Buying signals: eight events that open a window

A buying signal is a publicly observable event at a company that changes what the company needs, and that you can point at: it has a date, it has a source, and it fits in one sentence. “They have just taken a subsidy for warehouse automation” is a signal. “They seem to be growing” is not — it is an impression, and an impression cannot be checked or quoted in the first line of a conversation.

A signal is not intent data. Intent data tells you that somebody on a company network was reading about your product category: you do not know who, you do not know why, you cannot verify it, and you take the vendor's word for the match. A buying signal gives you the event itself and the page it was reported on, and leaves the judgement about whether it matters to you.

A signal is not firmographics either. Industry, headcount, activity code and region describe a state, and a state reads the same on Monday and six months later. Firmographics answer who could buy at all — that is the job of an ideal customer profile. A signal answers a different question: when it is worth asking. A good list needs both, because a company that fits the profile perfectly and where nothing has moved in a year is still a cold call.

• New location or facility. A new warehouse, plant or branch is a dozen purchasing decisions at once: fit-out, people, systems, transport, security, connectivity. A company that has just signed for space has a budget and a deadline, which are the two things prospects usually lack. Readable from the company's own announcement, local news, and sometimes a new address in the register. Window: roughly three months, after which the site already has its suppliers.
• Active hiring. The most literal signal there is: a job ad names the tools, the processes and the gaps itself. A vacancy for the role that would own what you sell tells you more than any industry report. Readable on job boards and the company's own careers page. Window: a few weeks — while the ad is up the question is open; once it disappears, somebody has filled the role and inherited the problem.
• Headcount growth. A process rather than a single event: the difference between the headcount published today and the one published a few months ago. A company that keeps growing quarter after quarter eventually outgrows whatever it was running on — spreadsheets, informal hand-offs, one system doing every job. Readable from company profiles, announcements and the number of parallel openings. Window: a quarter, because growth only shows up between two readings.
• Revenue growth. The money signal: whether there is anything to buy with. Year-on-year growth stated in an announcement or a filing means next year's budget exists, and usually that something held together by people now has to scale. Readable from press releases, trade press and published results. Window: until the next reporting period, so a few months in practice.
• Funding or an EU subsidy. The most concrete signal of all, because the amount arrives with a declared purpose: automation, a facility, digitisation, R&D. If that purpose overlaps with your offer, your opening line is written for you. Readable from announcements, beneficiary lists and trade press. Window: longer than the rest, two quarters and more, because the money is spent in stages.
• Management change. Somebody new in a decision-making role reviews suppliers and tools in the first months, because that is usually why they were brought in. We describe the role, never an individual — you are selling to a company, not to a named person. Readable from KRS (the number comes from the REGON register), the company's own announcement and the press. Window: about a quarter from the appointment; after that the decisions are made.
• Public tender. The hardest signal, because it comes with a deadline and a description of what is being bought: you know what the organisation wants, at what scale, and by when. It works in both directions — the buyer is looking for a supplier, and the companies bidding are looking for subcontractors and tools that let them meet the terms. Readable from public notices and the buyer's own site. Window: until the submission deadline, sometimes only days.
• Registry and activity-code changes. A new PKD activity code, a change of legal form, a new branch or a new registered address is a statement of direction filed before marketing says a word about it. A company that adds transport or manufacturing to its registered activities is planning something it does not have yet. Readable from the REGON register, together with the KRS number, legal form and codes. Window: a quarter — the entry stays for years, but it is only a reason to call while it is fresh.

The rule the whole run stands on: no “why now” line exists without a stored URL for the page it came from. No source, no sentence. That is why every signal you see carries a link and a date, and why you can check in two seconds whether what you are reading is actually there.

You can run the same test on any list somebody sells you. What exactly happened? When? Where do I read it? If any of the three cannot be answered in one sentence, you are holding a guess — usually a generated company description that sounds plausible right up to the moment you try to quote it on a call.

The rule has a cost. Some company sites cannot be read at all: they time out, block the reader, or return nothing. When that happens the company drops off the list instead of being given an invented rationale. The list is shorter, and every row on it can be defended. One run has been published in full, weak rows and unverifiable claims included.

1. 11Grounded searches
2. 111Candidates found
3. 80Kept by the cheap filter
4. 59Websites read and researched
5. 40Scored and ranked

Frequently asked questions

How is a buying signal different from intent data?

A signal is a specific event with a date and the address of the page that reported it — a new facility, a job ad, a registry entry. Intent data is a behavioural score attributed to a company: you do not know who read what, or whether that person has anything to do with a purchase. You never have to take a signal on trust, because you can click the source.

How long does a signal stay fresh?

It depends on the type. A tender expires with its submission deadline, so it counts in days. A job ad lives a few weeks. A new facility, a management change and a registry change give you roughly a quarter. Funding and subsidies work longest, because the money is spent in stages. That is a working rule rather than a measurement, which is why every signal carries its date and you can judge for yourself.

How do I know a signal is real?

Every signal in a run stores the URL of the page it came from and the date; without a source, the “why now” line is never written at all. If a company's site cannot be read, the company leaves the list rather than receiving a description generated out of nothing. One run has been published in full so that all of this can be checked without ordering your own.

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