The Sales Guide to Precision: How to Use Intent Data to Prioritize Accounts and Improve Outreach
For a sales rep, the day-to-day is a relentless pursuit of efficiency and precision. We only have so much time, and every seller needs to ensure they are focusing on the accounts with the highest potential to engage and close. As VP of Strategic Accounts, Tim Pedersen explains, our intent data for sales is the compass that guides them to the right accounts at the right time.
This isn’t about volume; it’s about surgical precision. This is the sales playbook for leveraging intent data to gain a deeper understanding of pain points, moving from generic outreach to intelligence-driven engagement.
The Problem of Friction: No More Context Switching
One of the single greatest drags on sales productivity is friction, and in the modern tech stack, that friction is almost always caused by jumping between platforms. A sales rep’s day is spent in the CRM—for us, that’s Salesforce—and any tool that pulls a rep out of that environment reduces efficiency.
This is why Pedersen highlights that the new Salesforce integration has been the most valuable product development for the sales team. With the new integration, reps no longer have to navigate to a separate platform to access critical data. They now have all the relevant intent data (intent models, persona-level signals, and account insights) right where they spend their entire day. As Pedersen explains, “Seeing intent signals in the same platform I spend my entire day in has changed the way I use the data.” This is a key reason why sales teams love Intentsify. It removes friction, boosts productivity, and makes the data actionable.
Account Prioritization: Targeting High-Intent Accounts at the Perfect Moment
The first, and arguably most important, step in any efficient sales day is to prioritize outreach. Our reps use Intentsify to identify which accounts are in an active buying cycle, filtering out the noise with intent signals.
The priority filtering uses a critical combination of signals:
- Research Stage: We filter for accounts that are showing intent in the later Decision and Consideration research stages. An account just beginning research is a marketing opportunity; an account deep in research is a sales opportunity.
- Website Visits: We cross-reference the research stage with accounts that have recently visited our website. This combination is the ultimate signal. It tells the rep the account is not just researching the topic—they are researching us.
If an account is in the Decision stage but has not visited our website, it’s a strong signal they are likely in conversations with a competitor. In these critical cases, outreach must be extremely precise. The rep will search for competitive keywords within their intent signals to understand exactly what the account is looking at, allowing them to craft a message that directly addresses their specific needs and highlights our competitive advantage. This level of insight transforms outreach from a cold call into a tailored consultation.
The Power of Persona-Level Insights in the Buying Committee
As an Account VP, Pedersen notes that while he typically sells to marketers, he knows that a B2B purchase decision often involves a buying committee of five or more stakeholders. True intent is revealed when research is multi-threaded and comes from multiple departments.
For example, when an individual in a non-marketing department, such as finance, starts researching “ABM solutions,” it is a strong signal that a purchase is imminent. This is an atypical search for that persona, which tells the rep that the buying committee is fully engaged, and a deal is moving forward. Similarly, if someone from IT starts researching “API capabilities” or “marketing technology integration,” sales knows they need to tailor their conversation to address technical deployment concerns. By providing intent data for sales that is organized by persona, Intentsify ensures reps can orchestrate multi-threaded campaigns and close the deal more efficiently. This concept is explored further in the Lifecycle Marketing POV section of our “How Intentsify Uses Intentsify: Volume II” eBook, where we discuss tracking multiple personas for expansion and churn prevention.
The BDR Advantage: Timing Outreach for Conversion
For a BDR like Shane MacLaughlin, having access to Intentsify data has been a game-changer, helping him move past cold outreach to focus on the accounts where he’s noticing research pattern movement. This access, combined with buying group contacts, leads to better results, such as more connected calls and a higher likelihood of booking meetings.
The key to BDR success is effective timing:
- Look for Spikes: BDRs look for spikes in research activity within their territory. A sudden surge in research on relevant topics is the strongest indicator that now is the time to reach out.
- Focus on Specific Topics: Our intent models monitor topics that include our solution and competitor names. If an account is researching competitors, the BDR knows exactly what to say in their outreach, increasing relevance and the likelihood of them listening.
- Time by Buyer Research Stage: The worst mistake a BDR can make is engaging the right person at the wrong time. BDRs strategically engage early-stage researchers with email and LinkedIn messages, and reserve calls for those prospects who show late-stage intent signals. This ensures BDR efforts are focused on prospects who are ready to hear the business value proposition.
By following these intent signals, sales teams shift from a volume-based mindset to one of precision and confidence, transforming efficiency into revenue.
Learn more about how our sales and business development representatives use Intentsify in “How Intentsify Uses Intentsify: Volume II.”
FAQs
How do you integrate intent data into a sales rep’s daily workflow without creating “platform switching” friction?
The key is a native CRM integration with a platform such as Salesforce, where the intent data (signals, persona insights, buying stage ) populates directly into the account and contact records. This eliminates the need for the rep to log into a separate tool and makes the data an integral part of their existing sales motion.
How does using intent data for sales improve account prioritization?
It moves prioritization beyond simple firmographics to behavioral signals. Reps prioritize accounts that meet a dual criterion: they are in the late-stage research phases (Consideration/Decision) AND they have recently visited your company’s website. This identifies accounts actively researching your topic and actively researching you, making them the highest propensity to close.
What is the BDR’s most important signal for deciding when to call an account versus just sending an email?
The BDR uses the buyer’s research stage to decide on the channel. They reserve high-effort, high-impact channels like calls for prospects showing late-stage intent signals. For early-stage research, the outreach is less aggressive, primarily through email and LinkedIn messages, to nurture the prospect.
Why is a finance persona researching “ABM solutions” such a strong signal for sales?
It’s a strong signal because searching for a specific solution like “ABM solutions” is an atypical search for a finance persona. It indicates that the buying committee has fully engaged and a purchase is imminent, with the finance stakeholder now doing their due diligence on the impending investment.
