department, then confirming whether that person has buying power. The challenge? Job titles can be vague, and org charts aren’t always public. That’s why tools like Surfe’s Person Search API exist: you can filter contacts by role, seniority, and company to generate accurate, up-to-date lead lists of true decision makers. No guesswork, just the right people.

What Is a Person Search API and How Does It Help Sales Teams?

A Person Search API is a tool that helps sales teams find and filter contact data based on custom criteria like job title, department, company, and seniority level. Surfe’s Person Search API lets you search across target accounts and return clean contact lists of key decision makers – complete with emails, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profiles. It eliminates manual research so reps can spend more time selling, and less time clicking around LinkedIn.

Can a Person Search API Really Improve Sales Performance?

Absolutely. When sales reps spend less time researching and more time contacting the right people, results follow. A Person Search API like Surfe’s makes it easier to build lists of key decision makers – meaning faster outreach, higher response rates, and fewer stalled deals. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out who to talk to, your team can hit the ground running with high-quality leads from day one.