- 01
Learn the three definitions
- Signal: data showing the prospect has the problem you solve
- Intent: data showing they are actively looking for a solution
- Trigger: a change that opens a window, so you have a reason to reach out now
- Example: an employee leaving is a signal, a website visit is intent, a funding round is a trigger
- 02
Score each candidate on two tests
- Relevance: how tightly does it correlate with the problem you solve?
- Crowdedness: is everyone else already acting on it?
- Favor relevant, less crowded signals, that is where you stand out
- 03
Track first-party intent signals
- High intent: pricing page visits, demo requests, free trial requests, integration page visits
- Research intent: case study views, security and compliance checks, documentation and API sign-ups
- Engagement: ad clicks, LinkedIn profile visits, social engagement, webinar attendance, resource downloads
- Account level: several people from the same company on your site
- 04
Set up the tracking behind each signal
- Add custom events for key pages (pricing, integrations, case studies) in your web or product analytics
- Identify companies behind anonymous visits with IP-based tools
- Sync forms, webinar sign-ups and meeting bookings to your CRM
- Turn on profile visit and ad engagement tracking for LinkedIn
- 05
Monitor company and contact triggers
- People changes: new CXO hire, key executive departure, internal promotion of a contact
- Growth changes: funding round, rapid hiring, a series of job posts, office or market expansion, product launch
- Pain or switch moments: negative reviews of their current tool, losing a vendor, tech stack change, headcount drop
- Timing moments: budget planning season, earnings calls, annual reports, compliance certifications
- 06
Automate the watchlists
- Set leadership and promotion alerts in Sales Navigator or Clay
- Create company watchlists for funding in Crunchbase or PitchBook
- Monitor tech stack changes with BuiltWith or Datanyze
- Set review alerts on G2 and Trustpilot, and news alerts for launches and expansion
- 07
Build a reason to reach out now
- Turn each trigger into a point of view on why this account is relevant today
- Note whether it fires at company or contact level, and route it to the right person
- Reference the trigger in your opener, not your product
- Act while the window is open, before everyone else does
Tools mentioned
- Clay
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Crunchbase
- PitchBook
- BuiltWith
- Datanyze
- G2
- Trustpilot
- ZoomInfo
- Google Analytics
- Mixpanel
- Heap
- LeadInfo
- Clearbit
- HubSpot
- Google Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Fibbler