Does Intent Data Really Work?

Good Morning! Earlier this week, 16-time hot dog eating champ, Joey Chestnut, got banned from Nathan's 4th of July contest for endorsing Impossible's plant-based dogs. But it’s not all bad news for the GOAT, as he scored a deal with Netflix to compete in their Labor Day eating contest... Looks like Joey knows the secret to always having a full pipeline...🌭

In today’s Follow Up:

• Intent data breakdown ⚡️ 

• Keeping your emails out of spam 👀 

• Sales tip of the day 🧠 

• Sales news around the web 🖥️ 

• Sales jobs, job market & a meme 😂 

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Does Intent Data Really Work?

Intent data is a hot topic in the sales world right now.

It’s been around for a few years now, but with inbound leads drying up, and cold outbound getting harder, we need any help we can get.

Some sellers claim it’s the magic wand to fill up their pipeline, while other sellers say it’s a bunch of garbage.

So, we gave the intern 2 espressos and a 5 hour energy, and had him find out everything we should know about intent data, and what it actually does.

Let’s dive in. 👇️ 

What is intent data?

Intent data gives you visibility into what your prospects are researching and engaging with online. It’s meant to track behaviors that would signal someone is looking to buy a specific product or service.

In other words, it’s supposed to tell you if one of your target accounts or prospects is in the market for a product like yours.

The Two Sources of Intent Data:

1. First-Party Data 🫵 

This is the information collected directly from your own website or social channels. It tracks activities like pages visited, content downloaded, forms filled out, email engagement, and even search queries conducted on your site.

Basically, every move your prospect is making on your website.

Tools like Apollo or ServiceBell allow you to do this type of tracking.

2. Third-Party Data 👀 

While first-party is great if you have it… third-party data is like taking a bird's eye view across the internet.

Data providers like Bombora track your prospects across thousands of sites to see websites browsed, content consumed, keywords searched, and social media interactions.

They have access to data from 10’s of thousands of websites and are able to track behavior around B2B topics.

For example, if a Head of HR is searching for “best performance management software”, and viewing the websites of companies that offer it, Bombora would identify them as having intent and let you know they’re a likely buyer of performance management solutions.

The Good 👍

As a seller, you already know that timing is everything. If your prospect isn’t in a buying cycle for a product like yours, it can be nearly impossible to get the sale.

Knowing that one of your target accounts or prospects is in the market for a product like yours is like fishing with dynamite. It allows reps to:

• Get in early on buying cycles.

• Prioritize leads based on their intent levels

• Personalize messaging and content to match where prospects are in their buying cycle.

When the intent data is real, it can be an incredible tool and lead to results like this rep who saw a 1.5x increase in meetings booked, and a 2x increase in pipeline.

But the data isn’t always perfect…

The Bad 👎

Just because someone searched a keyword related to your product, doesn't guarantee they’re looking to buy or even qualified to buy a solution like yours.

The data can come with a lot of false positives where the intent signals don't translate into real opportunities.

Example:

Imagine if a real estate agent was notified every time you looked at a $5M house on Zillow.

Are you actively looking at million dollar mansions? Yes.

Are you a good lead? Absolutely not. 

Are Your Emails Landing in Spam?

Earlier this year, Google changed the entire landscape of cold email.

Every day, more and more sales reps are wasting their time, sending emails directly to their prospect’s spam.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

Outbound Bueno helps businesses of all sizes keep their domains healthy, and emails out of Spam. With their done-for-you domain manager, you get access to a real human who’s dedicated to keeping your domain healthy.

The Follow Up readers can get 15% off with code “FOLLOWUP15” at checkout on any Outbound Bueno service.

Sales Around The Web 🗞️ 

 🚨 A former insurance agent and annuity salesman was found guilty of stealing millions of dollars from senior clients, and will face up to 19 years in prison.

🤖 Outreach added new AI features to their platform to make sales reps more productive.

🛑 Being too kind on your cold calls is stopping you from getting through the gatekeepers.

Checking In On The Job Market

You could form an Enterprise company with the applicants for this job. 😅 

Sales Meme of the Day