Every signal, how it is scored, and what happens next.

The surge names the tools and skills you sell into. The strongest form of the signal.

A senior specialist arriving is a company deciding to take the problem seriously.

Several roles at once means a funded initiative, not a backfill.

Some of the roles touch your world. Worth a look, not a drop-everything.

Someone is being hired to solve a problem. If your product solves it, that is a reason to call.

They are growing, but not where you play. Kept deliberately quiet so it does not crowd the list.

Reduction in force is a signal of need for efficiency or strategy not working as intended. While often seen as a counter-signal, it can be a positive sign for a need to consolidate technology or bring on a new tool to replace the function of an employee.

Your champion just landed somewhere you want to sell. The highest-value person signal in the model.

You lose a champion at one account and gain intel on another.

A warm path into a target account that does not require a cold anything.

Held quietly until their new company is assessed, then it promotes itself automatically.

Chatting with someone who recently left (or was let go) from a competitor presents an opportunity to get intel on churn risks, upcoming renewals, key points of context, and more.

Tried and true, when a customer or champion moves to another company, there’s a good chance they’ll bring your product along for the journey. If you keep in touch, that is.

Not all job change prospects move organizations. When a customer or ideal prospect gets a promotion, it’s often a sign that the team is growing, they’ll have additional budget, and that they’ll be looking to make a fast impact.

Economic buyers are elusive. When they reveal themselves (be it by joining their team in your product, following your founder, or something else), you should pay attention.

New employees want to make an impact. When an ideal persona lands at a target account, it’s an opportunity to get in the mix of their ideal tech stack.

A procurement that matches what you build, with the agency and scope attached.

Public money, a named principal investigator, and the exact project description.

Filings say what a public company has committed to, in language their lawyers approved.

Coverage that names a target account and a topic you sell into.

New money, and an investor whose other portfolio companies you may already know.

When a target account is recognized (think Cloud 100), or someone within that account is (think 30 under 30), it’s an opportunity to send a congrats. Just try to make it relevant.

Caution: This one is overused. However, it does mean that scale will follow. That scale could be a strong signal to purchase new software.

While a pretty loose signal, these financial reports can provide insight into a widespread initiative within a target account. It’s decent leverage to book a meeting.

Just like adding an integration to a tech is a signal of intent, the same goes for removal. It could mean the stripped tool was not adding value as intended and is being replaced for something more feature rich.

Sometimes the government steps in and passes legislation that impacts markets. When your product is an easy fix for that change, it’s a lot easier to convert a customer or book an intro.

Rare these days, but integrating a new product, team, line of business, etc. is not an easy task. Still, it’s one that your product can potentially help with.

In the unfortunate scenario that a target account runs into PR trouble, it can be a catalyst for making a change—a change that may require new solutions to address a problem.

Like professional milestones, personal wins like an alma mater sports championship, birthday, vacation, etc. are sometimes made public. When the occasion calls for it, it’s a chance to show you’re paying attention and stand out from the pack.

Companies and services have been wiped out by policy changes to distribution platforms (updates to Gmail sender guidelines come to mind). When this happens, it causes fear, uncertainty, and doubt—FUD that your product can potentially curb.

So the economic buyer at a target account was just featured on a podcast? Seems like a good trigger to send a congrats and show you’re a fan.

A soft signal, but a signal nonetheless. When a prospect or customer is covered by a media outlet (e.g., TechCrunch, Bloomberg, etc.), it provides intel on company direction and can offer up a reason to reach out.

When target accounts launch a new product, it’s a signal that could mean a change in strategy, a new line of hiring, or a new set of customers they can sell to. All can be signals of things your product can potentially help with.

Recognition in the form of awards, news coverage, tenure, etc. are milestones that can be acknowledged to cater to a contact’s ego. Can’t hurt, right?

Moving into a new market could mean localized copy, policy restrictions (think GDPR), real estate requirements, etc. These are all potential buying triggers.

Whether your product is complementary or competition, getting a peek at a company’s tech stack configuration will help you stand out with value and show empathy with pain points.

Engaging with a competitor in public is a conversation you can join.

A public mention is usually an evaluation in progress.

Tells you who chose them, and who is now locked in for a term you can time.

Positioning intel, and a list of who reacted.

When a person mentions a competitor, it's an opportunity for your organization to join in their evaluation process, be the one it's replaced with in a "Rip & Replace" scenario, or for "Listening" to gain competitive intelligence for your GTM organization.

When competitors sunset their service or get acquired, their customers often reenter the market to refill the gap.

If competitors stop supporting features or deprecate product lines, everyone who gets value from those features is now in the market for a new offering.

New follows of a competitor handle on LinkedIn or Twitter are a sign that a convo is happening.

A follow of an account executive or leadership of a competitor is a sign that the follower is in conversations with that competitor.

While it’s hard to programmatically know when a renewal is upcoming, it’s possible to infer or gain intel on when a target account is in renewal talks with the competition.

The clearest hand raise there is. Usually the strongest thing in the whole catalog.

A human answered or reacted. Fed back in as a signal, not just a metric.

First-party, and the only click signal that requires a browser to actually render the page.

This shows an initiative to scale GTM channel investment and track conversion from that investment. This behavior is often driven by demand gen or marketing ops roles.

This shows an initiative to understand user behavior and demographics of users on a web property. It’s often tied to a marketing or growth lead joining a company.

New brand and website launches often signal a change in strategic direction. That direction could be going after a new audience, pivoting a product, up-leveling positioning—all potential signs to reach out.

Similar to integrations page views (sometimes they’re even the same thing), consumption of docs pages is a sign that a lead (or account if the lead is unknown) is looking to address something with your product. Doesn’t hurt to reach out to lend a helping hand.

A visit (especially for an extended period) to an integrations page is a signal that the viewer is looking to understand how that integration works. It’s a good opportunity to reach out and offer some help. And even better if that integration is one that’s associated with a high revenue value.

In addition to reverse IP lookup, adding the LinkedIn Insights tag to track web activity delivers more matches to visits from target accounts.

Visits to the pricing page—especially when those visits have a lot of toggling and activity—are often a signal of purchase consideration.

These forgotten pages are actually a strong signal of purchase intent. It’s a sign that a compliance person is reviewing terms for a purchase.

Website traffic in either direction can be a signal of pent up demand (rapid growth) or cause for concern (rapid churn). If your product is priced on traffic, it’s a signal to reach out and offer support.

A significant update or complete overhaul of a prospect's website signals a strategic shift or a new direction in their go-to-market approach. It could mean a change in audience targeting, product packaging, need to move upmarket, etc.

Aha\! moments happen when a user first groks the value of the product. Whether it’s connecting a data source, inviting a new member, or some combination of events, aha\! moments are a signal of value and likely retention.

Offering exclusive access to a new product or feature is a good chance to retain customers and set expectations for a new product upsell.

While compliance and IT users are not typically economic buyers or champions, they’re tasked with making sure products meet security and cost benchmarks. This is usually a strong buying signal.

Product-led companies tend to get a lot of sign-ups from personal emails. With enrichment, it’s possible to separate the ideal customers from the freeloaders.

More than one person collaborating in the same corner of a workspace (think a shared Figma file or Miro board), is often a sign of shared value.

When there are multiple sign-ups from different departments as the same organization, it’s a sign to follow up on a potential consolidation or upsell.

Obvious one, but a new sign-up for a trial or free version of a product is a clear sign of interest.

When a new integration is connected to your product (think Salesforce or Snowflake), it’s a strong sign of a new use case, an ability to pay, and long-term retention.

Whether it’s based on number of seats, API calls, connected integrations, docs created, or something else, users approaching free or self-serve limits are a surefire signal for a convo that can drive more revenue.

For self-service products, a declined payment can be a sign of reaching credit card limits. An annual contract or insertion order might be needed.

Adding a credit card to a paid plan is a high-signal step toward recurring revenue. It’s worth a look to see who it’s from. Could be the next whale piloting a paid plan.

An upgrade to a higher-tier plan is an obvious signal of value. Worth a look (and often a check-in with the customer) to understand the reason.

Carve out the top 1% of product users. See who’s underpaying, who could benefit from extra features, and so on.

When users or prospects go dark—no log-ins, no usage, no responses to outreach—and resurface, it’s often a sign of a new initiative or use case being prioritized.

For collaborative products (think Figma or Loom), sharing links to reports or docs developed in the product is a signal of associated value and potential upsell or cross-sell opportunities.

Rage clicking or frequent loads of a page in your product is a signal that something is going wrong. It’s a sign to reach out to lend a helping hand.

A common enterprise product selection tactic is to run a high-scale test (think connecting a streaming data workload) to assess product performance and UX. You might be getting evaluated.

Just like abandoning a shopping cart, many times someone will begin filling out a product sign-up form and bounce part of the way through. This is a good chance to follow up to see what happened.

If there’s a spike in log-ins, it’s a signal to look deeper into user behavior. It could indicate users are sharing log-ins (and need to expand) or are preparing for an upcoming initiative.

Spikes in product usage over a short period of time indicate rapid product adoption (or an organization running a proof of concept). It’s worth looking into.

When a trial is expiring (especially when there’s active product usage), it’s an opportunity to reach out to users to help with conversion to customer. It can also be used as a point of leverage to extend the trial in exchange for a conversation.

Sure, raising a hand to upgrade is an obvious signal. But those who view an upgrade screen or CTA don’t always take the next step. This group is on the fence and likely need a call to discuss.

When a customer story is made public (especially when that story has hard numbers), it’s a good time to share it with prospects in a related space. Even better if they’re competitors to the customer featured in the story.

In addition to abandoning a sign-up flow, form fills and live chats are occasionally abandoned (especially if there’s a lag in live chat response time). Dig into it.

When there’s a planned price increase or a holiday offer, the deadline offers a reason for a prospect to take action.

When an email sent to a high-fit user bounces, it’s worth a look to see what happened. There may have been a change of employment, giving you a reason to connect with a different point of contact.

A lot of initial convos go well but die on the vine due to budget, timing, feature gap, etc. After some time, these are some of the lowest-hanging fruit to pick up. Even better if you have a new feature to revitalize interest.

Hint: The email opens probably aren’t coming from just one person. Rather, it’s a sign that your email is being passed around to other stakeholders.

Vendor and community forums are where evaluation frustration goes public.

Someone filed a problem in public, with the error text attached.

Category-level attention, occasionally from the buyer.

A specific technical blocker, dated, with the person attached.

Weaker, but often the most candid thing a practitioner will say publicly.

Asking or complaining about a bug is a cry for help. It can be a signal that a user needs assistance. Providing it is an opportunity to uncover pain points and new use cases.

Questions answered in community channels are often a sign of product advocacy and expertise. Depending on where the question came from and where that user is in the customer journey, it could be a sign to reach out, even if just to thank them.

When questions are posted to a community or forum, it’s usually a sign that people need help. It’s a good opportunity for the go-to-market team to step in and help pave the path to success.

Starring, forking, opening PRs, merging PRs—all are signals of interest in open-source technology. Even better when that activity is from an economic buyer.

A new user joining an owned community (e.g., a community of your product users) is a signal that that user is looking for support from others who have been there and done that.

Close cousin of joining a community, an ideal user joining a support forum (think Discourse or Bevy) is a signal of intent to get some help. Even stronger sign then joining a community in many cases.

The other side of users asking support questions, a contact answering a question posed by the community not only helps relieve the support team but could be a candidate to connect with for upsell.

Seems obvious, but oftentimes support teams and go-to-market teams don’t talk to one another. When a support ticket is created (especially if it’s from a high-fit account), it’s usually worth a look from the GTM team.

They engaged with you, by name, in public.

Your target named in public, by someone with an opinion.

Someone publicly wrote about the problem you solve.

Enough conviction to put your idea in front of their own network.

Lower commitment than a post, still a person raising their hand on the topic.

Who is engaging with the people shaping your category.

Context on where the category conversation is going.

Passive, but a follower who fits the ICP is worth a look.

Page-level interest, company attached.

Weak on its own. Useful stacked with anything else.

Tried and true way of surfacing engaged leads—those who click the emails, sign up for the webinars, read the blog posts, watch the videos, etc.

If there’s an influencer who shares a similar view of the world as your company (thinking Chris Walker and “dark social” or Brendan Short and “signal selling”), followers who meet ICP criteria are worth looking into.

Consumption of content or interactions with social posts centered around business-relevant keywords (think product functionalities, competitor names) are often a signal of top-of-funnel intent.

Content aggregators like Medium, Substack, and Dev.to, provide visibility into who’s liking what content. Those who react to a post are potential prospects.

Not everyone who looks at your LinkedIn page is a recruiter or job seeker. Ideal prospects lurking on your page might be your next customer. So it’s likely worth paying for that extra feature, especially if you’re regularly posting content to attract buyers.

Everyday there are dozens of posts on LinkedIn or Twitter that trend. If those trending topics hit on a pain point that your product can solve, those who engaged with it can be a good source of prospects to reach.

Follow key people at target accounts on social channels. When they post, like it, engage in the convo, and help amplify. It keeps you top of mind and increases the chances of getting that intro call booked.

Similar to keyword intent, when a topic blows up on LinkedIn or Twitter (and that topic is a pain point your product can solve), user engagement around that topic is a surface area for in-market leads.

Quid pro quo. I use your product, you should use mine. Contacts at companies that your company currently uses can offer a warm intro to the right buyer.

Part of the value advisors bring is the ability to connect people in their network. If you share an advisor with a target account, it’s an easy ask to get a warm intro.

More of a coincidence than a signal, shared connections between a prospect and a colleague are often an easy way to get your foot in the door.

Sharing a common investor presents an opportunity for a warm intro. Keep track of your investors’ portfolio and ask for that intro when the time is right.

Two are better than one. Sharing overlap of deals across strategic partners helps paint a picture of initiatives at a given account. It’s also an industry in itself: nearbound.

A named practitioner, their topic of interest, and the audience they invested in reaching.

Similar to live events, participation in digital events (such as webinars) often indicate active interest in a product (or product-adjacent topic).

Even if you’re not there, knowledge that an event was attended is a signal that the attendee is looking to learn or even seek out a solution to an initiative/pain.

Event sponsorship is a sign that an account (usually someone from the marketing team) is trying to reach the audience in attendance. If your product can help with that objective, it’s a good signal to reach out about.

When a key prospect or customer is speaking at an event, it signals a few things, including topic of interest (the talk track) and investment in the event audience. It’s also a good chance to recognize the achievement.

Even if you’re not there, knowledge that an event was registered for or attended is a signal that the attendee is looking to learn or even seek out a solution for an initiative or pain point.

Indicates active interest in a product offering and the desire to deepen understanding. Often a sign of a prospect evaluating how the product fits their needs

Sites like G2 and Trustpilot offer a wealth of reviews from product users. Even if generally positive, reviews often uncover frustrations or limitations of the product. If your product addresses those pain points, it’s a good opportunity to reach out or chime in.

Review marketplaces like G2 offer the ability to share intent signals with reps. It’s not cheap, but it can work depending on the category.