21 Buying Signals To Use in Your Outbound Sales

Many B2B buyers are turning to the Internet to search for solutions to their problems. They crawl websites for content like blog posts, product videos, or downloadable guides. 

With 90% of pre-purchase research being conducted online, tracking this content consumption is essential to glean valuable buying signals. Recognizing signals and understanding behavior is essential for outbound sales, allowing you to stand out from your competitors.

📘 Outbound Sales is the process by which potential customers are actively contacted to book a demo call. This can encompass various methods such as cold emailing, telephone or even messaging through platforms such as LinkedIn.

Buying signals are subtle clues or indications that suggest a potential customer is about to make a purchasing decision. This period is optimal for sales teams to establish contact with a customer ready to purchase.

‍ 🗣️ In the complex dance of sales, understanding when your partner is ready to take the next step is crucial. Buy signals are your signal.

How to spot key buying signals?

Sales or growth teams must be able identify verbal and non-verbal signals in order to improve their chances of closing a sale.

Verbal buying signals can look like 

• “I would like to know more” 
• or “We have a budget for this.” 

Such phrases emphasize the prospect's intention to continue the dialogue.

Nonverbal buying signals can manifest through actions, such as fundraising, publishing annual reports, or engaging on platforms like LinkedIn.

🗣️ The language you are interested in is not always spoken. Sometimes it depends on the actions a prospect takes.

What are the 21 key buying signals you should follow

Detecting buying signals is only half the battle. It is equally vital to know which ones to consider. 

Here are a large number of non-verbal signals that will allow you to identify buyers and improve your conversion rate:

The company closes a fundraising

Corporate funding is a crucial buying signal to follow, as an influx of money from investors indicates a growth and a larger budget. To target your search, do not hesitate to make an observation and compare companies that have already raised significant funds.‍

For example, you know a company is an attractive target for you after it raises its Series B funding.‍

The predefined icebreaker could be:

“Congratulations on raising a {{amount}} Series B to {{reasons_for_raising}}”

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Publication of the annual report

An annual report can be a good signal for a prospecting company because it provides information precious about his performances financial and growth. It can help you understand the company's revenue, expenses and profits, providing insight into its ability to invest in your product or service.

This can also give you an idea of ​​the company: 

• what are its target markets, 
• who are its customers, 
• what industries they operate in. 

This can help you tailor your presentation to their specific needs and interests, increasing the chances of closing a sale.

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Lack of technological tools

A company lacking technological tools can be a good signal for a sales representative to prospect them as this may indicate that they need help managing and optimizing their process.

This presents an opportunity for sales to offer solutions that can help streamline the process and improve efficiency.

A company that doesn't use technology? 

Offer to learn about the latest sales tools and trends, which is an opportunity to educate them on the benefits of integrating technology and how it can improve their bottom line.

Prospects attend an event (including attending a virtual event)

A prospect's participation in physical or virtual events indicates that they are actively seeking new information and solutions in their industry. 

Events provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about new products, services, and trends in their field, meaning a prospect attending these events is likely to be open to the idea of ​​learning about new solutions likely to help his business.

This can be a good indication that he plays a key decision-making role or plays an influential role in his business.

Recruitment in progress for a specific need

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Ongoing recruiting can also indicate that the company is growing and expanding, indicating that it has the necessary resources and needs to invest in new solutions.

🗣️ For a company that sells sales tools, the simple fact that a company is recruiting sales or sales operations reps is a great sign of the right time. If a company is actively recruiting a sales representative, this may indicate that they are looking for to expand their sales team and increase their revenue.

This can be an opportunity for you, as a sales expert, to offer your services and help them achieve their goals.

Similarly, suppose a company is hiring for a specific position in a particular department, such as IT. In this case, it may indicate that they are looking for new solutions to improve their operations in this area and that your solution could be a good fit for them.

It is important to understand the recruitment context and the company's commercial objectives before prospecting them.

Here is an example of messages here: 

Presence (or not) in a ranking

Let's say your ideal customer profile consists of companies with a specific ranking, like FT120, Crunchbase, or Forbes 40. In this case, this can give you insight into the company's position and reputation in the industry. 

You need to focus on any ranking changes.

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Geographic proximity

Let's say you're selling a product or service that requires on-site installation or support or is simply geographically targeted to the prospect. 

Have signals that give you office and warehouse changes can be a great way to seize new opportunities.

For example, you only sell to companies located in Italy, so any companies that open offices in Italy will interest you.

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Publication, interaction or comment on Linkedin

Let's say a company or its representatives are active on LinkedIn. In this case, it may also indicate that they are interested in networking and building relationships with other companies and individuals in their industry.

This can be a great opportunity to start a conversation with them, to introduce yourself and your business and learn more about their needs and goals.

If a company's representatives are active on LinkedIn, this can be a good indication that they are decision-makers or influencers within their company, therefore have the authority to make purchases or recommend new solutions to their colleagues.

Additionally, their online presence and interactions with relevant content can give you great links across messages, calls, and emails.

If you see a prospect publish an article, then your predefined icebreaker could be:

“Hello {{firstname}}, I read your recent article on {topic} and I completely agree that {{reasonsforyourmessage}}... Is it worth discussing? »

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Publication of an article

As for Linkedin, the publication of an article in which a prospect or company shares their knowledge or ideas can also be a signal strong buy.

A company that publishes articles regularly is likely to be knowledgeable in its field and may be more open to discovering new solutions that can help its business.

This can be a great way to gain information, prepare for a new meeting, and differentiate yourself from your competitors.

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Ranking and reviews on specialized platforms

Check the negative reviews of your competitors and you can target these people by offering them a new solution and highlighting their difficulties.

Understanding where your product/service stands relative to the alternative is key to handling objections.

If you sell software, check out your competitors' pages on the following sites:

• G2
• Capterra
• TrustRadius
• Crozdesk
• Salesforce AppExchange

If you sell professional services, use the following sites:

• Reviews on Google
• Pouch
• Glass door
• Good companies
• Featured Customers

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Participation in a podcast, videos or webinar

Participate in a podcast, video, or webinar may encourage you to prospect a company, as it may indicate that they are actively engaged in their industry and want to share their knowledge and ideas with others.

Let's also say a business participates in a podcast, video, or webinar about your product or service. In this case, this may indicate their interest in this topic and may be suitable for your solution.

In addition, you will be able to differentiate yourself from the many competitors by telling them about this episode, this video or this event. This shows that you are interested in them.

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Recruitment of new decision-makers

When there are changes in management roles, this can be a good sales opportunity. Add new higher-level team members introduces new goals, new methods, And perspectives on the organization.

It is necessary to follow any change in terms of leadership among your target accounts, because such changes can create opportunities For switch to a new supplier and potentially secure new budgets.

It can be a game changer in your prospecting if you can target the last few companies whose process failed for whatever reason.

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Offer within the framework of a public call for tenders

Of the daily alerts allow you to react quickly and in advance to prepare responses to calls for tender. 

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Complete a registration or demo reservation form

Clearly sign up for a free trial or other great offers indicates that a prospect is interested in a product or service. Using tools that track this action can simplify the lead generation process and increase efficiency.

Offering phone meetings with customer success managers to provide a personalized experience during the trial period can increase the chances of moving prospects forward in their purchasing journey.

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The company integrates a new tool

Adding a tool to a company's internal or external technology stack can be essential to scaling a KPI (key performance index). 

For example, I only target tools with a specific CRM Pipedrive, Hubspot or Salesforce. Depending on the activity, the tools may vary from one company to another. 

But this idea is to track all new companies that use specific tools. And if I know that it's when the company uses these "tools" that I gain momentum, I should target them quickly to get better results.

Salesforce is the new CRM for you. The predefined icebreaker could be:

“Hello {{firstname}}, I just saw you move from Hubspot to Salesforce...? »

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The company is organizing an event

‍A company that organizes in-person or online events is a company that shares value with its audience and market.

Tracking all new sales events provides more engagement levers, including simply telling a prospect who is already chatting with you.

“I saw you did this webinar the day before yesterday…”

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The company enters into a new partnership

Your ecosystem is a gold mine, especially in terms of partnership. By identifying companies that establish key partnerships with other businesses, you can develop a personalized sales approach.

You will receive notifications on relevant partnerships with key prospects to easily succeed in your prospecting.

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Interaction with your website and articles

Before even contacting them, the B2B prospect is already 67% of the way through the purchasing process. You can easily detect patterns like:

• Specific use case visited
• A specific success story
• Specific pages on your website, such as pricing

Focusing on a particular topic likely means they're already on the verge of making a purchasing decision and know what they're looking for.

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Business expansions

An article indicating that a target account is becoming a new country offers various opportunities to start a conversation. Additionally, since growing into a new market often comes with unique challenges, it's easy to imagine how your solution could solve those problems and communicate that value to potential prospects.

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Fusions et acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions lead to significant changes in leadership, paving the way for new decision-makers eager to make an impact and equipped with new budgets. This makes them the ideal prospects for your sales efforts.

Once you have detected these behavioral signals, it is necessary to put in place a strategy (a sales process) to respond to them in the right way. Using purchasing signals means understanding your interlocutor in order to offer them the best solution to close the sale. 

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How to access buying signals?

Understanding your prospects' buying journey is essential for any marketer or sales manager looking to improve their ROI and find more opportunities. 

This is where buying signals become valuable: they help guide the conversation and create powerful icebreakers. Sellers can improve their sales or reduce their sales time.

There are several methods for collecting buying signal data. 

• One solution is to collect first-party data from your website, such as using analytics tools to track visitor engagement or collecting email signups in your CRM. 
• Another option is to access buying signals data through a third-party provider. For example, Humanlinker aggregates internet search activity from various B2B websites and online publishers in real-time, creating a comprehensive baseline to test your prospecting.‍

Sellers focused too much on fundraising. Just because a company has raised money doesn't mean it will buy every SaaS available. You still need to find suitable buying signals. Want to discover the power of data and buying signals and how they can transform your decision-making, lead generation and sales processes?Learn how to find the right data to help you make informed decisions, improve lead quality, and drive sales success.