signals, triggers and intent data are not the same thing
The three words get used as if they mean one thing. They don't, and mixing them up is how teams end up calling companies that were never going to buy.
| what it is | example | can your SDR check it? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| trigger event | Something that happened at the company, on a date. | Sample Bank names a new CIO on 21 October. | Yes. There's a filing or an announcement. |
| buying signal | Any sign of a reason to buy. Triggers are the strongest kind. | Sample Bank is hiring a head of loan operations. | Yes, if it comes from a public page. |
| intent data | Someone at the company read about a topic, usually measured by a third-party data vendor. | People at Sample Bank read about loan software. | Rarely. You get a score, not a source. |
This guide is about the first two, because they come with proof. If your SDR opens with "I saw you just named a new CIO", the prospect can tell the email was written for them. "Our data says you're researching loan software" mostly makes people uneasy.
the signals that matter most in Indian B2B
These are the triggers we look for most often, roughly in the order they lead to a conversation. Each one has its own page in the trigger library, with where to find it in India, how long it stays useful and what to say.
- A new leader, like a CIO, CFO, CHRO or head of sales. New leaders review what they inherited, usually in their first few months.
- A funding round. New money comes with a plan to spend it, and the plan usually involves hiring and tools.
- A hiring push. Job posts say where a team is short, and the job description often names the tools they use.
- A new licence or registration from RBI, SEBI or IRDAI. A newly licensed company has to build operations, compliance and reporting quickly.
- Expansion into a new city, new branches or a new office.
- A government tender, which is a buyer telling you in writing what it wants.
- A compliance deadline, such as the DPDP Act duties that apply from May 2027.
- An IPO filing, an acquisition or what management said on an earnings call.
how to tell a real signal from noise
We run every signal through five checks before it goes to a client. They're simple, and they throw out most of what a search turns up.
- It has a date. "Recently" isn't a date. If you can't say when it happened, you can't say why now.
- It has a source a person can open. A filing, an announcement, a job post or a news story. If your SDR can't click it, don't use it.
- It's about this company. News that names a competitor, a parent group or a company with a similar name is the most common mistake in automated signal tools.
- It fits who you sell to. A funding round at a company outside your segment or size is someone else's signal.
- It's recent enough to matter. See how long each trigger stays useful, below.
Then look for signals that stack. A new CIO is interesting. A new CIO, a job post for a head of loan operations and three new branches suggest loan workflows are on someone's desk. That combination, not any one of them, is what you write about.
how fast to act
Signals go stale. This is our working rule of thumb, from running outbound for clients, not a measured benchmark. Treat it as a starting point and tune it on your own replies.
| trigger | useful for roughly | why |
|---|---|---|
| new leader | the first 3 months | Reviews and new vendors happen early, before the new plan is fixed. |
| funding round | 1 to 4 months | Spending plans firm up in the first quarter after the money arrives. |
| job post | while the post is open | Once the role is filled, the gap closes. |
| new licence | 3 to 9 months | Setting up operations takes a while after approval. |
| government tender | until the closing date | After that the decision is out of your hands. |
| compliance deadline | 6 to 12 months before it | Buyers act when the deadline is close enough to fund, not on the day. |
turning a signal into a first line
The signal earns you the first sentence. The rest of the email still has to be about their problem. A pattern that works: what you saw, with the date, then what it usually means for someone in their role, then one question.
example opener
Hi Riya, I saw you joined Sample Bank as CIO in October. New CIOs often review their stack in the first few months, and with three new branches this year, loan operations might be near the top of that list. Who looks after it today?
Notice what it doesn't do. It doesn't claim to know their plans, doesn't invent a number, and doesn't congratulate them for the sake of it. Every fact in it can be checked.
doing it by hand, and when a tool helps
You can find most of these signals for free. Our guide to free sources of buying signals in India lists where each one lives and gives a 30-minute weekly routine. For a handful of target accounts, that's enough.
It breaks down when the list grows. Checking hundreds of companies a week, matching each signal to the right company and keeping track of what's already gone stale is slow by hand. That's the part we automate, with a person still checking every signal before it's sent.