When they say they're not the right person

"I'm not the right person for this" is one of the best replies you can get. It means they read your note, thought about it, and took the time to tell you. Now get the name.

Plenty of reps treat it as a no. It's a redirect.

What it usually means

There are three versions of this reply.

The first is literal. You guessed wrong about who owns the problem. Maybe data platforms sit under the CFO, not the CIO. Maybe the new COO owns the vendor relationships you thought IT did. That's useful. Your research missed something about how this company is organized.

The second is polite deflection. They own it, but they're not interested right now, and saying it's not their area is easier than saying no. You can usually tell by the tone. A real redirect often comes with a name. A deflection doesn't.

The third is a filter. Senior people push outreach down to a team member to see if it survives. If the team member finds it useful, it comes back up with a recommendation.

All three are better than silence.

The reply to send

Keep it short. Thank them. Ask for the person. Make it easy to answer in one line.

Thanks, that helps, and I'd rather know than guess. Who owns this at your company? If it's easier, I'm happy for you to forward my note with a line from you, and I'll keep it short on my end. And if I've got the problem itself wrong, I'd value hearing that too.

The last line matters. It invites correction on the hypothesis, not just the routing. Sometimes the person says it's not their area, but the real issue is something else entirely. That's gold.

If they name someone

Write to the new person within a day. Reference the referral plainly, in the first line. Your colleague in finance suggested you're the right person for this. Then the hypothesis, rewritten for that person's seat.

Don't just forward the original email. The misery for a CFO is different from the misery for a CIO. Same research, new angle.

Then close the loop with whoever sent you. A two-line thank you, and a note that you've reached out. They're still part of the buying committee in some form, and they'll hear about it anyway.

If they don't name anyone

Go back to the research. Look at who holds the budget for this kind of work. Job posts often say who the role reports to. Org announcements, filings and LinkedIn titles help you map it.

Then try the next most likely person with a fresh hypothesis. Mention the earlier contact only if they were fine with it. When in doubt, leave it out.

A scenario

Say you write to a new CIO at a regional distributor with a hypothesis about warehouse systems. She replies that warehouse technology sits with the VP of supply chain, and she names him.

You thank her, write to the VP that afternoon with a version built around fulfillment delays and the systems that cause them, and mention she pointed you his way. He replies the next week. The CIO stays copied on nothing, but she gets a short thank you from you. When the deal later needs IT sign-off, she already knows your name.

What to avoid

Don't argue. Pointing at their title and insisting they own technology will end the conversation. They know their org. You don't.

Don't ask them to set up the meeting for you. That's a big favor from someone who just told you this isn't their area. A forward is small. A meeting is not.

Don't cc them on your next email without asking. It puts them in a thread they didn't choose.

And don't take it as rejection. Not the right person is a buyer helping you map the committee. That's exactly what you needed. For more on reaching every seat, read sell to the committee, not the contact.

The person who redirects you is often the one who helps your deal later. Treat them that way.