What is intent data? (and how to use it in B2B sales)
What is intent data?
Short answer: intent data is the digital exhaust that suggests a company is actively researching a category — search activity, content downloads, third-party site visits, ad engagement, conference attendance. Used well, it tells you which accounts to prioritise this week. Used badly, it adds expensive noise to your sales motion.
TL;DR — the categories
| Type | What it captures | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| First-party intent | Activity on your own properties | Website visits, downloads, ad clicks |
| Second-party intent | Shared data from partners | Co-marketing, partner data exchange |
| Third-party intent | Activity on external sites | Bombora, G2, TrustRadius signals |
| Account-level intent | Aggregated to account | 6sense, Demandbase |
| Buyer-level intent | Tied to specific contacts | ZoomInfo + LinkedIn engagement |
What intent data is good at
- Timing. Knowing which 50 accounts are researching now is more useful than knowing which 5,000 might be someday.
- Prioritisation. Sales reps use intent signals to focus weekly outbound on accounts in active evaluation mode.
- Personalisation. A first line that references "saw you've been looking at the [category] space" lands stronger than generic.
- ABM amplification. Combined with named-account lists, intent data sharpens ABM tier 1 / tier 2 prioritisation.
What intent data is bad at
- Accuracy at the contact level. "Account is intent" rarely tells you which specific person at the account is researching.
- Differentiation. Major intent platforms (Bombora, 6sense) sell to many vendors. Your competitors are seeing the same signals.
- Justifying cost at small scale. A $30K/year intent platform is hard to justify on a $300K annual outbound budget. Above $1M annual outbound, the math works.
- First-deal acceleration. Intent data accelerates pipeline, not first deals. Companies without proven outbound see less leverage.
The major intent platforms
| Platform | Strength | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Bombora | Largest third-party intent network | Mid-enterprise |
| 6sense | Aggregated account-level intent + ABM platform | Enterprise |
| Demandbase | Similar to 6sense | Enterprise |
| ZoomInfo (intent module) | Tied to ZoomInfo data | Mid-enterprise |
| G2 / TrustRadius (signals) | Review-site intent | Lower-cost, narrower |
| Clay (intent integrations) | Composable intent layering | Lower-cost, flexible |
For most B2B teams under £5M ARR, intent data is overkill. The infrastructure investment is not justified until outbound volume produces enough margin to absorb the cost.
How to use intent data well
1. Combine with named-account lists. Intent without targeting is noise. Intent data sharpens which 50 of your 500 named accounts are in active evaluation mode.
2. Use intent for sequence variant selection. Account showing high intent in your category → enrol in "active researcher" sequence. Account showing no intent → enrol in "introductory" sequence.
3. Use intent for outbound timing, not personalisation depth. "Saw you've been researching X" verbatim in cold outreach feels invasive. Use intent to time the touch, not to script the line.
4. Pair intent with first-party signals. Account showing third-party intent + visiting your pricing page = very high-priority. Either alone is medium-priority.
5. Don't trust intent without verification. Intent flags accounts as "in market"; that does not mean the named contact you targeted is the one researching.
When intent data pays off
| Scenario | Intent ROI |
|---|---|
| <£500K outbound budget | Negative |
| £500K–£1M outbound budget | Marginal |
| £1M+ outbound budget | Positive |
| ABM-led enterprise motion | Strongly positive |
| Broad SMB outbound | Marginal even at scale |
Intent data is fundamentally an enterprise / ABM tool. SMB outbound rarely justifies the cost.
For UAE & KSA teams
- MENA intent data coverage is weaker than US or EU. Most platforms aggregate global signals; regional volume is thinner.
- First-party intent (your own site analytics) is often the higher-ROI investment for MENA-focused teams.
- LinkedIn engagement signals (who engaged with your post; who connected with whom) are the most reliable "intent" signal for GCC B2B targeting.
- Local platforms (MAGNiTT for VC activity, Argaam for financial news) provide regional intent-adjacent data.
What MAVEN does about it
We typically advise against intent data subscriptions for clients under £2M ARR. The infrastructure is not yet at the scale where intent provides material lift. For larger clients running ABM motions, intent integration is part of the Sales Process Program when appropriate.
Book a virtual coffee if you are weighing an intent-data subscription.
Frequently asked
Is intent data worth it for SMB outbound?
Usually no. The cost is not justified by the marginal improvement.
6sense or Bombora?
Bombora is the underlying data; 6sense aggregates Bombora plus other signals into a usable platform. Most teams license 6sense (or Demandbase) rather than Bombora directly.
Can I use Clay for intent?
Clay enables intent integrations from multiple sources at composable cost. Useful for mid-market teams that want some intent without the full enterprise platform spend.
Is LinkedIn engagement intent data?
Yes, in effect. Engagement on your LinkedIn posts is first-party intent for your brand specifically.
How quickly does intent data drive results?
Setup: 4–8 weeks. First clear pipeline impact: 3–6 months.
Post 42 of our outbound + sales OS series.
Related reading
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