Insights · Guide
10 buying signals that show a target account is warming up
The 10 buying signals worth tracking: five show how fimiliar a person is with you, five show how ready the account is to act. How to read them, and when to act.
01The short answer
How can you tell a target account is warming up?
A target account is warming up when the people in it start paying attention to you, and the company starts changing in ways that create a need.
The ten buying signals below fall into two groups: five read a person's Fimiliarity, and five read how ready the account is to act. Read the two groups separately.
02At a glance
The 10 buying signals at a glance.
A person can be fimiliar with you while the account is nowhere near ready. And an account can be ready while nobody in it knows you yet.
| Signal | Person or account | What it tells you | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. They keep coming back to your content | Person | Recognition is forming | Keep publishing, and engage with them |
| 2. They comment, not just react | Person | They recognise you and care about the topic | Reply, then connect |
| 3. They reply | Person | What they think, in their own words | Answer what they actually said |
| 4. They download or sign up | Person | They chose to hear more | Follow up on that topic |
| 5. They show up | Person | They gave you an hour | Follow up on what was discussed |
| 6. Several people from one account engage | Account | A buying group is paying attention | Map who else shapes the decision |
| 7. The account is on your website | Account | The company is looking at your work | See what they read; reach someone who knows you there |
| 8. Someone new takes a seat that matters | Account | Who the firm works with may be reviewed | Get known by the new leader |
| 9. They are hiring for the problem you solve | Account | Where the pain is | Speak to that problem |
| 10. Company news changes the picture | Account | A new need for outside help | Reach out with a reason tied to the news |
03Person signals
Person signals: how fimiliar are they with you?
Fimiliarity belongs to a person, so these are read one person at a time.
- 01
They keep coming back to your content.
One like is noise. The same person reading your partners' posts week after week is recognition forming.
- 02
They comment, not just react.
A comment is participation. Repeated comments show who recognises you and who may be worth connecting with.
- 03
They reply.
To an email, a message, a post. The words inside a reply are a signal in themselves.
- 04
They download or sign up.
A guide, a case study, the newsletter. They chose to hear more from you.
- 05
They show up.
To an event, a webinar, a partner's talk. Giving up an hour is a stronger signal than any click.
04Account signals
Account signals: is the company ready to act?
Readiness belongs to the account, so these are read once, for the whole firm.
- 06
Several people from the same account are engaging.
One fan is a contact. Three people from the same firm reading your work is a buying group starting to pay attention.
- 07
The account is on your website.
Return visits from the same company, to pages about your work. Most visitor tools show the company, not the person, which is why this sits here.
- 08
Someone new takes a seat that matters.
A new managing partner, finance director or head of operations may review who the firm works with. If your champion moves to a new firm, that firm just got warmer too.
- 09
They are hiring for the problem you solve.
Job adverts are public statements of intent. They tell you where the pain is.
- 10
Company news changes the picture.
A merger, a new market, a restructure, new regulation in their sector. Change creates the need for outside help.
05How to read them
How to read them.
Keep Fimiliarity and readiness apart. Blend them into one score and you cannot tell "they do not know us yet" from "they know us but cannot move yet". Those need different next steps. (Why they are different questions)
What they told you outranks what they did. A click is a hint. A sentence in a reply is a fact. When the two disagree, believe the person.
Look for patterns, not single events. A visit, a comment and a new hire in the same month mean a lot more than one visit.
Watch the whole group, not one contact.
13 + 9
people, on average, shape a buying decision: 13 inside the company and 9 outside it.
Source Forrester, "The State of Business Buying, 2026".Base: nearly 18,000 global business buyers. Average across purchase types, not services-specific.
A warm champion is a start, not the decision. (What a buying group actually looks like)
Only read signals you are allowed to collect. In the UK and EU, identifying website visitors, even at company level, needs the visitor's consent first (ICO, EDPB).
06What to do
What to do when an account warms up.
Match the move to the reading:
- Ready, but nobody is fimiliar with you yet: build Fimiliarity fast with the people who shape the decision. Engagement and content first, not a pitch.
- Fimiliar with you, but not ready: stay visible and useful. Be first in line when readiness arrives.
- Ready and warm: start the conversation, with the context you already have.
The next step should follow the change, not a schedule. That is how signal-led outbound works, and it is the core of the Fimiliar System.
07Questions
What people ask about buying signals.
What are buying signals in B2B?
A buying signal is something a person or a company does that suggests they are moving towards a decision. Person signals, such as repeated engagement or a reply, show Fimiliarity. Account signals, such as a new leader or relevant hiring, show readiness.
What is the difference between first-party and third-party intent data?
First-party intent data is what people do with you directly: replying, commenting, downloading or attending your event. Third-party intent data is research behaviour seen elsewhere, such as which topics a company is reading about across the web. Both are buying signals, but first-party signals are usually the stronger ones, because they involve your firm.
Which buying signal matters most?
What a person tells you in their own words. A reply or a conversation outranks anything read from clicks or visits, because behaviour can be misread. Treat what you read from behaviour as a question to check, and what people tell you as the answer.
How do you track buying signals across a buying group?
Log each signal against the person or the account it belongs to. Person signals come from your own channels: content engagement, replies, downloads and event sign-ups. Account signals come from your website, with consent, and from job moves, job adverts and company news. Keep what people told you apart from what you read from their behaviour, so you can see who in the group is warming up.
What should you do when a champion changes jobs?
Treat it as two signals. Their old firm has lost someone who knew you, so find out who else there is fimiliar with you. Their new firm has gained one, so get in touch with a real reason: congratulate them, and ask what they are taking on first.
How do you know when a target account is ready to buy?
Look for a pattern across both kinds of signal, not a fixed number: people in the buying group warming up, and the account itself changing, such as a new leader, relevant hiring or company news. When both move together, reach out with a specific reason, not a generic pitch.
Sources
- Forrester, "The State of Business Buying, 2026", 21 January 2026 The buying group of 13 people inside the company and 9 outside it. Base: nearly 18,000 global business buyers.
- ICO, "Guidance on the use of storage and access technologies" (UK) Consent before using cookies, pixels and similar tracking, unless strictly necessary.
- European Data Protection Board, "Guidelines 2/2023 on Technical Scope of Art. 5(3) of ePrivacy Directive", version 2.0, 16 October 2024 The EU rule: tracking pixels, links and similar techniques fall under the consent requirement.