How to Identify Which Signals Indicate Buying Intent

Understanding and acting on intent data is key for any modern go-to-market (GTM) strategy. Yet with a flood of tools and signals, how do you identify which ones truly matter? In a recent webinar titled "Routing on Intent Signals: Do’s and Don’ts", sales and RevOps experts Stan Rymkiewicz, Caitlyn Vaughn, and Matthew Volm shared proven tactics on how to filter the noise and act on signals that drive actual revenue.

Here’s what every sales leader, SDR, RevOps team, or founder should know when optimizing for high-intent lead generation.

🚫 Don’t Fully Automate Outbound: Timing + Relevance = Conversion

One of the biggest mistakes teams make is automating outreach based solely on raw signals. Yes, automation scales outreach, but poor timing and irrelevant messaging will destroy conversions.

Instead:

• Let the rep own the message, not the tool.

• Use intent signals to guide when to reach out, but keep the personalization human.

• Avoid robotic callouts like: “Saw you visited our pricing page.”

These interactions feel intrusive. Be helpful, not creepy.

✅ Focus on Your Top 3–5 Intent Signals

When it comes to sales intent signals, less is more. Focus only on signals that:

• Consistently predict conversion.

• Can be routed into your existing sales workflows.

• Are trackable without creating tech debt.

Popular intent signals include:

• Content engagement on specific keywords

• Engagement with your leadership team’s LinkedIn content

• Followers of relevant influencers in your space

• Repeat visitors to product or use-case pages

Every company is different, so experiment and validate which ones matter most for your ICP (ideal customer profile).

⚠️ More Tools = More Complexity

It’s tempting to stack software to track everything:

• One tool for website tracking

• Another for job change alerts

• Yet another for community engagement

• And still another for social media intent

Each tool might cost a few hundred dollars a month. But the real cost?

• Evaluating and comparing tools

• Training sales teams or RevOps to use them

• Managing licenses and integrations

• Hiring someone to manage them — and someone to manage that person

• Plus: Time spent syncing disconnected systems

Instead of chasing “intent tech,” ask: Can your team actually act on the signals you're collecting?

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📊 Real-World Example: How Revcast Operationalized Buying Signals

Take Revcast, an early-stage SaaS company, as a case study in getting intent signals right.

Here’s how they did it:

1. Tracked 15+ intent signals, including:

   • Competitor content engagement

   • LinkedIn profile views

   • Event attendance

   • Keyword-based Google searches

   • Followers of relevant influencers

2. Tested multiple outbound strategies for each signal type. Some signals led to cold emails, others to social selling, others to warm calls.

3. After 3 months, they identified 3 high-converting intent signals:

   • Engagers of CEO content

   • Followers of niche LinkedIn influencers

   • Clickers on specific topic-driven content

4. They integrated these into their Sales Engagement Platform. No more manual lead routing. No more guessing.

🚀 Result: 4X ROI in just 60 days.

💡 Micro Campaigns > Mass Blasts

One surprising insight? Low-volume campaigns had the highest conversion rates.
While many assume Google searchers are high intent, campaigns based on relationship mapping (like influencer engagement or founder content) were far more predictive of actual deals.

This supports what GTM pros like Brendan Short have been saying: #MicroCampaigns win in today’s noisy market.

🎯 Tools That Support Intent-Driven GTM

• Use MoxieGTM to generate high-intent leads.

• Use Default to route leads based on signal relevance — without needing to “own another tab.”

Both are designed to streamline your RevOps motion and reduce tool sprawl.

🤝 Are You a RevOps or GTM Agency?

If you’re an expert in lead routing, but need help with lead generation at scale, let’s connect. Our partner model supports RevOps teams that want to plug into proven demand gen frameworks without reinventing the wheel.

Final Takeaway: Consolidate + Experiment + Execute

You don’t need every tool. You need the right signals, a way to validate them, and a process to act on them.

Start by:

1. Consolidating your tech stack

2. Experimenting with different intent sources

3. Executing with discipline inside your workflows

Want help? Reach out.

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By Richard F. Purcell · Launched 2 years ago

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