Intentarray

Guide · Signal-based selling

What is signal-based selling?

A practical way to use company changes as starting evidence for prospecting, while keeping the seller’s offering at the center.

What does a signal tell you?

A signal is an observable activity or change you can investigate: a vacancy, an appointment, an announcement or a known contact moving to another company. In signal-based selling, that event helps frame why you might consider an account now.

The commercial meaning comes from a connection to what you sell. A delivery-focused engineering vacancy may interest a development-workflow product; it does not automatically interest every B2B seller.

How do fit and timing work together?

Customer fit describes the kind of company you can serve. An event provides additional context about that company’s current situation. Neither substitutes for the other.

Begin with a precise offering and ideal customer profile. Then ask what the event actually says, which capability could help and what remains unknown. This creates a research task more specific than a company name in a list.

What should you verify?

Check the original event, its date, whether the company and role match, and the responsibilities or plans described. Separate those facts from your interpretation of possible demand.

An advertised opening is not a completed hire. Funding is not an agency brief. A contact’s move is not a commitment to buy again. Good outreach acknowledges the context and asks a relevant question.

How do you put it into practice?

Choose a few event types related to your offering. Review examples of both relevant and irrelevant changes. For each account, record the evidence, potential connection and next question.

Intentarray applies this approach using your configured business model, offering, customer criteria and monitoring preferences. Explore the examples to see how different offerings lead to different conclusions.

Explore the connection

Executive change / Technical ServicesHigh fit
What you sell

Software development & quality assurance

What changed · Northstar Systems

A new CTO takes responsibility for technology and product engineering.

Evidence to consider

A leadership announcement confirms the appointment. The recorded role responsibilities include product engineering and engineering culture.

The business priority

Build the technology function and establish reliable product delivery.

Development and QA services could support product engineering and delivery quality as the function takes shape.

A question to explore

“Are you building delivery capacity entirely in-house, or considering an external engineering partner?”

An outside development-partner search is not confirmed. Explore the delivery plan before proposing support.

Adapted from actual Intentarray analyses. Names and identifying details changed; wording condensed. Historical examples. Questions are adapted conversation starters, not untouched outreach drafts.

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Configure your offering and explore the changes that relate to it.

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