B2B Intent Data: 25 Signals and Workflows [2026]

Are you tired of watching your sales team exhaust themselves cold calling prospects who completely ignore them? It's time to switch to B2B intent data, this powerful strategy that lets you stop the "spray and pray" approach and target only active buyers already looking for a solution like yours. Here are the 25 hidden intent signals and automated workflows you absolutely need to copy to transform your CRM into a predictable revenue-generating machine in 2026.

What is intent data in B2B?

Simple and comprehensive definition

B2B intent data isn't magic, it's your digital crystal ball. It's all the clues a prospect leaves online, proving they're interested in a solution like yours. Basically, you're reading their mind.

This changes everything: you finally know which specific problem is keeping your prospect up at night. Forget the pathetic "spray-and-pray" with its depressing 2% response rate. Here, we're talking about surgical precision to contact people at exactly the right time.

The goal is simple: spot accounts already engaged in a buying cycle before they call you.

Difference: 1st-party vs 2nd-party vs 3rd-party intent

First-party data is your personal treasure trove: visits to your site, email clicks, demos. It's ultra-reliable, it's yours, but let's be honest, your vision remains limited.

Second-party data is getting the first-party data from a business partner. Imagine the info from a review site like G2 or the list of participants from a webinar you co-host. It's solid gold.

Finally, third-party data comes from outside via aggregators. It offers you a massive panoramic view of the market, but watch out for quality and compliance, or you'll be in a gray zone.

Why it became essential in 2026

Face the reality: the gradual disappearance of third-party cookies killed old-school tracking. Game over for 2020 methods. On the other hand, the explosion of LinkedIn offers a gold mine of public social signals that nobody exploits enough.

Add to this cocktail the rise of "buyer-led growth loops" — buyers do their homework alone — and you understand why your own first-party signals have become your best weapon to survive.

The 25+ intent data signals to track in 2026

The 15 basic signals to implement everywhere

There are intent signals that 100% of B2B companies should track without exception. These are the fundamentals, the vital foundation of your B2B intent data strategy. Not tracking them is like driving with your eyes closed: you'll crash.

Here's the raw list of 15 essential signals to put under surveillance today to never miss another obvious opportunity.

1. Website visitors: Identify companies visiting your site.

2. LinkedIn connections: Automate your connection requests.

3. Company page followers: Target your ICP followers.

4. Competitor page followers: Target competitor followers.

5. LinkedIn engagement: Target those who interact with you.

6. Social listening: Detect interactions with your competitors.

7. LinkedIn profile visitors: Contact your recent visitors.

8. Event attendees: Activate relevant event participants.

9. Lead magnet downloads: Automated post-download follow-up.

10. Job changes of champions: Reconnect with your former clients.

11. Closed-lost reopens: Relaunch lost deals.

12. Free trial inscription: Activate your free users.

13. Social mention: Detect strategic mentions.

14. Company hiring: Target companies that are recruiting.

15. New post: Contact new arrivals.

Focus on 2 key signals and their workflow

Focus on your website visitors who often browse anonymously. An account visiting your pricing page sends a massive and urgent buying signal. Powerful tools like Clearbit Reveal, 6sense, or Snitcher identify them instantly. The winning workflow: enrich the account data, score it, and assign it directly to a sales rep.

Another golden signal for your pipeline: LinkedIn engagement. A like or comment on a relevant post is an open door to chat. Tools like Reactin.io finally automate this. The workflow: add the contact to an outbound sequence with an ultra-personalized hook about their specific interaction.

10 advanced signals to dominate your niche

To really differentiate yourself and dominate your market, you need to go further with signals specific to your industry. That's where you become formidable against generalists.

For SaaS, closely monitor trial sign-ups, downgrades, churn risks, or a sudden drop in product usage. These are critical upsell or retention opportunities.

In eCommerce, track media buyer recruitments, increased ad spend, or installation and uninstallation of competing Shopify apps. These are unmissable signals of aggressive growth needs or imminent tool changes.

How to set up a complete intent data infrastructure

Having signals is good. Turning them into cash is better. Here's the step-by-step assembly plan to build your war machine.

From collection to data enrichment

Everything starts with B2B intent data collection. You need to centralize signals coming from everywhere: your CRM, LinkedIn, or your website. The Clay tool is frankly perfect for orchestrating this chaos.

Next, time for cleaning. Dirty data goes straight to the trash. You need to standardize and deduplicate ruthlessly.

The final step here is enrichment. You fill the gaps (emails, phones) with a solution like Dropcontact. The goal? Have ultra-complete contact files so you don't struggle later.

Scoring, routing, and intelligent storage

Scoring is simply rating your prospects according to their actions. Let's be honest, a visit to the "Pricing" page is worth ten times more than a distracted like. It lets you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Routing automates sending the lead to the right salesperson in a CRM like Folk. No more hot leads rotting in a forgotten Excel file.

Activation: the phase where money comes in

Outbound activation is where we attack. With signals in hand, your message becomes relevant, almost surgical. It's the key to improving your cold email open rates and stop spamming into the void.

Don't skip paid media activation. You create audiences on LinkedIn Ads or Meta to only target accounts that showed real intent. It's sniper-mode retargeting, not budget waste.

Intent data & outbound: 6 workflows that generate meetings

Workflows for each type of signal

Each intent signal requires a surgical and unique approach. The goal is to always appear ultra-relevant, never like a desperate spammer.

We'll dissect 6 concrete scenarios you can automate, ideally with a tool like Clay, to reach your prospects with impeccable timing and a message that hits the mark.

Here are the workflows currently crushing it:

1. Profile visitors → personalized hook.

2. Competitor page followers → angle on pain point or missed opportunity.

3. Active recruiting → angle on lack of capacity or operational stress.

4. Event participants → "warm" and contextual intro.

5. Job change of a former client → expansion opportunity.

6. Lead magnet download → automated nurturing.

Concrete examples of approaches that work

Take the "Hiring" workflow: if a company is hunting for a "Head of Sales", write directly to the CEO. Try something like: "I saw you're scaling the sales team, pipeline management is going to become hell...".

For "Competitor page followers", be smart: "I noticed you're following [Competitor]. Many of our clients migrated to us because they struggled with [known competitor problem], does that resonate?".

The jackpot is "Job changes champions". A former client changes companies? It's a gold mine. Rush to congratulate them and offer to replicate past successes at their new company.

The best intent data tools for 2026

Okay, you have the signals and workflows. Now you need the right toys. Here's an uncompromising selection of tools that really do the job in 2026.

Comparison table of market tools

The market is full of tools, but not all are equal. Some are overcomplicated, others are gems.

To help you see clearly, here's a table summarizing the strengths of each.

|------|-------------|-------|-----------|

| Buska | Social mentions | $ | PLG |

Intent data vs buying signals: the difference to know

We often confuse the two, but the nuance is important. Don't make this mistake.

Basically, it's a question of timing and intensity.

Intent data: It's the "why". The prospect is researching a topic, they're in discovery phase (Awareness or Problem Aware). It's a broad signal.

Buying signals: It's the "when". The prospect takes action: demo request, pricing page visit, tool comparison. It's a hot, immediate signal.

You now have the complete battle plan. Intent data is your cheat code to stop prospecting in the void and close deals faster. Don't let your competitors pass you: launch your workflows, activate your signals, and watch your pipeline explode. Your turn to play!

FAQ

What exactly is B2B Intent Data?

Imagine being able to read your prospects' minds before they even talk to you. Intent Data is exactly that: the set of digital traces (web visits, searches, downloads) that prove a company is actively looking for a solution like yours. It's the end of "guesswork" in prospecting: you know who wants to buy and when.

What's the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data?

It's a question of source. 1st-party is your personal treasure: data you collect on your own site (visits, clicks). 2nd-party is data from a partner (like G2 or a review site) they share with you. Finally, 3rd-party comes from external aggregators that give you a global market view. To crush it, you need a mix of all three.

What are the most profitable intent signals to track?

If you want quick results, focus on "money signals". The top of the top? Visits to your pricing page (it's an immediate buying sign) and recruitments (sign of budget and growth). Also monitor engagement on your competitors' LinkedIn posts: it's the perfect time to propose your alternative.

How to automate prospecting with Intent Data?

The secret is to link the signal to action without waiting. Use tools like Clay or n8n workflows. For example: if a prospect visits your "Comparison" page, your CRM should automatically send them an ultra-personalized email with a client case study. The goal is to contact the prospect at the exact moment they feel the pain.

Does Intent Data replace cold calling?

Not at all, it just makes it much smarter! Instead of calling randomly hoping to catch the right moment, you only call people who raised their hand digitally. Your conversion rates will explode because your call becomes relevant and contextual, rather than an annoying interruption.