What is Sales Signal?
Any data point or event that indicates a prospect or account may be ready to buy.
Definition
A sales signal is a trigger event or behavioral indicator that suggests a prospect is entering an active buying cycle. Signals come from multiple sources: job postings (company hiring for a relevant role), technographic changes (company adopted a competitor's tool), intent data (researching your category), website visits (pricing page views), and firmographic changes (new funding round, leadership change). Modern sales intelligence platforms aggregate these signals to help reps prioritize outreach.
Why It Matters
Cold outreach converts at 1-2%. Signal-based outreach can hit 5-15% response rates because you're reaching companies at the right moment. The shift from "spray and pray" to signal-based selling is the biggest change in outbound sales methodology in the past five years. Companies like 6sense, Common Room, and RB2B are built entirely around capturing and surfacing these signals.
Example
Your sales intelligence tool detects that a target account just posted a job for "Revenue Operations Manager" requiring Salesforce experience. Your competitor analysis shows they're currently on HubSpot. You reach out with a message about migration support, timed to their apparent platform evaluation.