The person who controls the budget or has final approval authority to spend money on your solution — not always the person you initially speak to.
The economic buyer is whoever has the authority to release budget and sign the contract. They may be the person who initiated the buy (your champion), or they may be completely separate. In some organizations, it's the VP of the department. In others, it's the CFO. In others, it's a procurement committee. Your job is to find them and understand what they need to feel comfortable spending.
Once you've qualified a deal and identified interest, you need to find the economic buyer. Your champion might be a power user who loves the product but has no authority to approve the spend. Or they might be the economic buyer and you don't realize it. Ask directly: "Who has to sign off on this budget?" or "If we move forward, who would be the one approving the investment?" This is different from asking who else is involved.
You're selling to a mid-market tech company. Your contact is the Head of Operations. She loves your product and is ready to move. But when you ask who controls the budget, she says the VP of Finance has to sign off on any new software purchases over $50K. Your contact is the champion and champion. The VP of Finance is your economic buyer. Now you need a conversation with finance — not about functionality, but about cost, ROI, and procurement process.
AEs close a deal "verbally" with their main contact and assume it's locked. Then finance or the actual decision-maker blocks it, or renegotiates, or drags the process out. Always identify the economic buyer separately from your champion, even if they're the same person. And always get them involved before you think you've won.
Part of our guide to MEDDPICC.
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