Intent Signals Playbook
Stop guessing who's in-market. Learn to identify, prioritize, and act on buying intent signals across first-party, second-party, and third-party data sources.
First-Party
Website behavior, content downloads, demo requests, pricing page visits
Second-Party
G2, Capterra, review sites, comparison shopping behavior
Third-Party
Bombora, 6sense, Demandbase, cross-web research activity
The Three Types of Intent Data
| Type | Source | Reliability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Party | Your own website, product, emails | Highest | Free (you own it) |
| Second-Party | Review sites (G2, Capterra), partner data | High | $5K-$30K/year |
| Third-Party | Bombora, 6sense, Demandbase | Variable | $30K-$150K/year |
42 Agency POV: Most companies should master first-party intent before spending $30K+ on third-party data. Your own website behavior is the highest-signal, lowest-cost intent data you have.
Intent Signal Taxonomy
Score signals by buying stage and strength:
| Signal | Stage | Strength | Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demo/pricing request | Decision | Very High | Immediate sales outreach |
| Pricing page (2+ visits) | Decision | High | Sales outreach within 24h |
| Competitor comparison page | Evaluation | High | Trigger competitor battle card email |
| Case study download | Evaluation | Medium-High | SDR follow-up + nurture |
| G2/Capterra profile view | Evaluation | Medium-High | Account-based retargeting |
| Product pages (deep) | Consideration | Medium | Nurture + retargeting |
First-Party Intent Setup Guide
1. Page-Level Scoring
Assign intent scores to key pages:
- /pricing → High intent (+15 points)
- /demo → High intent (+20 points)
- /vs-competitor → High intent (+12 points)
- /case-studies/* → Medium intent (+8 points)
- /product/* → Medium intent (+5 points)
- /blog/* → Low intent (+2 points)
2. Event Tracking (GA4 + HubSpot)
Track these custom events:
pricing_page_time→ Time on pricing page (>60s = high intent)video_watch→ Product video completion %scroll_depth→ Page scroll depth on key pagesreturn_visit→ Returning visitor to high-intent pages
3. UTM Taxonomy
Structure UTMs to capture intent by campaign:
utm_source / utm_medium / utm_campaign / utm_content / utm_term
Example: linkedin / paid / demo-cta / video-ad / cfo-targeting
Third-Party Vendor Comparison
| Vendor | Best For | Price Range | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombora | Topic-level intent | $30-60K/year | Largest co-op, topic granularity | Requires significant volume |
| 6sense | Full ABM platform | $60-150K/year | Account ID + intent + orchestration | Expensive, complex |
| G2 Buyer Intent | Software companies | $15-40K/year | High-signal review site data | Software/SaaS focused only |
| ZoomInfo Intent | Bundled with data | Bundled | Convenient if using ZoomInfo | Intent is add-on, not core |
Intent-to-Action Playbook
When You Detect High Intent:
- Alert sales immediately (Slack notification or task)
- Enrich the account with additional contacts
- Launch 1:1 retargeting to the account
- SDR outreach within 24 hours with personalized angle
When You Detect Medium Intent:
- Add to nurture sequence specific to their interest
- Launch account-based ads showing case studies
- Monitor for escalation to high-intent behavior
When You Detect Low Intent (Awareness):
- Add to awareness retargeting pool
- Include in broad nurture
- Do NOT send to SDR (waste of time)
ROI Measurement Framework
Prove intent data is working with these metrics:
| Metric | Formula | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Intent-Influenced Pipeline | Pipeline $ from accounts with intent signals / Total pipeline | >50% |
| Speed to Opportunity | Days from first intent signal to opp created | Baseline - 20% |
| Win Rate Lift | Win rate (intent accounts) / Win rate (non-intent accounts) | >1.3x |
| SDR Efficiency | Meetings booked from intent leads / Total meetings booked | >40% |
Proving ROI: Run a controlled test. Give half your SDR team intent data, half without. Measure meeting rates after 90 days.