Every sales professional knows the sinking feeling of making fifty calls and getting fifty voicemails. Or worse, reaching someone with zero interest in what you’re selling. That old "spray and pray" method? It's over. Today, sales isn't about making more calls; it's about making the right ones.

That's where intent data helps. Instead of guessing who might be interested, you look for behavioral signals that indicate a prospect is ready to buy. It’s the difference between a cold call and a warm introduction.

You hear a lot about buying "intent lists" from third-party vendors. While those can be useful, the most accurate data is often right under your nose. This is first-party intent data—information collected directly from your own interactions.

First-party signals include:
* Website activity: A prospect visiting your pricing page three times in a week.
* Email engagement: Someone forwarding your newsletter to their VP.
* CRM updates: Past customers re-engaging with old threads.

These aren't just theoretical actions. They're clear evidence that someone is actively researching a solution you offer. Prioritizing these leads keeps you from wasting hours chasing ghosts.

Website clicks are valuable, but a more potent, often overlooked, intent signal is a job change.

When a champion or key contact moves to a new company, it creates a huge opportunity. Why?
1. Fresh Budget: New hires often get budget to implement tools they trust.
2. Immediate Needs: They need to prove their value quickly and fix problems in their new role.
3. Trust: They already know your product works.

Roughly 20% of the workforce changes jobs every year. If you have a list of 1,000 contacts, about 17 of them are moving to new roles every single month. That isn't just turnover; it’s a steady stream of 17 prime leads who might bring you into their new organization.

Tools like Flux.report automate this tracking. Instead of manually stalking LinkedIn profiles, you upload your CSV of contacts, and the system alerts you the moment a decision-maker moves. This means you can be the first vendor to congratulate them, keeping the relationship strong long before competitors even realize the role is open.

Getting the data is just the start. The next crucial step is acting on it correctly. When intent signals appear, your outreach should match the situation.

• For the "Pricing Page" Visitor: Don't send a generic "checking in" email. Send a case study relevant to their industry or offer a specific answer to a common pricing question.
• For the Job Changer: This is a relationship play. Send a genuine congratulations email. Ask about their new role. Do not pitch immediately. By re-establishing the connection first, you earn the right to ask about their new initiatives later.

Sales strategies often fall short when they simply react to inbound leads or blindly chase outbound ones. Intent data helps close that gap. By tracking first-party signals and key events like job changes, you stop hoping for deals and start knowing exactly where they're happening.

You don't need a massive enterprise tech stack to do this. You just need to pay attention to the signals your market is already sending you.