Glossary

What is buyer intent?

Buyer intent explained: what it means in B2B sales, the signals that show it, how to measure it, and how to act on buyer intent before competitors do.

By the GTM Plays teamUpdated 1 min read

Definition

Buyer intent is the likelihood that a person or company is actively looking to buy a product or service like yours. It is inferred from behaviour such as visiting pricing pages, researching a category, engaging with competitors or hiring for a related role, and helps sales teams time outreach well.

Buyer intent is how likely a person or company is to be actively looking to buy something like what you sell. You cannot see it directly, so you infer it from behaviour, such as visiting your pricing page, engaging with a competitor's posts or hiring for a related role. Stronger and more recent signals mean higher intent.

Signals that show buyer intent

Direct signals

  • Visiting your pricing or comparison pages.
  • Requesting a demo or starting a trial.
  • Replying to outreach with a question.

Indirect signals

  • Following or engaging with a competitor on LinkedIn.
  • Commenting on posts about the problem you solve.
  • Hiring for a role tied to your category.
  • A new decision-maker joining a target account.

Our guide to buying signals ranks these by strength.

How to measure buyer intent

Give each signal a weight, add recency decay, and combine the result with fit in a lead scoring model. The data behind it is intent data.

How to act on it

  1. Filter for fit first. High intent from a poor-fit account is still a poor lead.
  2. Move fast. Reach out while the signal is fresh.
  3. Be relevant, not creepy. Refer to the topic, not to surveillance.
  4. Measure replies by signal type, and keep the signals that work.

This is the idea behind signal-based selling.

Buyer intent and GTM Plays

GTM Plays finds buyer intent signals on LinkedIn, scores each person for fit against your ICP, writes a message that references the signal and sends it from your own account. Replies come into one inbox, where you take over. Start a 7-day free trial.

Frequently asked questions

Is buyer intent the same as intent data?

Closely related. Buyer intent is the likelihood that someone wants to buy; intent data is the information you use to estimate it.

What are the strongest buyer intent signals?

Direct actions such as pricing-page visits or demo requests are strongest. Engaging with competitors, hiring for a relevant role or a new leader joining are strong indirect signals.

How quickly should I act on buyer intent?

As soon as you can. Intent decays, so outreach within days of a signal is usually more relevant than outreach weeks later.

Can buyer intent be wrong?

Yes. A signal is a probability, not proof, so combine it with fit and keep messages relevant rather than presumptuous.

Keep reading

GlossaryWhat is intent data?Intent data explained: what it is, first-party vs third-party intent, examples of B2B intent signals, and how sales teams use it to time outreach.Read GuideBuying signals and intent data: a practical guide to signal-based sellingWhat buying signals and buyer intent data are, the main types, real examples, and how to turn them into signal-based outbound that gets replies.Read GlossaryWhat is lead scoring?Lead scoring explained: what it is, fit vs intent scoring, how to build a simple B2B lead scoring model, and the mistakes that make scores meaningless.Read

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