Signal-Based Selling
Using behavioral data signals to identify and prioritize prospects showing buying intent before they directly engage.
Definition
Signal-based selling uses behavioral indicators to identify prospects actively researching solutions, even before they contact your company. These signals include website visits, content downloads, job postings for relevant roles, technology changes, funding announcements, and social engagement patterns.
By monitoring these signals, sales and marketing teams can reach prospects at the moment of highest intent rather than waiting for inbound inquiries or relying on cold outreach to disinterested contacts.
Why It Matters
Signal-based approaches dramatically improve sales efficiency by focusing effort on prospects already in-market. Instead of spray-and-pray outreach, teams engage buyers who are actively seeking solutions.
For marketing, understanding buying signals helps align content and campaigns with actual buyer behavior patterns.
Examples in Practice
A company tracks when competitors' customers visit their comparison page multiple times, triggering targeted outreach about switching.
Marketing notices a spike in visits from a specific company's domain, combined with multiple LinkedIn profile views—signals that indicate serious evaluation.
Sales receives alerts when target accounts post job listings for roles that would use their product, indicating budget and intent.