The economic buyer is the person who controls the budget and has final say on the purchase. Not always the user, not always the champion, often not the person you're talking to day-to-day. In B2B SaaS, the economic buyer might be the CFO, the COO, or a divisional VP — whoever has P&L ownership. Failing to get access to the economic buyer is the most common reason enterprise deals stall or die.
For example, your champion might be the Director of Ops, but the economic buyer is the CFO who has a soft budget freeze. Knowing this early lets you adjust your pitch to ROI and payback period rather than features.
We help clients build multi-threaded account strategies that access the economic buyer — not just the day-to-day contact.
Related Terms
Relevant Cactus Services
We implement Economic Buyer strategies for B2B tech startups every day. Book a free 30-minute call to get a concrete plan for your situation.
Book a free strategy call →Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Your ICP is the precise description of the company most likely to buy, stay, and expand.
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
An SDR is the outbound hunter on your sales team — their job is to generate qualified meetings, not close deals.
Business Development Representative (BDR)
A BDR is similar to an SDR but often focuses on larger, more strategic accounts or outbound into new markets rather than a defined territory.
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
TAM is the total revenue opportunity if you captured 100% of your target market.
Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM)
SAM is the portion of TAM you can actually reach with your current GTM motion.
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)
SOM is the slice of SAM you can realistically capture in the next 12–24 months given your resources, competition, and execution capacity.