Sales signals: what they are, the kinds that matter and how to act on each
Person-level and company-level signals, how to rank them when there are more than you can work, the first line each one earns and three ways to track them.
Quick answer: Sales signals are public actions by a person or a company that suggest they may need what you sell now: a post about the problem you solve, engagement with a competitor, a new job, a funding round, a hiring push. Check fit first, then rank by strength and recency; two signals on one account beat one. Reach out within days and open with the moment itself, never with how you spotted it.
On this page 10 sections
Every week, a few people in your market do something that says the timing just changed. A head of finance writes that month-end close took eleven days again. A company you have wanted for a year raises a Series A and posts four sales jobs. A new VP of Operations starts at an account that went quiet in the spring.
Those are sales signals. This guide covers the kinds that matter, how to rank them, the first line each one earns and three ways to track them.
What a sales signal is
A sales signal is any public action that suggests a person or company is more likely to need what you sell now than they were a month ago. Some come from a person: a post, a comment, a new role. Others come from a company: raising money, hiring, changing tools, opening an office.
Timing is the whole point. Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found that only about 5% of B2B buyers are in the market to buy at any one time, an idea now known as the 95:5 rule. A list tells you who could buy. A signal points to the few who may be buying now.
A signal is evidence, not proof. What turns it into a conversation is the fit check after it and the words you write.
The kinds at a glance
Person-level signals tell you who to write to. Company-level signals tell you which accounts are in motion and you then find the right person there.
| Signal | What it tells you | Strength | Act within |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posts about the problemPerson | They have the problem and say so in public | Strongest | Days |
| Engagement with competitorsPerson | They know the category and may be comparing | Medium | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Job changesPerson | A new seat, a new mandate, often a new budget | Strong | First 90 days |
| Profile viewsPerson | They know your name | Soft | A week |
| FundingCompany | Money to spend and targets to hit | Strong | 2 to 6 weeks |
| HiringCompany | A team is growing and the job post names the problem | Strong | While the post is live |
| Leadership changesCompany | A new leader will review how things are done | Strong | First 90 days |
| Tech stack changesCompany | A project and a budget are in motion | Strong if it touches your product | During the rollout |
| ExpansionCompany | A new market brings new needs | Medium | Before the launch |
| Website visits and intent dataCompany | Someone there is researching | Medium, strong on your pricing page | Days |
Person-level signals and what to say
These come from what one named person does in public, mostly on LinkedIn. They are the most useful kind, because they point at someone you can write to today.
Posts about the problem
Someone describes the problem you solve in a post or a comment, in their own words or asks their network which tool to use. Nothing beats it: they have the problem, they know it and they said so in public. A post stays fresh for a few days, so act on this one first.
- First line
- Your post on the eleven-day close made a good point about approvals stuck in email. Is the slow part getting sign-offs or chasing the receipts behind them?
Engagement with competitors
Someone reacts to or comments on a competitor's posts or follows its page. They know the category and may be a customer weighing a change or a buyer comparing options. People engage for many reasons, so weight it up only when the person fits closely or shows a second signal.
- First line
- Plenty of RevOps teams are rethinking inbound routing this year. Is that on Fernway's list or is the current setup holding up?
Job changes
Someone starts a new role. New people get a mandate and often a budget and they bring the tools they trusted before. The window is widest in their first 90 days and warmest when the person is a past customer or champion. Sales trigger events covers how long windows like this stay open.
- First line
- Congrats on the VP of Operations role at Tallowbrook. Is the plan to keep the current tools for now or to review them in your first quarter?
Profile views
Someone in your market looks at your LinkedIn profile. They know your name, maybe from a post or a comment of yours. On its own it is soft; next to another signal it is a useful tiebreaker. How to see who viewed your LinkedIn profile covers which viewers are worth a note.
- First line
- Congrats on the second Halvard warehouse in Ohio. How are you handling shift scheduling across both sites?
Company-level signals and what to say
These tell you which accounts are in motion. Each one needs a second step: find the person who owns the problem the change creates, then write to them about the change.
Funding
A company announces a round. New money comes with a plan (hires, a new market, a product push) and targets to hit. Budgets get set in the weeks after, so the first month counts most. Recently funded startups lists recent rounds, newest first.
- First line
- Congrats on the Series A. The announcement mentions expanding into Europe: who is building the pipeline there?
Hiring
A company posts jobs for the team you sell to. A job post is one of the most honest things a company publishes: it names the problem, the tools and the goals in plain words. The signal lasts while the post is live and through the new hire's first months.
- First line
- Three SDR openings at Brindle Pay at once is a big class. How are you planning to get them productive in their first month?
Leadership changes
A target account appoints a new leader in the seat that buys from you, such as a CFO or a VP of Sales. New leaders review how things are done and often bring in tools they know. Unlike a job change, which follows one person, this changes the whole team you sell to.
- First line
- Congrats on taking the CRO seat at Quarrystone. What is the first thing you want to change about how the team forecasts?
Tech stack changes
A company adopts a tool, drops one or posts jobs asking for experience with one. A project is under way and money is set aside. If you integrate with the new tool or replace the old one, few openings are clearer.
- First line
- Your operations job posts mention a move to a new warehouse system. Are you connecting it to carrier rates at launch or later?
Expansion
A new office, a new country or a move into larger customers. Each brings needs the company did not have before: local hiring, compliance, new channels. Write before the launch, while plans are still open.
- First line
- Congrats on the Austin office. Are you hiring the support team there locally or running it from Denver at first?
Website visits and intent data
Someone from an account visits your pricing page or a data provider reports that the account is researching your topic elsewhere. Usually you see the company, not the person: a reason to look closer and a strong one next to a second signal. Intent signals covers first-party and third-party intent in depth.
- First line
- Teams comparing scheduling tools usually get stuck on one question: how long the switch takes. Want the short version of a typical rollout?
How to rank them
When signals pile up, work them in this order.
- Fit first. A strong signal from someone outside your buyer is noise. Check role, company type, size and region before anything else. If your buyer is not written down yet, start from your website.
- Then strength. Words beat clicks. A person describing the problem outranks a company event and a company event outranks a like or a page visit.
- Then recency. Behavior goes stale in days. Company events stay useful for weeks or months.
- Two signals beat one. A company that raised money and is hiring the team you sell to beats either signal alone.
Here is how three people from the same week would rank:
| Person | Fits your buyer? | Signals | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priya RamanVP of Sales, Loomwise | Yes | Posted two days ago that her reps lose Mondays to CRM cleanup; Loomwise is hiring two account executives | Write today |
| Tom OkaforHead of Growth, Meridale | Yes | Viewed your profile; Meridale raised a Series A five weeks ago | Write this week |
| Ellie GrantMarketing student | No | Liked three posts on your topic | Skip |
How to score a LinkedIn lead against your buyer goes deeper on the fit check.
Writing the first line
The signal decides when you write. It should almost never be what you write about.
- Open with the moment, not the mechanics. Their post, their raise, their new role. Never "I saw you liked", "I noticed you viewed" or "you visited our site".
- One point, one question. Ask something they can answer in a line, about their plan or their problem.
- Use their words. If they wrote "close takes eleven days", say close, not "financial operations".
- Keep it short. The whole message should fit on a phone screen.
Being specific pays. Across the connection notes sent from the founder's own LinkedIn account here at FOUND, the ones that mentioned something the person had written were accepted 69% of the time. Generic notes got 29% and invitations without a note 23%.
How to track them
Three ways, from the least setup to the most coverage.
By hand
Set aside an hour a week. Search LinkedIn posts for the phrases your buyers use for the problem, see who comments on your competitors' posts and scan the week's funding news and job boards. Log each find in a sheet: name, signal, date, fit, next step. It works for a few dozen accounts and shows you which signals matter for your product.
With alerts
Set a news alert on each target account, save a job search for the roles you sell to and turn on job-change alerts in your CRM if it has them. Alerts widen coverage; you still check fit and write every message.
With a signal tool or an agent
Software watches the signals every day, checks them against your buyer and drafts the outreach. The tools differ mostly in where their signals come from:
- Amplemarket tracks 20+ signals, from website activity, job changes and funding to CRM and product usage, filters them by your ideal customer profile and can start outreach sequences. Pick it if you mainly want signals from your own website, CRM and product turned into outreach in one platform.
- UserGems lists 30+ native signals, including job changes, contact-level intent, website visits, M&A and hiring and tells sales and marketing teams who is in-market and what to do next. Pick it if you mainly want those signals feeding your outbound and ABM programs.
Mistakes to avoid
- Working the signal before the fit. A loud signal from the wrong person is still the wrong person.
- Saying how you found them. Write about their problem, their news or their new role and keep the signal in your notes. What an AI outbound agent should never do lists more lines to leave out.
- Waiting for the perfect moment. A good message this week beats a perfect one next month.
- Treating every like as intent. Count likes on broad topics only next to a stronger signal.
- One template for every signal. A funding round and a frustrated post call for different first lines. Write to the signal.
- Stopping after one message. Follow up once or twice, each time with something new: a second signal or a useful example.
How FOUND watches them
FOUND is an AI SDR for LinkedIn and it runs on the signals in this guide. Tell it who you sell to or give it your website and let it draft the buyer. Each day it looks for people writing about the problem you solve, people reacting to a competitor or to your market's topics, people in new roles and companies that are hiring the team you sell to or just raised money.
Everyone a signal surfaces gets two fit checks against your buyer, on the headline and then on the full profile. Each lead states its reason in a line and when two signals land on the same person, you see both. The connection note (on a Premium account), the messages and the emails are written from what that person did, go out from your own LinkedIn and mailbox at a pace that looks like a person's and in review mode wait for your yes. FOUND finds each lead's verified work email. Replies from both land in one inbox, where an agent can answer them.
It suits anyone from a founder selling alone to a full sales team with a seat for every rep and you see your first real leads before you pay. The demo shows it end to end and pricing fits on one page.
Questions
What are sales signals?
Public actions by a person or company that suggest they may need what you sell now, such as a post about the problem you solve, a new job, a funding round or a hiring push.
What is the strongest sales signal?
A person who fits your buyer describing the problem you solve in their own words or asking which tool to use. It tells you the need, the timing and the words to answer in.
How is a sales signal different from a trigger event?
A trigger event is one kind of signal: a dated change, such as a funding round or a new leader, that opens a window to buy. Signals also include behavior, such as posts and site visits. Sales trigger events lists the twelve that matter most.
How quickly should you act on a sales signal?
Within days for behavior, such as a post or a comment, because it goes stale fast. Within weeks for company events, such as funding or a new leader, while plans and budgets are still being set.
Is it creepy to contact someone because of a signal?
Not if the message is about their problem, their company's news or their new role. It feels creepy when it says how you found them, such as "I saw you liked". Keep the signal in your notes and the subject in your message.