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What are the Top Prospecting Signals to Keep Eyes on?

top prospecting signals

One of the founders’ top questions is – “What should I look out for when I’m trying to spot potential clients or how do I know what prospecting signals are?” I’d say the signals are all around you, and it’s just about recognizing those subtle yet impactful cues.

These prospecting signals basically indicate someone is not just a passerby in your digital world but a potential lead with genuine interest. You must have reviewed your LinkedIn updates and noticed the same few names popping up – liking your posts, commenting thoughtfully, or sharing your content. These aren’t just digital high-fives; they signal that these contacts might be ripe for a deeper connection. 

In this article, I will explore more prospect signals like the one I just mentioned to help you never miss them again and utilize them to the fullest extent possible.

How can Prospect Signals Help You Improve Your Business?

Prospect signals are indicators or actions potential customers take that suggest they are interested or moving towards a purchasing decision. Effectively interpreting and taking action on these signals can help you with –

  • Increased Conversion Rates: Recognizing and acting on prospect signals can help you convert leads more effectively. By targeting communications based on demonstrated interest, you ensure that your messaging aligns with the prospect’s needs, increasing the likelihood of a sale.
  • Enhanced Personalization: Each signal a prospect sends is a piece of data that can refine how you approach them. For instance, if a prospect spends time on a specific product page, follow up with detailed information or a personalized offer related to that product. This level of cold email personalization shows that you understand their needs and can provide a solution.
  • Optimized Marketing Spend: You can allocate your marketing resources more efficiently by focusing efforts on prospects who have shown clear signals of interest to improve ROI on marketing campaigns strategically.
  • Improved Customer Experience: Responding to prospect signals promptly and appropriately can greatly enhance the customer experience. It demonstrates to customers that your business is attentive and committed to meeting their needs, fostering a positive perception and increasing brand loyalty.
  • Better Timing of Engagements: Timing can be crucial in closing sales. Prospect signals help identify the most opportune moments to engage or re-engage potential customers. For example, a sudden increase in website activity or an inquiry about pricing can indicate readiness to purchase, prompting timely follow-up.

Account Level Signals

Account level signals refer to the broad indicators derived from a company’s activities, decisions, or market events that suggest potential opportunities for engagement or sales. Let’s look at some of the top account level prospect signals.

1. Open Job Postings

You can learn about a company’s expansion and scaling efforts and indicate specific gaps within its current operational capabilities by looking into its job opening posts. Analyzing the roles and responsibilities in these postings can help you tailor your outreach and solutions to match the prospective client’s current requirements.

Open job postings can also be a window into the company’s strategic direction. For instance, increasing IT or tech-related roles might suggest an impending tech overhaul or a push toward digital transformation. By aligning solutions that cater specifically to these emerging needs, you can position yourself as an essential partner in the prospective client’s growth trajectory.

You can use the “Total job openings” feature available within LinkedIn Premium Insights to track this signal. This feature highlights all current job postings by a company on LinkedIn and provides a clear view of the organization’s growth plans. It also includes the types of roles they are looking to fill and the levels of seniority they are targeting. 

Total Job Openings Insight on LinkedIn

Total Job Openings Insight on LinkedIn

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects? 

When reaching out to potential clients with open job posting signals, the approach should directly align with the needs expressed in those postings. Imagine you’re explaining to the prospect how your solution fits into their current hiring spree. You could highlight how your software or service can streamline some of the operations for which they are hiring. If you see they’re looking for IT support staff, you can say something like – 

“We see you’re trying to improve your customer service response times – our CRM can automate responses and organize tickets efficiently, cutting down the need for extra hands and helping you manage scale more comfortably.”

Integrating job posting intent data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator or similar platforms with SalesMix automatically updates your prospect list with new openings. It also enables SalesMix to trigger personalized email campaigns tailored to the needs highlighted in the job postings, ensuring that your message is relevant and timely.

2. Any Recent Growth

Tracking any recent growth within a department you sell to suggests a department’s scaling ambitions and shows potential areas where they might face operational challenges or require enhanced technological support. The growth can manifest in various forms, such as an increase in staffing, expansion into new markets, or a spike in product or service offerings. 

You can easily track the growth of the companies by looking into LinkedIn Premium Insights about the company you want to look into. It will show you the employee count throughout the time, distribution, and growth of the important functions or divisions in the company. 

Track growth on LinkedIn to find out prospecting signals

Track company growth with LinkedIn Premium Insights

Understanding these growth signals allows you to assess the evolving needs of a prospective client. You can align your solutions to address specific challenges likely to arise during these growth phases for the prospects.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects? 

When approaching a potential client who is experiencing departmental growth, the outreach should be as strategic and empathetic as their situation demands. Say, For 

“I noticed your team has doubled in the last year; that’s impressive and challenging at the same time. Our platform can help streamline the onboarding and training processes, making it easier for you to integrate new staff without missing a beat.” 

This way, you acknowledge their growth and propose a solution from your service that addresses a common pain point.

3. Existence or Non-Existence of Any Relevant Roles

The existence or non-existence of specific roles within a company can be a telling signal about the operational focus and potential needs of that company. This signal helps you identify whether a company has dedicated resources for certain functions or if there’s a gap that your product could fill. 

You can go to the company’s LinkedIn page and then use the search bar to search for the job title you’re interested in. After that, if profiles appear with that title listed at the company, it indicates the role likely exists there or the other way if you don’t find anything.

Find job roles in prospect company

Find job roles in prospect’s company

You can also look into the company’s career pages on its website to see if there’s a role related to the solution you’ll be providing or any recent hiring related to it. 

This signal information lets you tailor your approach based on the company’s existing capabilities or needs. If a role exists, you can position your service to enhance and support the existing structure. If it does not, you can present your solution as a way to efficiently fill that gap without the company needing to hire additional personnel. 

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects? 

You should frame your communication in a way that directly addresses the implications of the findings you got, whether the relevant role is present or not in the company. You have to show the prospect that while you’re observant, you’re also thinking about how to make their operations smoother and more cost-effective.

4. Changes in Legislation

Changes in legislation can significantly impact how companies operate, often forcing them to adjust their processes, adopt new technologies, or even overhaul their business strategies. Keeping a pulse on relevant legislative changes can signal immediate needs within target accounts. 

For example, updates in data protection laws may require companies to enhance their cybersecurity measures or data management systems. Recognizing these changes positions you as informed and proactive, enabling you to offer timely solutions that comply with new regulations.

You can turn on your notification for topics like “Legal,” “Busines Laws,” or “Legislation” on Google News to get any information about recent law changes as soon as possible. 

Updates on Google News

Look for updates on Google News

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

Your conversation should be both informative and consultative in case of this type of prospecting signal. Suppose you provide a SaaS solution that helps businesses manage employee data in compliance with new privacy regulations. You could approach a prospective client by saying, 

“I see that the recent updates to the privacy legislation could affect how you manage employee data. Our platform has been updated to help ensure you remain compliant without disrupting your existing workflows. We can help simplify the transition to these new requirements, ensuring you’re not only compliant but also secure.”

5. New Product Launch in Recent Times

A new product launch indicates a phase where the launching company will likely open to tools and services that can support the rollout, streamline processes, and enhance the product’s market introduction. It can also require improvement in various departments, such as sales, customer support, or marketing. As a result, it’s a time when the need for external SaaS solutions can peak, especially in areas like customer feedback management, analytics, or marketing automation.

To check any product launch by any company, the best course of action would be to look around their social media pages and websites. A company launching a new product will never miss out on saying out loud in its owned channels. You can also look around on Product Hunt to see if there’s mention of new launches where you can see a possible prospect to work with.

Check new launches in Product Hunt

Check new launches in Product Hunt

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to a company that has recently launched a new product, you should first congratulate them on their new launch and then smoothly align your conversation with the challenges they are currently facing. You need to show that you understand the specific pressures of a product launch and that your service is not just an add-on but a strategic aid during critical times.

6. Recent Fundraising

Recent fundraising by a company is a strong indicator of both its current financial health and its ambitions for growth. It usually signals the start of new projects, expansion into new markets, or an increase in product development activities. You can catch these signals immediately and align your offerings with the prospect’s expanded capabilities and upcoming initiatives.

Crunchbase offers an effective way to stay updated on recent fundraising activities. Simply visit the company’s profile on Crunchbase, where funding history and the latest rounds are readily available. Using the ‘recent funding rounds’ filter in Crunchbase’s search feature, you can discover companies across industries that have recently attracted new investments.

Recent Fundraising filter in Crunchbase

Recent Fundraising filter in Crunchbase

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

While reaching out to a company that has recently completed a fundraising round, it is great to approach the conversation with a clear understanding of how your SaaS offering can contribute to the specific goals they are likely pursuing with their new funds.

A conversational approach can go like this,

“Congratulations on your recent fundraising success- that’s a fantastic achievement! I understand that part of your plan is to improve your digital infrastructure, which is where we can provide significant value. Our platform can streamline [specific process], helping you leverage your new funds more effectively by reducing costs and improving efficiency. I’d love to explore how we can support your growth initiatives in this exciting phase.”

7. Online Reviews

Online reviews provide a wealth of insights into what customers appreciate and what they feel might be lacking. Analyzing these reviews can uncover significant opportunities for you to offer solutions that address the pain points expressed by customers. It is particularly important as online reviews often influence potential customers’ purchasing decisions and can affect a company’s reputation and sales.

If your service offers solutions for the pain points mentioned in a bad review, you can also search for that negative reviewer on LinkedIn and message them with an initial introduction explaining how your solution can eliminate the pain points they’re experiencing.

Online reviews on G2

Online reviews on G2

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to potential clients with noticeable patterns of negative reviews, it’s beneficial to adopt a helpful and understanding tone. You might say, 

“I noticed that some of your recent reviews mentioned challenges with [specific problem], and it sounds like it’s been a tough spot for your team. We’ve helped similar companies improve this aspect by [briefly explain how your product helps]. 

I’d be interested in discussing how we might be able to assist you in turning these reviews around and enhancing your customers’ experience.” 

8. Any New Locations

This signal is a key indicator that the company may face the complexities and challenges of managing multiple operations across diverse geographies. It can create logistical, communication, and management challenges often best addressed through specialized software solutions designed to streamline these processes.

You can position your solutions as essential tools for facilitating smooth transitions and maintaining operational consistency across dispersed teams. Solutions such as cloud-based collaboration tools, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms can be particularly valuable.

Check your prospects’ website for updated contact information for any location or monitor their social media for location announcements. Another good idea is to look for updates on business listing platforms like Google My Business, where your clients might have updated their addresses.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

Your approach should be tailored and empathetic to the pains of expansion. You might start the conversation by acknowledging the exciting phase of growth they are experiencing and then segue into how your product can assist. You need to show them that you understand their current needs and that your offerings can help mitigate the typical pains associated with expansion.

9. Change in Website Traffic

A significant change in website traffic, whether an increase or decrease, can be a vital indicator of shifting market dynamics or internal changes within a company. Monitoring these fluctuations is essential as it can signal a variety of needs depending on the nature of the change.  

You can use Ahref’s Website Traffic Checker to check traffic estimates on your prospects’ websites in recent times to identify this signal. Semrush’s website traffic checker and Neil Patel’s free web traffic checker can also come in handy for you here.

Ahrefs Website Traffic Checker

Ahrefs Website Traffic Checker

Analyzing the cause and effect of changes in website traffic allows you to tailor your solutions effectively. For instance, a surge in traffic may require scaling of services to handle increased load, necessitating solutions that optimize performance and enhance user engagement without sacrificing quality. On the other hand, a decline might call for tools that improve SEO, enhance user experience, or strengthen customer retention strategies.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

Your approach should be consultative and strategic when reaching out to a company experiencing notable changes in website traffic.  You need to clearly understand their website traffic situation and offer a solution directly relevant to their current needs.

10. Any Recent Layoffs

Recent layoffs within a company are a significant indicator of internal restructuring or a shift toward cost optimization. This situation can be challenging and may signal a company’s need to maximize efficiency with fewer resources. It also might prompt a company to invest in automation tools, streamline operations, or adopt more efficient technologies to maintain or even enhance productivity with a reduced workforce.

Crunchbase’s layoff data can be useful for you to learn if any of your prospects recently went through layoffs. You need to visit the company page on Crunchbase and look for the Signals Layoff section under the Signals & News tab to find out any layoff data. You can also save the company by getting layoff updates as soon as possible.

Layoff signals on Crunchbase

Layoff signals on Crunchbase

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to a company that has recently experienced layoffs, your conversation should be sensitive to their current challenges while highlighting the tangible benefits of your solution. You need to acknowledge their current situation and position your service as a helpful and essential tool during their restructuring phase.

11. Using Any of Your Competitor Solutions

This signal confirms the client’s recognition of the need for such a solution and provides a clear starting point for engagement. Understanding what your competitor offers allows you to tailor your pitch to highlight how your product or service provides a distinct advantage, focusing on areas where your competitor may fall short.

To track if a prospect is using any of your competitors’ solutions, you can monitor their activity on review platforms like G2 or Capterra, where companies often discuss the tools they use. Additionally, reviewing case studies or articles from the company or competitor’s website can reveal partnerships or mentions of specific vendor solutions.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to a potential client who is using a competitor’s solution, the conversation should be tactful yet confident. You might start by acknowledging their current choice and gently introducing how your solution could offer them more value. Ensure that you show respect for their current choice while clearly stating how your product resolves specific pain points that the competitor’s solution does not.

12. Using Any Tool You Integrate with

This prospect signal indicates that the client values tools that can synergize and streamline their workflows, which is precisely where your product’s integrative capabilities come into play. Recognizing this usage can be pivotal, as it means there is existing infrastructure and familiarity within the client’s operations that your solution can tap into, enhancing your value proposition.

Reviewing integration directories or partner lists on prospects’ websites can streamline monitoring of whether they use tools that integrate with your solution. Engaging in discussions on relevant industry forums and social media platforms can also reveal the tools your prospects favor.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

It’s beneficial to adopt a conversational tone highlighting how your product complements and enhances the capabilities of the tool they already use. You should demonstrate an understanding of their current operations and position your solution as a logical next step to maximize their investment in the existing tool.

13. Attending A Recent Conference or Event

You can use this prospect signal to understand the company’s engagement with current trends and innovations and their areas of interest and potential needs. Identifying the events a company attends can give clues about its strategic priorities and challenges it seeks to address.

The type of conference or event attended can guide a SaaS company in tailoring its outreach and product presentation. For instance, if a potential client has participated in a digital marketing summit, it suggests a keen interest in enhancing their digital marketing strategies, possibly opening doors for solutions that offer advanced analytics, improved customer segmentation, or automation tools.

LinkedIn’s search feature can help you find potential prospects at conferences or those who are going to attend them. When looking to connect with individuals going to a specific event, such as the recent “Expand North Star” conference in Dubai, you can start by searching for the conference name or relevant hashtags and tags on LinkedIn.

Find prospects based on recent conference attendance signal

Find prospects based on recent conference attendance signal

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

It’s effective to reference the conference or event in a way that connects your offering to the topics discussed there. For example, you could start the conversation with, 

“I saw that your team attended [Event Name] last month- what an incredible lineup of speakers on [specific topic]! It sounds like [specific topic] is a key focus for your team this year. Our [Product Name] directly enhances efforts in that area by providing [specific features or benefits]. I’d love to discuss how we can help you implement some of the ideas you gathered at the event. Would you be open to a conversation about this?”

14. Received Award or Recognition

The fact that a company has been recognized suggests they are doing something right and could be open to exploring how to leverage this success further. Understanding the context of the award – for innovation, customer service, sustainability, or something else – can help you tailor the approach to match the company’s celebrated strengths. This could involve offering products that enhance the areas in which they are already excelling or providing new tools that help them expand on the foundation of what earned them the award.

Check your prospective company or its employees’ LinkedIn profiles for any posts or updates regarding awards or recognitions, as most companies and professionals share and celebrate their achievements on this platform. SaaS industry-specific publications, magazines, newsletters, and event websites like The SaaS Award can also provide information about your prospective clients’ accolades. 

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

A personal and context-aware approach is effective when reaching out to a company that has recently received an award or recognition. You might start the conversation by congratulating them on their recent achievement. Acknowledge their success, and align your product as a tool for continued achievement and growth to utilize this prospecting signal.

15. Relevant Content

The content that a company chooses to engage with or produce often reflects its immediate business priorities, pain points, or areas for improvement. Analyzing this content allows for a tailored approach in which your product can be positioned as a solution that directly addresses the themes or challenges discussed. Whether the content focuses on overcoming specific operational hurdles, enhancing efficiency, or scaling business operations, it provides a natural opening for introducing how your product can help.

You need to look at the prospect company’s recent blog publication on its websites or various form of contents on social media platforms like LinkedIn. It will help you conveniently find out if your prospect is sharing and engaging with similar type of content as yours.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out based on relevant content engagement, it’s effective to directly link your discussion to the content they’ve shown interest in. You might approach the conversation by saying, “I came across your recent post on [Topic], and it really resonated with the solutions we’ve developed here at [Your Company]. “

16. Customer Look Alike

Identifying potential clients that resemble your existing customers, often referred to as “customer look-alikes,” is a strategic prospecting method used by B2B SaaS providers. This approach depends on the premise that businesses sharing similar characteristics with your current customers – such as industry, size, needs, or challenges – are likely to derive similar benefits from your solution. You can easily look up companies like these on LinkedIn or Crunchbase by setting filters into your existing industry, size, etc.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

You should use a personalized approach for the prospects that highlights the success stories of similar companies. You have to provide them with proof of your product’s effectiveness and reveal your understanding of their industry and challenges, making your proposition both relevant and compelling.

17. Company Mission or ICP

Understanding a potential client’s company mission or their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is crucial for crafting a targeted and effective outreach strategy. The company mission often reflects its core values and long-term objectives, which can guide you to align the product with the prospect’s goals. 

Similarly, knowing a company’s ICP allows you to understand the specific attributes and needs of the customers they are trying to attract and the challenges they face in reaching their target market. It can be pivotal in positioning your solution as a valuable asset in achieving their aims.

You can consider factors such as company size, industry, and geography to find a prospect’s ICP and look up through filtered searches on LinkedIn and Crunchbase. The company mission or the goal it has can be identified by going through its websites and social media platforms like LinkedIn.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

Suppose you’re reaching out to a company whose ICP includes government organizations, which often have stringent IT and security requirements. The approach should be detailed and reassuring. 

You might say, 

“I understand that reaching government organizations is a key part of your strategy, and navigating their strict firewall and security protocols can be quite challenging. Our email deliverability solution ensures that your emails reach their intended recipients within government sectors and maintain the highest standards of security and avoid spam filters effectively. Could we set up a time to discuss this in more detail?”

18. Recent Merger or Acquisition

A recent merger or acquisition indicates significant changes in its structure, strategy, and operations. Companies undergoing such transitions may need to integrate disparate systems, consolidate data across platforms, or even restructure their IT infrastructure to align with new business objectives. This period of adjustment and reevaluation of existing systems and processes can be a golden opportunity for you.

Looking into recent merger and acquisition news on popular news platforms like Reuters and the Wall Street Journal and following this specific topic can help you get updates quickly. The Mergers & Acquisitions news site (https://www.themiddlemarket.com/tag/saas)  has a dedicated tag for SaaS to provide you with the recent news in the industry about M&As.

Follow Merger & Acquisitions topic on popular newspaper

Follow Merger & Acquisitions topic on popular newspapers like Reuters

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to a company that has recently undergone a merger or acquisition, it’s important to acknowledge the complexity and challenges of these changes while presenting your solution as a means to ease the transition. Your approach should have empathy towards their situation besides positioning your solution as a helpful and necessary tool for managing the changes they are facing.

Contact Level Signals

Contact level signals are specific cues or activities associated with individual prospects within a company, which can indicate their readiness to engage or buy your service. We will now go through some contact-level signals that you should remain updated about.

19. Any Recent Podcast or Webinar

Participation in a podcast or webinar is a strong indicator that a contact is actively engaged in thought leadership or is seeking to expand their knowledge and influence in specific areas. It shows their commitment to staying informed and relevant in their field and opens up avenues for B2B SaaS providers to engage with them on topics of mutual interest. The content and themes discussed during these sessions can provide valuable insights into the contact’s interests and needs.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

As you reach out to a contact who has recently participated in a podcast or webinar, you should be referencing specific aspects of their presentation or discussion by saying you enjoyed their insights or learned something new from their discussion. You need to demonstrate that you have taken the time to understand their interests and suggest a specific and meaningful way your product could be of value to them.

20. They Follow Your Company on LinkedIn

When a contact follows your company on LinkedIn, it clearly indicates their interest in your business, your content, or the solutions you provide. They certainly keep tabs on your updates, achievements, and the insights you share, making them a warm lead for you. You can find information about this signal by checking who follows your company on LinkedIn or if your company is on the following list of prospects. Use this proactive interest from the contact to initiate a conversation or deepen engagement.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

A personalized and direct approach is most effective when reaching out to someone who follows your company on LinkedIn. Try to keep the approach conversational and show that you value their interest. Treat it as a great way to begin a meaningful dialogue that could lead to a deeper relationship and potential business opportunities.

21. They Viewed Your Profile

This signal indicates that they are seeking more information, possibly to validate the expertise, experience, and credibility presented in your content or shared by mutual connections. Such profile views are essential indicators of engagement that can help you identify which contacts are more likely to be receptive to direct outreach, potentially leading to a business relationship.

To find out if someone has viewed your profile on LinkedIn, you can utilize the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” feature, which is accessible from your LinkedIn homepage and even on free accounts. This tool provides insights into who has visited your profile, their industry, and how they found you. 

However, if you turn off your visibility to others whose profiles you view, you can’t access this feature for free. Having a LinkedIn Premium will let you see who viewed other’s profiles even if you turn off your visibility. To find out if someone has viewed your profile on LinkedIn, you can utilize the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” feature, which is accessible from your LinkedIn homepage. You will get a better amount of information and insight on the premium subscription, too.

Who's Viewed Your Profile feature on LinkedIn

Who’s Viewed Your Profile feature on LinkedIn

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

Reaching out to someone who has viewed your profile should be tactful and focused on providing value without directly mentioning that you noticed their visit to your profile. You should initiate a non-invasive yet strategic approach by sharing relevant content. Your approach should maintain professionalism while indirectly acknowledging their interest to encourage a natural progression towards deeper engagement based on shared interests and expertise.

22. Engaged with Your or Your Company’s Content

Suppose a contact actively engages with your or your company’s content on platforms like LinkedIn. In that case, it indicates their interest in the topics you are discussing and demonstrates a potential alignment with your services. You can easily use LinkedIn Analytics Insight to see whether any prospect engages with your content or if any of the top engagers have the potential to be a prospective client for you.

Each interaction directly signals the contact’s interest level and can provide valuable insights into their needs and preferences, which are crucial for tailoring further communications and offerings.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to someone who has engaged with your content, it’s effective to reference the interaction to add value to any relevant resources and deepen the connection. For example, if they commented on a post discussing the challenges of data integration, you could follow up with, 

“Hi [Name], thank you for your insightful comment on our recent post about data integration challenges. I thought you might be interested in this detailed guide we’ve created that explores best practices and solutions for these issues.”

23. Previously Worked for Any Customer

When a contact in your network moves to a new company but has previously worked for one of your customers, this transition represents a unique opportunity. This background means the contact is already familiar with your product and its specific benefits. You can leverage such familiarity, as their past exposure to your services makes it easier to bypass the initial stages of trust-building and product explanation to accelerate the sales cycle.

To find a contact who was a former employee of a customer company on LinkedIn, conduct a People search and click the ‘all filters’ tab. Scroll to the ‘past company’ filter, enter the customer’s company name, and apply the filter. It will reveal a list of individuals who have formerly worked at the specified company.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

If you’re reaching out to someone who has moved to a new company and is familiar with your product from a previous role, your approach should be personalized and acknowledge their past experiences. Try to keep the approach conversational, acknowledge their past experience with your product, and insinuate opening the door for them to discuss current needs that your solution might address again with success.

24. Previously Worked for Any Competitor

If a contact transitions from working at one of your competitors to a new company, it opens up a unique channel for strategic engagement. This move indicates that the contact has industry-relevant experience and insights into the competitive landscape. This information can be invaluable for understanding how your own offerings stack up against those of your competitors and identifying any advantages your solutions might hold.

To find a contact who is an ex-employee of a competitor company on LinkedIn, start by performing a People search and then click on the ‘all filters’ tab. Scroll down to the ‘past company’ filter, input the competitor’s company name, and apply the filter. It will display a list of individuals who have previously worked at the specified company and let you browse through potential contacts who might have valuable insights or opportunities relevant to your business needs. You can also look at “The notable alumni” feature in LinkedIn Premium insights to find out the competitor company’s former senior talent.

Filter for ex-company on LinkedIn

Filter for ex-company on LinkedIn

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

You should approach the conversation with a light-hearted touch about their past association, followed by a transition into discussing their current needs. The approach should acknowledge their past without dwelling on it, bring a personal and friendly tone to the conversation, and smoothly move into exploring opportunities for your solution within their new environment.

25. Have Mutual Connections

Having mutual connections with a contact on platforms such as LinkedIn can significantly enhance your ability to engage meaningfully with potential clients. This common link establishes a basic level of trust and familiarity – two important elements in the industry where introductions and referrals often pave the way for successful business relationships.

You can easily see mutual connections through professional platforms like LinkedIn or even other social media platforms. Mutual connections will act as social proof that reassures the contact that you come recommended or at least vetted by someone they know and trust.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

When reaching out to a contact with whom you share mutual connections, using that common link as an introductory touchpoint can facilitate a smoother and more receptive engagement. You might start the conversation by mentioning the mutual connection in a natural and relevant way. You need to tap into the established credibility provided by the mutual connection and open a direct line for further communication while keeping the interaction warm and personable.

26. A Recent Leadership Hire

A recent leadership hire within a company is a significant indicator of potential strategic shifts, operational changes, or a renewed focus on certain business objectives. It can be your chance to engage with individuals who are likely assessing existing systems and exploring new solutions that align with their vision for growth and improvement.

You can use Crunchbase’s leadership hire data to identify companies that have added new executives (VP level and above) to their teams. This data is available on company profile pages and can be specifically filtered in searches to pinpoint organizations with new decision-makers. Additionally, setting alerts for leadership hires on company profiles or saving searches with the leadership hire filter can keep you informed of any new executive appointments.

Leadership hiring signals on Crunchbase

Leadership hiring signals on Crunchbase

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

It’s important to address the typical priorities that come with their role, especially during the first 90 days. You might initiate a conversation by saying, 

“Hi [Name], congratulations on your recent appointment at [Company]. As you set your priorities for the first few months, I believe our [Service Name] can support your objectives. Our solution is particularly effective in [describe specific benefits relevant to common new leader initiatives]. 

Could we schedule a time to discuss your goals and see how we can contribute to your early success in the new role?” 

You can utilize SalesMix’s scheduling capabilities to time your follow-up emails perfectly. After integrating with third-party platforms to detect leadership changes, SalesMix can schedule a series of emails that align with the typical decision-making timeline of new leaders that you set. It ensures your solutions go out at the most opportune moments, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

Follow-up sequence in SalesMix for prospecting signals

Follow-up sequence in SalesMix

27. Got A First Time Promotion

When a contact receives their first promotion, especially to a significant leadership role, it marks a pivotal moment in their career and an opportunity for them to make an impactful difference in their new position. It gives you an opportune moment to engage with these contacts, as they may be looking for new tools and solutions to help them succeed in their role and drive the company forward.

A first-time promotion usually involves a learning curve, during which the individual must adapt to new responsibilities and potentially reshape team or department strategies. This scenario often necessitates innovative solutions that align with the individual’s goals. You can look out for first-time promotions by keeping an eye on the career tab or published posts from your contact-level prospects on LinkedIn.

How can You Reach Out To These Prospects?

You should acknowledge their new role and its challenges while offering solutions catering to their needs. For example, you can send an email saying – 

“Hi [Name], congratulations on your well-deserved promotion to VP! Stepping into this role comes with its challenges, and I imagine you’re now looking to improve your team’s performance and get quick wins. Our [Product Name] has been instrumental for many in your position because of its robust analytics that helps in decision-making. 

I’d love to discuss how our solution can support your goals and make your transition smoother whenever your time allows.” 

Use SalesMix to Connect with Your Prospects Based on the Top Prospecting Signals

In today’s fast-paced digital marketplace, effectively connecting with your prospects is more about intelligence and timing than persistence. SalesMix offers a sophisticated solution designed specifically for SaaS companies looking to streamline their prospecting and outreach strategies through automation and personalized communication.

One of SalesMix’s core strengths is its ability to integrate seamlessly with various data-collecting platforms or third-party tools. This integration enables SalesMix to import intent signals automatically – key indicators a prospect is ready to engage – directly into your prospect list. Once these signals are captured, you can set up a tailored email sequence. The initial email is triggered automatically, ensuring timely contact that capitalizes on the prospect’s current interest.

Set up cold email templates in SalesMix for automatic campaigns.

Set up cold email templates in SalesMix for automatic campaigns.

But successful prospecting doesn’t stop at the first email. SalesMix allows you to schedule follow-up emails meticulously based on strategic timing. You can decide the optimal follow-up intervals, adjusting for factors like industry-specific sales cycles and prospect engagement levels. This scheduled cadence ensures that your messages are timely and contextually relevant, maximizing the chance of converting interest into concrete sales opportunities.

Personalization is another cornerstone of the SalesMix approach. The platform offers advanced capabilities for customizing emails with dynamic content such as the recipient’s first name or specific references to their business context. For example, placeholders like {{first_name??FALLBACK}} and Spintax formatting allow for variations in your messaging, which keeps the communication fresh and engaging. This attention to detail in personalization avoids the pitfalls of generic bulk emails and fosters a genuine connection with your recipients, significantly enhancing response rates.

Personalization in SalesMix

Personalization in SalesMix

Moreover, SalesMix ensures that your emails reach their intended inboxes through its automated warm-up service. With a simple activation, this service helps maintain the health of your sending reputation, minimizing the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. Additionally, the platform offers options to schedule emails to avoid US public holidays and incorporates pre-send testing to verify deliverability.

Schedule your cold emails in SalesMix

Schedule your cold emails in SalesMix.

Conclusion

Spotting the right prospecting signals can dramatically refine your engagement strategies and boost conversion rates. From changes in leadership to the interactive trails prospects leave on your digital content, each signal can guide you towards more informed and effective outreach.

Understanding these signals isn’t just about recognizing who interacted with your LinkedIn post or who followed your company page. It’s about connecting those actions to real business needs and crafting communication that directly addresses them and adds value to your company and clients.