What are B2B buying signals?
B2B buying signals are actions and behaviors that show when a prospect is ready to buy. This means tracking things like website visits, content downloads, executive changes, and research activity that reveal real purchase intent.
Think of buying signals as the difference between cold calling a stranger and calling someone who just asked for your phone number. One wastes time. The other starts a conversation.
Signals come from two places. First-party signals happen on your channels: your website, your emails, your webinars. Third-party signals come from outside sources that track what prospects research across the web, what's happening at their company, and who they're hiring.
Why B2B buying signals matter for revenue teams
Most sales teams waste time on prospects who aren't ready to buy. You send 100 emails. Maybe 5 people respond. The rest ignore you because they're not in-market.
Buying signals fix this. They tell you which 5 accounts are actually researching solutions right now. You stop guessing and start selling to people who want to hear from you.
The payoff shows up fast:
Higher conversion rates: You're reaching prospects already looking for solutions
Shorter sales cycles: You're engaging buyers when they're ready, not months early
Less wasted effort: Your team stops burning out on cold outreach that goes nowhere
Signal-based selling isn't about working harder. It's about working on accounts that are actually moving.
15 B2B buying signals every sales team should track
Buying signals fall into three buckets: what prospects do on your site, how they engage with you directly, and what changes at their company. Track all three to catch accounts before your competitors do.
1. Pricing page visits
When someone visits your pricing page once, they're curious. When they visit three times in a week, they're building a business case and comparing you to competitors.
This is one of the strongest first-party signals you can track. Set up alerts for repeat pricing page visits from target accounts.
2. Demo or free trial requests
A demo request is a prospect raising their hand and asking to talk. This is the clearest buying signal you'll get.
Speed wins here. The first vendor to respond usually gets the meeting. Set up workflows that alert your team the second a demo request comes in.
3. Content downloads
When prospects download whitepapers, case studies, or guides, they're actively researching a problem. The content topic tells you what they're trying to solve.
Someone who downloads a guide on sales automation is probably evaluating sales tools. Use that context in your follow-up.
4. Webinar or event attendance
Prospects who attend webinars are investing time to learn. This means they're in active research mode, not just browsing.
Live attendance is a stronger signal than watching a recording later. People who show up live are more engaged.
5. Email engagement patterns
One email open means nothing. Five opens across a sequence means someone's paying attention.
Track engagement across your entire cadence. Look for prospects who open every email, click multiple links, or reply with questions.
6. Social media engagement
When someone from a target account comments on your LinkedIn post, shares your content, or follows your company page, they're showing interest. Engagement from decision-makers matters more than engagement from individual contributors.
A VP of Sales commenting on your post is a signal. An intern liking it isn't.
7. Third-party intent data
Third-party intent data tracks what prospects research outside your website. This includes searches for topics related to your solution, visits to competitor sites, and content they consume across the web.
Intent data providers aggregate this activity to show you which accounts are researching solutions like yours before they ever visit your site. This lets you reach out while they're still early in their research.
8. New executive hires
A new VP of Sales, CMO, or CRO brings new priorities and new budgets. New executives want quick wins and are more open to change than leaders who've been in role for years.
Leadership changes create windows. Reach out within the first 90 days when they're still building their strategy.
9. Funding rounds and financial events
Companies that just raised funding have capital to spend. A Series B company that raised $50M is actively building infrastructure and hiring.
M&A activity, IPO filings, and strong earnings also signal buying capacity. Track these events and time your outreach accordingly.
10. Hiring surges in relevant departments
When a company hires 10 sales reps in a quarter, they need sales tools. When they hire 5 marketers, they need marketing software.
Hiring patterns reveal strategic priorities. Use job postings to identify companies investing in the areas you serve.
11. Technology changes
When a prospect adopts new technology in your ecosystem, they often need complementary tools. A company that just implemented Salesforce might need data enrichment or sales intelligence.
Technographic data shows you what tools prospects use and when they make changes. Use this to position your solution as the natural next step.
12. Contract renewal timing
Most B2B contracts renew annually. If you know when a competitor's contract is up, you can time your outreach to hit 90 days before renewal.
This is when buyers start evaluating alternatives. Get in front of them before they auto-renew.
13. Website visitor identification
Anonymous traffic becomes actionable when you know which companies are visiting. Visitor identification tools match IP addresses to company records.
If a target account visits your site five times in a week, that's a signal. Reach out while you're top of mind.
14. Product page engagement
Visits to specific product or feature pages tell you what a prospect cares about. Someone spending time on your integrations page is evaluating how you fit their tech stack.
Use this to personalize your outreach. Reference the specific features they viewed.
15. Competitive research activity
When prospects research your competitors, they're actively comparing solutions. Third-party intent data can surface when accounts search for competitor names or read comparison content.
This tells you they're in evaluation mode. Position yourself as the better choice.
How to identify B2B buying signals
You need the right tools to capture signals. Most teams use a mix of first-party tracking and third-party intelligence.
Here's what each source gives you:
Signal Source | What It Captures | Best For |
|---|---|---|
CRM and Marketing Automation | First-party engagement like emails, forms, web visits | Tracking known prospects |
Website Analytics | Anonymous and known visitor behavior | Identifying high-intent pages |
Third-party research activity across the web | Finding accounts before they engage | |
Sales Intelligence Tools | Company news, hiring, funding, tech changes | Trigger-based outreach |
Social Listening | Mentions, comments, shares on social platforms | Relationship signals |
Start with your CRM and website analytics. These capture first-party signals from prospects already engaging with you.
Then add a sales intelligence platform to access third-party intent and trigger events. This fills the gaps and shows you accounts that haven't visited your site yet.
The key is aggregating signals in one place. If your intent data lives in one tool and your website analytics live in another, you'll miss accounts showing multiple signals at once.
How to respond to B2B buying signals
Spotting signals doesn't matter if you don't act on them. Your response determines whether signals turn into pipeline.
Here's how to respond based on signal strength:
High-intent signals like demo requests or pricing page visits: Respond within minutes. Call and email simultaneously. The first vendor to respond usually wins the meeting.
Research signals like content downloads or webinar attendance: Follow up within 24 hours. Personalize your message based on what they consumed. If they downloaded a sales automation guide, lead with how you solve that problem.
Trigger events like funding or new hires: Reach out within a week. Acknowledge the change and connect it to how you help. "Saw you brought on a new VP of Sales. Here's how we help new leaders ramp their teams."
Declining engagement: When email opens drop or replies slow down, the deal might be stalling. Re-engage with new value or reach out to a different stakeholder.
Multi-channel outreach works better than single-channel. When a high-intent signal fires, hit the prospect with email, phone, and LinkedIn within the same day.
B2B buying signal tools and software
The right platform helps you capture and act on signals without manual work. Here's what matters.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo combines first-party engagement tracking with third-party intent data, company news, and contact intelligence. GTM Workspace surfaces signals and lets you act immediately through integrated outreach tools.
GTM Workspace automates signal-based workflows. It routes high-intent accounts to reps and triggers personalized sequences. ZoomInfo tracks buyer intent, hiring signals, funding events, technographic changes, and website visitor identification in one platform.
Bombora
Bombora tracks content consumption across a network of B2B publishers to identify accounts researching specific topics. Their Company Surge data shows when accounts are actively consuming content related to your solution.
6sense
6sense uses AI to predict which accounts are in-market based on intent signals and anonymous web activity. It's built for teams running account-based strategies.
Demandbase
Demandbase combines intent data with account-based advertising and engagement tools. It's designed for ABM-focused teams that want to orchestrate campaigns around signal-based targeting.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator surfaces relationship signals, job changes, and company updates within the LinkedIn network. It works best for relationship-based selling and tracking warm connections.
Learn more about LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Build a signal-based GTM strategy
Tools alone don't fix bad process. You need to operationalize signals across your team.
Start by ranking your signals. Not all signals predict revenue equally. A demo request converts at a higher rate than a blog read. A pricing page visit converts higher than a single email open.
Use your historical data to score signals. Then build workflows that route high-scoring accounts to reps immediately.
Next, automate signal routing. When a target account hits your threshold score, create a task, send an alert, or trigger a sequence. Manual routing adds hours or days of delay. Speed kills deals.
Align sales and marketing on the same signals. If marketing sees an account showing intent, sales needs to know. If sales spots a trigger event, marketing should adjust targeting. Siloed teams waste signals.
Finally, measure what converts. Track which signals actually generate pipeline, not just activity. If webinar attendance doesn't convert, stop prioritizing it. If hiring surges drive deals, double down.
Signal-based selling requires clean data and connected systems. If your intent data doesn't flow into your CRM, reps won't see it. If your website analytics don't trigger workflows, signals go to waste.
ZoomInfo helps revenue teams act on buying signals by combining intent data, trigger events, and contact intelligence in GTM Workspace. GTM Workspace automates signal-based workflows so your team can focus on selling instead of hunting for data.
Frequently asked questions about B2B buying signals
What is the difference between buying signals and intent data?
Buying signals include any indicator of purchase interest, from demo requests to pricing page visits. Intent data is one type of buying signal that specifically tracks third-party research behavior across the web.
How can you track buying signals without expensive software?
Start with your CRM and website analytics to capture first-party signals like email opens and page visits. Add a sales intelligence platform like ZoomInfo to access third-party intent and trigger events without building multiple integrations.
Which buying signals predict closed deals most accurately?
Direct engagement signals like demo requests and pricing page visits correlate most strongly with closed deals. Combine these with third-party intent data to prioritize accounts showing multiple signals at once.
How fast should sales teams respond to buying signals?
Respond to high-intent signals like demo requests within five minutes. Follow up on research signals like content downloads within 24 hours with personalized outreach that references what they consumed.
