Imagine knowing exactly when a potential client is primed and ready for your pitch. This isn’t just a dream scenario—it’s becoming a must-have for businesses looking to maximize their sales efforts.
Many companies, like yours, are driving revenue through similar targeting. That’s because they’re using B2B intent signals.
Wondering how it works?
Let’s take a closer look at what B2B intent signals are.
What Are Intent Signals?
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Intent signals are the information left behind by potential buyers as they research products and services. These signals provide insight into whether a buyer is in the early stages of research, actively considering a purchase, or nearing a decision.
By interpreting these behaviors, sales teams can gauge the likelihood of a prospect converting into a customer.
However, just because a prospect is showing interest, it doesn’t mean they are ready to buy. For example, a prospect downloading a whitepaper may still be in the research phase, whereas someone visiting the pricing page could be further along in the decision-making process.
So, what’s the right approach? Understand where the prospect is in their buyer journey and score intent signals accordingly.
This way, your sales teams can avoid wasting time on early-stage leads and instead focus on those showing strong buying intent. Categorizing prospects as cold leads, warm leads, or hot leads can further help prioritize efforts effectively.
Fact: Sales teams using AI and automation tools like intent data are 1.3 times more likely to see revenue growth compared to those who aren’t leveraging these technologies (Salesforce)
Types of Intent Signals
Intent signals typically fall into two categories:
- First-party intent signals: Generated from your own platforms, such as website visits, content downloads, and email engagement.
- Third-party intent signals: Gathered from external sources, including data from content syndication platforms, search engine behavior, or social media activity.
Going deeper, understanding buyer behavior allows your sales and marketing teams to engage with prospects at the right moment with the right message. Utilizing buyer intent data tools can enhance this process by providing actionable insights into prospect behavior.
Why Intent Signals Matter in B2B Sales
Complex sales. Long sales cycles. Multiple decision-makers. And various touchpoints are tied to B2B landscape.
Intent data is the key to navigating this complex puzzle, figuring out when a lead is truly ready for a conversation.
Recent McKinsey & Company research shows that AI adoption in sales increases productivity by 10-15% and revenue by 6-10%
With these kinds of gains, it’s no surprise that intent signals have become crucial for B2B sales
Intent signals offer:
- Insight into buying behavior: Analyze the intent signals, and you’ll understand what products or services a prospect is researching, enabling you to tailor your outreach accordingly.
- Prioritization of high-value leads: Some leads may show more buying intent than others. Once you identify these leads, it’s time for your sales teams to channel their efforts toward converting them.
- Shorter sales cycles: Engaging with prospects who are on the verge of making a purchase accelerates the sales process.
Data is gold dust, but too much can be overwhelming. Tracking excess data can lead to information overload. It’s ideal to focus on quality over quantity and prioritize key signals, such as high engagement with specific product pages.
Use AI tools and CRM systems to help filter out noise and identify truly actionable insights.
How to Use Intent Signals for B2B Sales
Intent data is powerful only when it’s used effectively. Here’s how your sales teams can use it to optimize results:
1. Identify Key Accounts Using Intent Signals
Start by identifying the accounts that are showing the most buying intent. Account-based scoring models that rank leads based on their intent activity can help with this. This approach focuses on high-priority accounts, allowing you to tailor your outreach accordingly.
2. Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Maximum Impact
Intent signals are most valuable when sales and marketing teams are perfectly aligned. Marketing lays the groundwork with first-party and third-party intent signals, and the sales team acts on them to push prospects toward conversion. Collaboration ensures that outreach is timely and relevant.
3. Optimize Outreach Timing and Messaging
Timing is everything in B2B sales. Knowing when a prospect is actively researching allows your sales team to strike while the iron is hot, increasing conversion chances. Personalizing the outreach based on the prospect’s research interest dramatically improves engagement.
Leveraging Intent Signals for Lead Nurturing
Intent signals are not just powerful for immediate outreach but are also crucial for lead nurturing. B2B sales are rarely quick, so understanding intent over time helps sales teams stay engaged throughout the buying journey.
1. Track and Adjust Based on Intent
Intent data varies throughout the funnel. Early-stage signals, such as visiting educational content, indicate research, while later-stage signals, like reviewing pricing pages, suggest readiness to buy. Sales teams can adapt their messaging and offers accordingly.
2. Use Intent Data for Retargeting Campaigns
Intent signals are valuable for retargeting. Prospects who have visited your website but haven’t converted can be nurtured through targeted ads or email campaigns, keeping your brand top of mind.
3. Personalize Your Nurturing Emails
Personalized emails resonate more with prospects. Use intent signals to craft emails tailored to your prospect’s current needs. For instance, if a prospect has been researching a specific solution, send them a case study that highlights that solution’s success.
In Conclusion
The buyer’s journey is not linear. Buyers actively research online for their solutions, and it’s important to identify the strong purchase intent.
Absolutely. B2B intent signals are a game-changer. They allow sales teams to engage with prospects at the right moment, with the right message, and ultimately close deals faster.
By identifying key accounts, optimizing outreach timing, and personalizing your approach, you can turn intent signals into a powerful tool for driving revenue.
Vikas Bhatt is the Co-Founder of ONLY B2B, a premium B2B lead generation company that specializes in helping businesses achieve their growth objectives through targeted marketing & sales campaigns. With 10+ years of experience in the industry, Vikas has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses today and has developed a unique approach to lead generation that has helped clients across a range of industries around the globe. As a thought leader in the B2B marketing community, ONLY B2B specializes in demand generation, content syndication, database services and more.
