Definition
What is Intent Signals?
The short answer
Intent signals are indications that a company may be researching or preparing to buy in a category, such as topic research activity, visits to relevant pages, hiring for related roles, funding or leadership changes.
Key figure
94%
Why it matters
Intent helps decide which target accounts to contact first. It does not replace outreach to the accounts not showing intent yet, which is usually most of the list.
Put it to work
Where intent signals matters on a program.
- ABM lead generationIntent helps decide which target accounts to contact first. It does not replace outreach to the accounts not showing intent yet, which is usually most of the list.Read more
- Account based marketing that generates sales conversationsTurn your target account list into qualified pipeline with coordinated email, LinkedIn, calling and buying committee outreach.Read more
Research
What the research says
94%
94% of buying groups ranked their preferred vendors before first contact with a seller, and the vendor preferred before engaging sellers still wins 80% of deals.
6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025. More than 4,000 buyers across North America, EMEA and APAC.
69%
69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI generated insights with a sales rep.
Gartner survey, presented at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference, May 2026. 645 B2B buyers, surveyed August to September 2025.
67%
67% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep free buying experience, and 45% used AI during a recent purchase.
Gartner Sales Survey, Mar 2026. 646 B2B buyers, surveyed August to September 2025.
Related terms
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