B2B buyer intent data: What it is and how to use it to supercharge your lead generation efforts

Timing makes or breaks B2B deals.

You could have the perfect product, the right price, and a solid reputation, but if you reach out too early, you’ll be ignored. Too late? Your competitor’s already closed the deal.

Enter buyer intent data. Instead of guessing or crossing your fingers, intent data shows you exactly who’s researching solutions, what problems they need solving, and when they’re 

ready to buy.

Suddenly, your outreach isn’t hit and hope, it’s targeted, timely, and impossible to ignore.

In this guide, we explore how intent data works, how your marketing and sales teams can use it to strike while the iron’s hot and supercharge your B2B lead generation efforts. We also share actionable tips and best practices to turn insights into real business growth.

What is buyer intent data?

At its core, buyer intent data signals when a company or decision-maker is in the market for a product or service. It’s about uncovering the digital breadcrumbs buyers leave behind as they research solutions, evaluate vendors, and compare options.

Think of it as a spotlight on who will most likely convert right now. Instead of chasing every lead, you can focus your efforts on the accounts and individuals demonstrating real purchase intent.

Key types of intent data

Before using intent data, it’s worth understanding the different types available and where each fits into your strategy. 

Not all intent data is created equal, and knowing the difference is what turns raw signals into actionable insight.

• First-party intent data – Collected directly from your own channels, such as website visits, email interactions, or demo requests. This data is unique to your business, making it highly valuable and accurate.
• Second-party intent data – Shared by a trusted partner. For example, a software review site might provide data on businesses researching products like yours.
• Third-party intent data – Aggregated by data providers from various external sources, such as content consumption, keyword searches, and social media interactions. This expands your visibility beyond your owned channels.

With so much access to information, reviews and expertise, a good portion of your target audience likely conducts most of their research independently. By the time they speak to sales, they’re already halfway down the buying journey.

Intent data helps you get ahead of that curve, spotting active interests early, positioning your brand at the right time, and nudging buyers towards conversion with relevant content and personalised outreach.

Types of buyer intent data in detail

Beyond the three core categories, intent data can be segmented further:

• Sales intent data – Signals that help sales teams understand when and how to approach prospects.
• Customer intent data – Insights on your existing customers, used for upsell, cross-sell, or retention.
• Purchase intent data – Explicit behaviours that suggest a company is ready to buy (e.g., repeated visits to pricing pages).
• B2B buyer intent data – Broader organisational patterns that show where an entire company is heading, rather than just one contact.

Each type adds another layer of intelligence, helping you refine your sales strategies and make smarter decisions.

Why is intent data important for B2B sales?

B2B sales have always been a game of timing. Reaching out when a buyer is ready to listen can make the difference between opening a deal and being ignored.

The challenge? Buyers now do the majority of their research in private, long before they ever speak to a salesperson.

Intent data changes that dynamic by revealing early signals of interest, giving sales teams the intelligence they need to strike at the right moment.

With intent data, salespeople no longer have to rely on cold outreach and educated guesses. They can see which accounts are actively researching, what topics they’re engaging with, and where they are in the buying journey.

Intent data gives sales teams an advantage during fierce competition and crowded inboxes. It ensures they’re not just adding to the noise but entering conversations with relevance and timing that prospects actually welcome. 

In today’s B2B landscape, that’s not just helpful. It’s essential.

What are the benefits of leveraging B2B intent data?

B2B intent data gives sales and marketing teams the intelligence they need to work smarter, close faster, and engage more meaningfully with prospects and customers.

If you need any more persuading, here are the advantages of using B2B intent data:

1. Spot buyers before your competitors do

Most B2B buyers are well into their research journey before they ever speak to a sales rep. 

B2B intent data lets you see the signals early, from keyword searches to review site activity, so your team can engage before the competition even knows an opportunity exists.

2. Focus on accounts that actually matter

Not every lead is worth chasing. Intent data helps you separate genuine opportunities from noise, so you spend time on companies actively looking for your solution rather than wasting energy on those who aren’t in-market.

3. Align sales and marketing for better results

When marketing and sales teams both work from the same intent-driven insights, campaigns and outreach feel consistent and timely. 

Marketing knows which accounts to target with content and ads, and sales knows who to follow up with and how to position the conversation.

4. Personalise outreach at scale

Intent data shows you what prospects are researching and where their pain points lie. That means you can craft personalised messaging, whether it’s a tailored email, a targeted campaign, or sales outreach that speaks directly to the issues they’re struggling with.

→ Need to brush up on your personalisation strategy? Let our guide to personalisation in cold emails help.

5. Shorten the sales cycle

By approaching prospects at the right moment with relevant messaging, you can move them faster from research to decision. This saves your team from chasing cold leads and accelerates revenue.

6. Improve campaign ROI

Instead of casting a wide net, intent data enables laser-focused marketing efforts. You can direct ad spend, content, and resources towards accounts that are actually in the buying cycle, reducing waste and improving conversion rates.

7. Strengthen customer retention and upsell opportunities

It’s not just about winning new business. Monitoring customer intent data also highlights churn risks (e.g., if an existing customer starts comparing competitor solutions) and spots upsell opportunities when they research add-ons or complementary products.

8. Build a competitive advantage

In saturated B2B markets, knowing who is “in-market” right now gives your business a clear edge. While others are still guessing, you’re having timely, relevant conversations that convert.

Why buyer intent data matters for B2B marketing and sales teams

B2B sales cycles are long, complex, and crowded. Marketers are under pressure to generate high-quality leads, while sales teams are tasked with converting those leads into customers. Without clear insights, both teams risk wasting time on accounts that simply aren’t ready to buy.

Here’s why intent data marketing is essential:

• Aligns sales and marketing efforts – Results improve dramatically when both teams work from the same playbook and focus on the same target accounts.
• Improves lead scoring – Intent signals help prioritise hot prospects who are actively researching, so resources aren’t wasted on lukewarm leads.
• Boosts personalisation – Intent data tells you what prospects care about, making it easier to craft tailored messaging that resonates.
• Shortens the sales cycle – Engaging at the right moment reduces the back-and-forth, moving prospects more quickly through the sales funnel.
• Increases ROI on campaigns – By focusing on in-market buyers, you reduce ad spend waste and increase conversion rates.

Basically, buyer intent signals empower marketing and sales teams to work smarter, not harder.

The business impact of buyer intent data

Intent data isn’t just a buzzword – it drives measurable business outcomes. Companies that leverage intent insights effectively often report:

• Higher conversion rates – Focusing only on accounts showing active interest improves pipeline quality.
• Shorter sales cycles – Intent-driven outreach means less wasted time chasing cold leads.
• Reduced churn – Monitoring customer intent data can help flag existing customers at risk of leaving, enabling proactive retention strategies.
• Improved sales performance – Reps are more confident approaching prospects when they understand their current pain points and research activity.
• Optimised marketing spend – Instead of casting a wide net, marketing teams concentrate budget where it counts, on buyers who are ready to engage.

The bottom line: accurate intent data gives you a competitive advantage in crowded markets.

How buyer intent data works in practice

So, how does intent data work? At a high level, intent data is collected by tracking digital behaviours across websites, search engines, social media, and other online platforms.

Common intent data sources

• Website visits – Which pages are prospects browsing? Are they looking at pricing or case studies?
• Keyword searches – What terms are they actively searching for? (e.g., “best B2B intent data providers”).
• Content consumption – Whitepaper downloads, webinar registrations, or blog engagement.
• Software review sites – Comparison activity on platforms like G2 or Capterra.
• Social media interactions – Posts liked, shared, or commented on that signal buying intent.

From raw data to actionable insights

Raw intent data is meaningless without interpretation. The value comes from transforming those data points into actionable insights. For example:

• A spike in visits to “product comparison” pages might indicate a company is close to making a decision.
• Multiple stakeholders from the same company downloading content suggests organisation-wide interest.
• Increased searches for “intent data platform” could signal they’re actively evaluating providers.

When analysed correctly, this data allows sales and marketing teams to engage prospects with timely, relevant messaging, improving conversion rates and customer engagement.

Where can you find B2B buyer intent data?

1. First-party intent data (your own channels)

The most accurate and reliable form of intent data comes from your own digital touchpoints. This is information you collect directly from prospects and customers:

• Website analytics: page views, time on site, repeat visits.
• Email engagement: opens, clicks, downloads.
• Demo requests, webinar sign-ups, form fills.
• Product usage signals from free trials or existing accounts.

You own it, it’s highly relevant to your brand, giving you a direct line into how prospects interact with you.

2. Second-party intent data (trusted partners)

This is someone else’s first-party data, shared through a partnership. For example:

• Software review sites (like G2, Capterra, TrustRadius) that share data on companies researching in your category.
• Media publishers or industry associations that provide access to audience engagement data.

Second-party data is valuable because it’s targeted, credible, and often closer to buying signals than generic third-party sources.

3. Third-party intent data (specialist providers)

Aggregated by B2B intent data providers, this comes from a wide range of external sources:

• Keyword searches across the web.
• Content consumption (blogs, guides, research reports).
• Bidstream data from ad networks.
• Social media interactions.

Why it matters: Third-party intent data expands your reach beyond your owned channels, showing you which accounts are “in-market” – even if they’ve never visited your website.

4. Customer success and CRM platforms

Don’t overlook the intent signals from your existing customers. CRM activity, support tickets, and feature usage can highlight churn risks or upsell opportunities.

This isn’t just about new business –  intent data can help you retain and grow current accounts.

5. Data enrichment and intent platforms

Specialist intent data platforms (such as Bombora, 6sense, or ZoomInfo) collect, interpret, and score intent signals across thousands of sources. These platforms often integrate directly with CRMs and marketing automation tools.

These platforms help translate raw activity into actionable insights that sales and marketing teams can actually use.

How to use intent data to connect at the right time

Timing outreach is one of the biggest challenges in B2B sales. Reach out too early, and your message falls flat. Reach out too late, and the deal is gone.

Here’s how intent data helps strike that balance.

1. Lead scoring and prioritisation

Not all leads are equal. By incorporating intent signals into your lead scoring model, you can identify which accounts are worth pursuing right now.

→ Gain a competitive edge over businesses in your space with our complete guide to lead scoring.

2. Align sales and marketing teams

Marketing can use intent data to run targeted advertising campaigns, while sales teams follow up with personalised outreach.

3. Personalise outreach at scale

Reference specific pain points in emails, share content based on research topics, or highlight competitor differentiators.

4. Engage at the right stage of the buying journey

Tailor your outreach to match whether the buyer is in the awareness, consideration, or decision stage.

Choosing the best intent data providers and tools

There’s no shortage of B2B intent data providers and tools. When evaluating options, focus on:

1. Accuracy – avoid outdated data.
2. Coverage – do they offer first, second, and third-party insights?
3. Integration – will it work with your CRM or marketing automation?
4. Compliance – are they aligned with GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection regulations?
5. Usability – can your teams actually act on the insights?

The best approach often blends in-house first-party data collection with insights from trusted providers.

What are the challenges and pitfalls of using intent data?

Like any strategy, using intent data has its challenges. But these shouldn’t be deal-breakers; they should be more things to be aware of.

We’ve outlined some of the challenges of using intent data below to help you manage your strategy.

1. Data accuracy and quality

Not every signal equals intent. A prospect might read one blog post or click on an ad without any real buying interest. If your teams treat every interaction as a sales-ready lead, you risk wasting time and damaging credibility.

To avoid this, focus on behaviour patterns over time (multiple searches, repeat visits, content downloads) rather than one-off signals.

2. Outdated or incomplete data

Intent signals lose value fast. A company that showed strong activity last quarter may no longer be in-market today. Similarly, relying on a limited pool of sources can give you an incomplete picture of buyer behaviour.

Instead, choose providers that refresh data frequently and combine first-party data with external insights for a fuller view.

3. Misinterpretation of signals

Intent data shows what people are doing, not why. For example, a company downloading a whitepaper about the best B2B intent data providers could be a genuine prospect or a competitor doing research.

To improve signal interpretation, combine intent insights with human judgment. Train sales teams to qualify leads instead of relying blindly on the data.

4. Integration challenges

Intent data only works if it’s embedded into your CRM, marketing automation, and sales workflows. Without smooth integration, signals sit in silos and never reach the teams who need them.

To manage this, prioritise platforms that integrate seamlessly with your tech stack, and run a pilot before rolling out company-wide.

5. Cost considerations

High-quality intent data platforms and providers aren’t cheap. For smaller businesses, this can be a barrier to entry, especially if ROI isn’t demonstrated quickly.

How do you counter this? Start small. Pilot intent data with a handful of accounts or a single campaign to prove the value before scaling investment.

6. Over-reliance on data

Intent data accelerates relationship-building, but doesn’t replace it. Businesses that treat it as a shortcut risk sending generic, overly data-driven outreach that still feels impersonal.

What you need to do is use intent data to inform personalised engagement, not to automate it away.

7. Privacy and compliance risks

With increasing scrutiny around data protection regulations (like GDPR and CCPA), mishandling buyer intent data can lead to legal and reputational risks.

You need to steer clear of providers that sound too good to be true. Focus on identifying and working only with compliant providers. Be transparent with prospects and ensure your processes respect privacy.

The key is to approach intent data with a balanced mindset: combine high-quality signals with human judgment, integrate it properly into your systems, and use it as a tool to enhance genuine connections rather than replace them.

Practical examples of leveraging intent data

Intent data is a toolkit for smarter, faster, and more precise B2B marketing and sales.

But what does that look like in action?

Here, we break down practical ways companies are using intent signals every day to focus efforts, engage the right prospects, and turn interest into action.

1. Focusing sales conversations on the right companies

Sales teams can use intent data tools to identify which target companies are researching their products or services, enabling them to concentrate their time and energy on prospects more likely to purchase.

For example, a sales representative is notified when a potential customer visits your pricing webpage several times, prompting a prompt and personalised follow-up.

2. Customising content and messaging

Marketing teams use signs of interest, such as searched topics or downloaded materials, to deliver information directly addressing each prospect’s specific needs or challenges.

Let’s say a company downloads several digital books about data security. Your next email could highlight your service’s data protection features and share relevant case studies from the same industry.

3. Targeting high-interest companies in marketing campaigns

You could filter your lists of target companies based on which ones are showing an increased level of engagement, such as reading more industry reviews, and allocate advertising and outreach efforts to those showing the most buying signals.

One way companies can do this is by actively reviewing software comparison websites. These channels can then be prioritised for advertising and personalised marketing campaigns.

4. Ranking and qualifying potential customers

Signs of buying intent, such as frequent visits to your website, signing up for webinars, or downloading several resources, are used to score which companies are ready to be contacted by sales, ensuring only the most promising are prioritised.

Intent data can help you identify if a high-priority prospect has, for example, watched three demonstration videos in one week, so your sales team can immediately follow up.

Pssst…check out our complete guide to B2B lead qualification for more expert intel.

5. Understanding competitor activities

Intent data can be used to track when target companies read reviews or compare offerings from competing companies so they can respond quickly with information that highlights their own strengths.

This can be especially useful if a company you are targeting appears to be looking at competitor products on third-party websites. It means you can respond with a message explaining why your product or service is better.

6. Identifying opportunities to propose an upsell

If current customers begin researching additional products or services you offer, this signals they may be open to learning about add-ons or upgrades.

This can help if an existing client starts engaging with information about a new service you have launched – prompting your customer support or sales team to arrange a call to discuss potential upgrades.

7. Optimising digital advertising and retargeting

Advertising budgets are focused on companies that are showing real buying signals, making campaigns more cost-effective and impactful.

In practice, this could be someone who has read multiple articles about your product and is later shown a targeted advertisement while browsing professional networking websites or other publications.

These practical applications show how intent data can be applied day-to-day, not just as a high-level strategy.

Using B2B data enables companies to act quickly and intelligently. They can focus their efforts on organisations with clear signs of interest rather than waiting for prospects to make the first move, leading to better outcomes for both marketing and sales teams.

How to get started with intent data

For many B2B organisations, intent data feels like an exciting but slightly overwhelming world. 

The good news? You don’t need to dive in headfirst or overhaul your tech stack overnight. 

A structured, step-by-step approach helps you capture quick wins while building a scalable strategy.

1. Define your goals

Before collecting a single data point, get clear on what you want to achieve:

• Is your focus lead generation?
• Do you want to power account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns?
• Are you trying to reduce churn or grow upsells with existing customers?

Clarity here makes it easier to choose the right data sources, providers, and metrics.

2. Audit your existing data

Start by reviewing what you already have. Chances are, you’re sitting on valuable first-party intent data right now:

• Website analytics (Google Analytics, HubSpot, etc.).
• CRM activity logs.
• Email engagement metrics.
• Event sign-ups or demo requests.

This baseline shows you where the gaps are and prevents duplication once you add new sources.

3. Choose your intent data sources

Next, decide which types of intent data make sense for your business:

• First-party (your own website, CRM, emails).
• Second-party (partners such as software review sites).
• Third-party (aggregators like Bombora, ZoomInfo, or 6sense).

Pro tip: Many businesses start with a blend of first-party and third-party to get both depth and scale.

4. Select the right tools or providers

Look for intent data platforms that:

• Integrate with your CRM and marketing automation stack.
• Offer accurate, refreshed data (avoid outdated intent signals).
• Comply with data protection regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
• Provide easy-to-use dashboards for both sales and marketing teams.

Check out our expert run-downs of the best B2B sales tools for all the 

5. Integrate with sales and marketing processes

Data is only valuable if it’s acted upon. To make intent data part of daily workflows:

• Feed intent signals into your lead scoring model.
• Share high-intent accounts with sales teams as priority targets.
• Use insights to shape personalised campaigns, like ads, emails, or content journeys.
• Build ABM campaigns around accounts showing strong buying signals.

6. Train your teams

Intent data can’t just sit with marketing ops. Your sales teams, customer success managers, and marketers all need to know:

• What the signals mean.
• How to use them in conversations.
• How to avoid overusing or misinterpreting the data.

7. Start small, then scale

Don’t try to do everything at once. Launch a pilot project using intent data to target one vertical with an ABM campaign. Measure the results, refine your approach, and then expand.

8. Measure, test, and optimise

Track the impact of intent data on:

• Lead-to-opportunity conversion rates.
• Campaign ROI.
• Sales cycle length.
• Customer retention and upsell success.

Use these metrics to fine-tune your approach and demonstrate ROI across the organisation.

Remember to start with clear goals, maximise your existing first-party data, add trusted providers for scale, and embed insights into daily sales and marketing processes.

The sooner you start, the faster you’ll move from chasing cold leads to engaging with in-market buyers.

Turn buyer intent into real opportunities with Sopro

At Sopro, we don’t just talk about data, we act on it. 

With insights from over 160 trusted sources and our own proprietary lead generation intelligence, we put your brand in front of the prospects that matter most. 

Every campaign is monitored in real time, fine-tuned with data-driven adjustments, and optimised to maximise ROI.

Partner with Sopro, and you’re not just chasing leads; you’re connecting with the right buyers at the right time, with precision and confidence. Book a demo to get started.