A practical guide to buying signals

A lot of good outreach fails because the timing is wrong.

A company can be a perfect fit for what you sell and still have no reason to talk to you this month. Then something changes. They open a new site, hire someone to fix a problem, or announce a new project. Now the same email lands very differently.

Those changes are buying signals. Instead of asking who you can persuade, ask what businesses are already trying to do and whether you can help.

This guide shows you how to build a simple system that finds those businesses every week and tells you who to contact.

The short version: choose 20 to 50 businesses, pick three or four signals, check for them every Monday, and decide who to contact every Friday.

Your enquiries and past customers

News and public records

Job ads

Your signals system

• Who to contact
• Why now
• Who follows up

What are buying signals?

A buying signal is anything that suggests a person or business may be getting ready to buy. It might be something they say, something they do, or something that changes around them.

Signals don't guarantee a sale. They tell you who to talk to first, and give you a real reason to get in touch.

You'll also see these called intent signals or trigger events. The names vary, but the idea is the same.

The four kinds of buying signal

If someone asks for a price, asks how soon you could start, or a past customer gets back in touch, they've already raised their hand. Reply the same day. The rest of this guide is about spotting the businesses that haven't contacted you yet.

Examples of buying signals

Here are some common buying signals. The ones that matter most will depend on what you sell.

1. A contract is ending or a new rule is coming.There's a date, so a decision has to be made.
2. Someone who knows you starts at a new company.They already trust you, and they're new enough to change things.
3. A new decision-maker starts.New leaders often review suppliers and how things are done.
4. They're hiring for the problem you solve.They've decided the problem is worth spending money on.
5. They're opening a new location or expanding.Growth usually creates new needs, often on a deadline.
6. They've lodged plans or permits for something new.The plan exists before the work starts, so you can get in early.
7. A new business opens in your market.A new business has to set up nearly everything.
8. They're publicly unhappy with their current supplier.They already spend money on this and have a reason to switch.
9. They've merged, moved or rebranded.Suppliers and systems often get reviewed when a business changes shape.
10. They keep coming back to your pricing page.Stronger when it's a business you already know is a good fit.

A follow or a like is nice to see, but on its own it means very little.

How quickly should you act?

Signals go stale. A pricing page visit means something today and far less next month. ZoomInfo suggests replying to demo requests and repeat pricing page visits within an hour, to new executives within 24 hours, and to funding rounds within two to three days. Amplemarket's estimates give a job change up to about 30 days and a funding announcement up to about 60.

Both companies sell sales tools, so treat these as a guide. For a small team, three speeds are enough:

Where to find buying signals

Start with the places you can check every week.

• Your own website forms and analytics. Your strongest signals are already here.
• Past customers and old enquiries. Make a list of people who nearly bought or haven't ordered in a while.
• Job ads. Search for roles that suggest the problem you solve.
• Public records. Businesses often leave a paper trail before they spend money. Look at planning applications, trademark filings, new company registrations and industry licence lists.
• Google Alerts. Set them for your target companies and your industry's project news.
• LinkedIn. Watch your target companies for new hires and announcements, and people you know changing jobs.
• Review sites. Look for unhappy customers of the suppliers you compete with.

The best signals are evidence that money is about to move, or already is. A business lodging plans for a new warehouse tells you far more than one that simply fits your industry.

A record is a reason to look, not proof. A trademark filing doesn't guarantee an advertising budget, so check that the need is real before you pitch it.

Build your buying signals system in six steps

You don't need to watch everything all the time. A simple weekly system is enough for most small teams.

1. Write your short list. Choose 20 to 50 businesses you'd really like to work with. If you've got past sales data, use it to see who buys and when.
2. Pick three or four signals. Use the examples above and choose the ones that best fit what you sell. A good signal is specific to your market, easy to spot, has a date attached and is tied to spending.
3. Choose your sources. Match each signal to one place you can check, like a job board, a public register or a Google Alert.
4. Scan on Monday. Check your sources for anything new on your short list.
5. Decide on Friday. Pull it into a short digest: who to contact, and why now. Give each one an owner.
6. Keep one tracker. Record the business, the signal, the date, who's following up, and what happened.

Run it by hand for a few weeks. Once you know which signals bring in real conversations, automate the scanning and keep the decisions with a person.

We built a system like this for an Australian B2B supplier. It scans public sources, industry news and job ads every Monday, then sends a digest of who's worth contacting on Friday.

Example: how a cleaning company could use this

This is a made-up example of a commercial cleaner, to show how the system fits together.

Short list

30 offices, gyms and medical centres in the area they service.

Signals

A business opening new premises, a role advertised for an office or facilities manager, and a past client who hasn't booked in a year.

Sources

Google Alerts for new openings in their suburbs, job boards, and their own client list.

Monday

They spot a medical centre opening a second clinic next month.

Friday

The owner decides to contact it, because a new clinic needs a cleaner before the first patients arrive.

The message

Hi Priya, I saw you're opening a second clinic in Parramatta next month. New clinics usually need a cleaner locked in before the first patients arrive. Do you have that sorted, or is it still on the list?

The tracker

One new row records the medical centre, the signal, the date, who's following up, and what happened.

Tools to run your system

Start with the first tool in each row and add more only when you need them.

Whatever you use, follow its terms and the privacy rules where you operate.

How to reach out without sounding like spam

A signal gives you a reason to get in touch. Use it plainly.

• Mention what you noticed, if it's public and relevant.
• Connect it to a problem you can help with.
• Ask one small question.
• Don't get creepy. Never tell someone you saw them on your pricing page. Use that signal to decide who to contact, and keep it out of the message.

Be careful with email addresses, too. Public records are good for deciding who to approach, but that doesn't make every address on them fair game. Most countries have spam laws covering commercial email, including Australia, so check the rules where you operate, or get advice, before you email people at any scale.

Here's a simple example:

From manual to automated

You can run everything in this guide by hand, and that's the best way to start. It shows you which signals bring in real conversations.

Once you know that, most of it can be automated at scale. Scanning can cover far more businesses, the right contacts can be found for you, a first draft can be written for each one, and follow-ups can go out on a schedule. Keep a person checking the list and the messages.

Get the foundations right first, because automating a weak list or a weak message just sends more of it. The spam rules still apply at any volume. This guide doesn't cover how to set that up, but it's something we build.

Common mistakes

Treating every signal the same. A website visit and a request for a quote aren't equal. Demandbase makes the same point: many signals are just noise.

Tracking too many. Signals are everywhere. Salesmotion looked at 8,518 companies tracked by its customers and found 84.6% showed at least one signal in a single quarter. Pick three or four that matter to you.

Noticing but not acting. A signal nobody follows up is worthless. Give every one an owner.

Expecting signals to fix everything. They can tell you who to contact and when. They can't fix a weak offer or a poor message.

Common questions

Sources

• ZoomInfo: Buying Signals in Sales
• Amplemarket: What is signal-based selling?
• Salesmotion: Signal-Based Selling
• Demandbase: Common problems with signal-based selling
• ACMA: Avoid sending spam