B2B intent data estimates which companies are researching a topic, usually from aggregated content consumption. Buying signals are specific, verifiable changes, such as a new executive, a long-open role, a new partnership or a person following your competitor, that give a company or person a reason to buy now. Intent data tells you where interest might be rising. Buying signals tell you what happened and who it happened to, which is what you need to write a message someone will answer.
Both have a place. This guide explains how each works, where each falls short, and how to combine them into an outbound program that books meetings.
What is B2B intent data?
Intent data is information that suggests a company is actively researching a product category or topic. It usually comes in two forms:
- First-party intent: behavior on your own properties, such as visits to your pricing page, repeat visits, content downloads or demo page views.
- Third-party intent: aggregated research activity across other websites and publishers, attributed to companies and scored by topic, often described as a "surge."
Third-party intent is typically delivered at the account level: "Company X shows rising interest in topic Y this week." It usually doesn't tell you which person is researching, why, or what triggered it.
What are buying signals?
Buying signals are observable events that create a reason to act. They are specific, attributable to a company or person, and verifiable from public sources. The signals we track in SmartData include:
- People following your competitors
- People taking part in discussions on topics related to your offer
- A new CTO or VP Product in their first 90 days
- Technical roles open for 60+ days
- Big new contracts or partnerships
- A competitor launching a feature they lack
- A move into AI on an older stack
Each one comes with context you can write from. "A new VP Product started recently and the company is hiring for its platform team" is a story. "Topic score rising" is a number.
For a deeper look at signals compared with demographic targeting, see B2B Buying Signals for Email and LinkedIn.
Intent data vs buying signals: side-by-side
| Third-party intent data | Buying signals | |
|---|---|---|
| What it captures | Inferred research interest in a topic | A specific, observable change or action |
| Level | Usually account-level | Account-level and person-level |
| Verifiability | Hard to verify; based on aggregated, modeled data | Verifiable from public sources |
| Explains "why now" | Rarely | Yes, the signal is the reason |
| Useful for messaging | Limited; you can't cite it to the prospect | Strong; you can reference the change directly |
| Best use | Prioritizing accounts and ad targeting | Choosing who to contact and what to say |
| Main risk | False positives and vague timing | Stale signals if not researched live |
Where intent data falls short for outbound
Intent data is useful, but outbound teams often expect more from it than it can deliver:
- You can't mention it. "Our data says your company is researching sales tools" is unsettling to read and gives the prospect no reason to engage.
- It rarely names the person. You still have to work out who in the account is researching and whether they influence the decision.
- It doesn't explain the trigger. Interest in a topic could come from a student intern, a competitor analysis or a renewal review.
- Timing is fuzzy. A surge tells you something may be happening, not what stage it's at.
None of this makes intent data worthless. It makes it a prioritization layer, not a messaging layer.
Why buying signals work better for messages
A buying signal gives you three things outbound needs:
- Who: the specific person or role affected by the change.
- Why now: the event itself creates urgency.
- What to say: you can reference the change openly, because it's public.
For example (illustrative), "Congrats on the new partnership with a major logistics provider. That usually means new integration work for the platform team, and I noticed two backend roles have been open since the summer" is relevant, honest and specific. It earns attention because it shows you understand what the prospect is dealing with.
Two signals most teams overlook: competitor followers and topic discussions
Most signal programs focus on company events such as funding, hiring and leadership changes. Two person-level signals are often more useful for early outreach:
People following your competitors
Someone who follows a competitor's company page is paying attention to your category. They may be evaluating, they may be an unhappy customer, or they may simply be learning. In each case they already understand the problem space, which makes a relevant, non-pushy message far more likely to land. The message shouldn't say "I saw you follow our competitor." It should lead with a point of view on the problem both products solve.
People in discussions on related topics
People who comment on or post about a topic related to your offer have told you publicly what they care about. That's a natural opener: reference the discussion, add a useful perspective, and ask a question.
How to use intent data and buying signals together
The strongest outbound programs layer the two:
- Use first-party intent first. Someone engaging with your own site or content is the warmest signal you have. Make sure your site can capture and convert them. SmartConvert adds AI chat and voice, follow-up by SMS, WhatsApp and email, and books meetings into a built-in CRM.
- Use third-party intent to prioritize accounts for ads and account research if you already buy it.
- Use buying signals to choose people and write messages. Within priority accounts, and across your wider market, find the people with a specific reason to talk now. SmartData is built for this layer.
- Research each signal live before sending. Confirm the change is current and add context. SmartAgent answers plain-language research questions for every company or person on your list from public sources and returns structured fields.
- Turn the research into outreach. SmartMail writes hyper-personalized cold email at scale from deep live research, and SmartLink does the same via LinkedIn.
The full method is laid out in Signal-Based Outbound: What It Is and How to Run It.
What to ask before you buy intent data or a signal tool
- Is it account-level or person-level? Outbound needs people.
- Can I see the underlying event? If you can't see what happened, you can't write about it.
- How fresh is it? Ask how often signals are refreshed and whether research happens live.
- Is it from public, compliant sources? Avoid anything that relies on scraping private platforms or shared logins.
- Can I define my own signals? Your best signal might be specific to your market, such as a particular technology or regulation.
- Does it connect to outreach? Data that sits in a spreadsheet doesn't book meetings.
Common mistakes
- Treating intent scores as hot leads. They're a reason to look closer, not a reason to pitch.
- Mentioning the data instead of the situation. Reference the public event, never the tracking.
- Using signals without research. A signal without context leads to generic messages.
- Letting signals go stale. A "new hire" signal loses value with every passing month.
- Contacting everyone at the account. Pick the person the signal actually affects.
FAQ
What is the difference between intent data and buying signals?
Intent data estimates which companies are researching a topic, usually from aggregated online behavior, and is mostly account-level. Buying signals are specific, verifiable events, such as a new executive, a long-open job, a new partnership or someone following a competitor, that give a company or person a reason to buy now and can be referenced in outreach.
Is third-party intent data worth buying for outbound?
It can help prioritize accounts and target ads, but it is weak for writing messages because it rarely names the person, can't be cited to the prospect and doesn't explain what triggered the interest. Most outbound teams get more from person-level buying signals combined with live research.
What are the best B2B buying signals?
Strong B2B buying signals include people following your competitors, people discussing topics related to your offer, a new CTO or VP Product in their first 90 days, technical roles open for 60+ days, big new contracts or partnerships, a competitor launching a feature the prospect lacks, and a move into AI on an older stack.
Can I mention a buying signal in a cold email?
Yes, if it is public and relevant, such as a new role, a partnership announcement or a long-open job posting. Don't mention tracking data, such as website visits or competitor follows, directly. Lead with a point of view on the situation instead.
What is signal-based prospecting?
Signal-based prospecting is building outbound lists from people and companies showing a current reason to buy, then researching each signal and writing outreach around it, rather than targeting by industry and job title alone.
What does SmartData do?
SmartData provides signal-based prospect data that shows who has a reason to buy now. It tracks competitor followers, topic discussions, leadership changes, long-open technical roles, new contracts and partnerships, competitor feature launches, and moves into AI on older stacks.
How much does SmartData cost?
Pricing depends on your market, volume and whether you want the managed service. Book a call for pricing.
Find the people in your market with a reason to buy now
If your outbound is built on firmographic lists or intent scores you can't act on, there is a better starting point. In a 15-minute call we'll map the buying signals that matter in your market and show how SmartData turns them into a list your team can write to.