Website activity like form fills don’t tell you who’s ready to buy. Real buying signals come from people inside companies—acting together, not alone. This article outlines how to spot genuine buying signals, track them over time, and start forecasting where deals are likely to form.
As the 6sense B2B Buyer Experience Report reveals, many GTM teams still chase form fills and PDF downloads like they’re gold.
A significant portion of buyers (81%) make purchasing decisions before ever filling out a form or speaking with a sales rep. This underscores the need to look beyond traditional metrics and focus on genuine buying signals.
In other words, clicks alone aren’t buying signals, engagement isn’t intent, and MQLs don’t predict revenue.
If you missed why the MQL model fails, read Part 1: Why MQLs Don’t Work.
This article addresses what we should be watching instead.
B2B procurement teams have more than one person checking out multiple solutions. True intent doesn’t show up once. It builds, clusters, and repeats.
Keep an eye on the following:
As you can see, it’s not a single click. It’s coordinated activity.
“Intent signals are not individual behaviors. They are patterns of behavior across accounts and buying groups.”
Kerry Cunningham, 6sense
You won’t see the full story if you only watch your own site.
Tools like 6sense and Bombora show you what’s happening elsewhere—what accounts are researching, comparing, or revisiting.
Not every visitor matters. But when a senior buyer and someone from procurement show up together? That’s not random.
Plus, every procurement team has a champion who, well, champions the purchase. That’s your new best friend.
When someone revisits after 30 or 60 days, especially with new teammates in tow, that’s a sign the conversation inside their org is moving forward.
Selecting the right tools depends on your team's specific needs and readiness to act on B2B intent data.
Most companies start with one or two, usually an intent platform and a way to personalize follow-up or prioritize Sales action. What matters most isn’t the tech. It’s having the team and process to use it.
NOTE: These tools work best with reliable data and when your team is ready to act. If Marketing tracks intent but Sales doesn’t follow up or follow through, those signals will expire fast. Intent data only works when your GTM team is aligned, trained, and supported to respond at the right time.
One visit provides limited insight. Behavior over time is more telling.
Use rolling windows in intervals of 7, 14, or 30 days. Look at what’s changing over time, not just what happened yesterday.
Patterns hold more significance than isolated points.
It’s easy to think that forecasting a buyer’s intent can predict which lead will close next.
Not true. Unless you understand which accounts are likely to enter the pipeline, you can’t forecast their intent.
The best forecast starts with behavior:
No one needs more data. We need better answers.
Causal AI tools like Proof Analytics cut through the noise. You can even create what-if scenarios that take market fluctuations and geopolitical challenges into account.
“Causal AI identifies the true cause-and-effect relationships between marketing investments and revenue outcomes.”
Mark Stouse, Proof Analytics
Causal AI tools show what actions actually led to revenue, which ones didn’t, and why.
It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.
Procurement teams leave clues in the form of patterns, people, and momentum, not gated PDFs or demo requests.
If you’re tracking real buying signals instead of MQLs, you’re well on your way to showing up early.
And don’t forget the 95:5 Rule. The vast majority of buyers won’t raise a hand today. They’re watching, researching, and forming opinions about the brands they remember (hint).
Next week we’ll get into Part 3, which is all about staying top-of-mind. Because if they forget you, they won’t choose you.
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