Intent Signals tools help sales and marketing teams figure out when companies might be ready to buy something. These tools track things like new executive hires, funding announcements, job postings, and technology changes at target companies. For example, when a company hires a new VP of Sales, that could signal they're planning to expand and might need new sales tools or services.
The technology pulls information from job boards, news sites, social media, company websites, and financial databases. It uses natural language processing to scan through job descriptions, press releases, and social posts looking for specific keywords and changes. When the system spots something significant like a new hire or funding round, it finds contact information for the right people and can automatically trigger outreach campaigns or update your CRM with notes about why now might be a good time to reach out.
These tools work differently than traditional B2B intent data providers, which usually tell you when companies are researching certain topics online. Intent Signals focus on specific events that create immediate opportunities. Instead of knowing that a company is reading about cybersecurity solutions, you'd know they just hired a new CISO who probably has budget to spend. They also do more than basic sales engagement platforms by providing the context for why you should contact someone, not just the tools to send emails.
Sales teams use these for tracking when former customers change jobs (so they can reach out at the new company), monitoring hiring patterns that suggest budget availability, and website visitor tracking to see which target accounts are checking out their site. Marketing teams build account lists based on companies that just adopted complementary software or got funding. Revenue operations teams set up automated lead scoring based on these signals. The predictive analytics for sales help teams focus on accounts most likely to buy based on recent changes at those companies. More teams are starting to realize that timing matters as much as having the right message.