How to Spot Buying Signals Before Your Competitors Do

Introduction: The First Mover Advantage

In competitive B2B sales, timing is everything. Research from InsideSales shows that the first vendor to engage a buyer has a 74% chance of winning the deal.

But how do you know when a company is ready to buy? The answer lies in buying signals—the digital and organizational clues that show a company is entering a purchase cycle.

Spot them early, and you beat competitors to the table. Miss them, and you’re fighting for scraps.

What Are Buying Signals?

Buying signals are actions or changes in a company’s behavior that indicate they’re preparing to purchase.

Examples:

• Announcing a funding round.

• Spiking interest in category-related content.

• Hiring specific roles.

• Adopting or dropping technologies.

The art is not just spotting signals, but acting on them before anyone else does.

The Most Powerful Buying Signals in 2025

1. Funding Announcements

When a company raises a new round, it usually invests in:

• Sales & marketing tech (to grow revenue).

• Infrastructure (to support scale).

• Talent (to execute expansion).

Tools that help: Crunchbase, PitchBook, Artikle (real-time alerts).

2. Hiring Trends

Job postings reveal priorities. Examples:

• Hiring SDRs → expanding outbound sales.

• Hiring data engineers → upgrading infrastructure.

• Hiring marketing ops → likely buying automation platforms.

Tools that help: LinkedIn Talent Insights, ZoomInfo Scoops, Artikle hiring signal alerts.

3. Technographic Changes

A company that just installed Salesforce might need integrations. One that dropped Marketo might be shopping for a new automation tool.

Tools that help: BuiltWith, Datanyze, 6sense technographic intent, Artikle technographic feeds.

4. Content Consumption Surges

If 30 people from an account start reading about “cloud security compliance,” odds are they’re shopping.

Tools that help: Bombora (publisher co-op data), Demandbase (ABM campaigns), Artikle (topic-level content spikes).

5. Organizational Shifts

• New CMO hired? Expect martech changes.

• New CIO? Infrastructure overhaul coming.

• Mergers & acquisitions? Entire tech stacks reshuffled.

Tools that help: ZoomInfo Scoops, LinkedIn, Artikle org-change alerts.

The Competitor Landscape

• ZoomInfo → great for scoops (org changes, job posts).

• 6sense → predicts in-market accounts based on engagement.

• Bombora → strongest at broad content consumption intent.

• Demandbase → powerful for ABM ad campaigns triggered by signals.

• Artikle → specialized in real-time delivery. Instead of waiting days for surge reports, you get Slack/HubSpot/WhatsApp alerts within minutes of a signal appearing.

How to Build a Buying Signal Playbook

Step 1: Define Your Triggers
Decide which signals matter most. (E.g., for Artikle, signals like funding, hiring SDRs, or adopting HubSpot are high-value).

Step 2: Set Up Monitoring Tools
Use Bombora for content surges, Crunchbase for funding, ZoomInfo for scoops, and Artikle to aggregate + push real-time alerts.

Step 3: Route Signals Into Workflows
Signals die in dashboards. Push them into Slack, CRM, or sales engagement platforms so reps act instantly.

Step 4: Create Contextual Outreach
If a company just raised $10M, don’t send a generic email. Say:
“Congrats on the raise—companies at your stage often look to accelerate sales ops. Here’s how we help.”

Step 5: Measure & Refine
Track which signals lead to pipeline. Double down on the ones with the highest conversion rates.

Case Study: Acting on Signals First

A SaaS analytics vendor used Artikle to monitor funding rounds in Europe.

• Artikle flagged a $20M Series B raise within minutes.

• SDR got a Slack alert + sample outreach context.

• SDR sent a tailored email congratulating the VP of Sales.

• Within 24 hours → demo booked.

• Competitors reached out a week later—too late.

👉 Result: First in the door, first to close.

Challenges in Signal Tracking

• Too much noise → not all signals mean buying intent.

  • Fix: Filter by ICP + combine signals (e.g., funding + hiring + research).

• Delayed delivery → competitors beat you.

  • Fix: Use real-time systems like Artikle.

• Sales skepticism → reps ignore alerts.

  • Fix: Deliver context-rich alerts (“Hiring 10 SDRs after Series A funding → high likelihood of buying sales tech”).

The Future of Buying Signals

By 2026–2027, signal detection will evolve into:

• Deeper AI analysis → filtering out false positives.

• Real-time automation → signals automatically trigger outreach sequences.

• Cross-department use → sales, marketing, success all aligned on the same triggers.

Conclusion

Buying signals are the breadcrumbs that reveal when a company is ready to purchase. The faster you spot them, the higher your chance of winning.

Traditional providers like ZoomInfo, Bombora, and 6sense are powerful, but they often deliver signals with delays. Artikle pushes signals in real time, directly into your team’s workflow, giving you the ultimate first-mover advantage.

👉 Key takeaway: Don’t wait for a quarterly “intent report.” In 2025, the fastest sales teams act on signals within minutes—not weeks.