What is Sales Intelligence?
Technology and data that helps sales teams identify, target, and engage the right buyers at the right time.
Definition
Sales intelligence platforms combine contact databases, firmographic data, technographic signals, and buying intent into a single workflow. They're designed to answer three questions: who should I sell to, what do I know about them, and when is the right time to reach out? The best platforms layer multiple data types so reps aren't just cold-calling from a list. They're reaching out with context.
Why It Matters
Reps spend roughly 40% of their time researching prospects and finding contact info. That's time they aren't selling. Sales intelligence tools compress hours of manual research into seconds. More importantly, they surface signals that reps would never find on their own, like technology changes, hiring surges, or funding rounds that indicate buying windows.
Example
An AE targeting mid-market fintech companies uses ZoomInfo to build a list of CFOs at companies with 200-500 employees that recently raised Series B funding. Apollo flags three of those accounts as showing intent around 'payment processing solutions.' The AE writes personalized outreach referencing the funding round and the specific pain point.