Article · 10 min read

The Decision-Making Unit: The Who-is-Who of Your B2B Sales Process

Martin Giese and Matthias Hilpert · Disciplined Entrepreneurship (MIT) Free Beginner

Names the roles precisely (end user, champion, economic buyer, influencer, veto power, procurement) so you stop calling everyone a decision maker. It is the one page to keep open while you map an account.

  • Bill Aulet's decision-making unit has three primary roles: end user, champion, and primary economic buyer.
  • The champion wants the purchase to happen and may or may not be the person who will use the product.
  • Beyond the three, map influencers, veto powers, and the purchasing department, each of which can stall a deal.
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It answers 2 questions

  1. The person who uses our product every day is not the person who pays for it. Which one is the ICP?
  2. Every deal seems to have five people in it. Who actually signs, and who am I wasting time on?

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