Introduction

Companies that leverage buying signals experience 40 to 50% higher win rates compared to those that don’t. But here’s the thing: most buying signals occur before a prospect even enters your pipeline. If your team doesn't know what to look for, they'll miss these critical indicators which will cost you time and money. 

Identifying these signals early allows your team to engage with prospects at the right moment, increasing the chances of conversion. 

In this article, we’ll explore how to identify both positive and negative buyer signals and provide strategies for following up on positive signs to help your team close more deals.

What are Buyer Signals in the Sales Process?

Buyer signals, such as downloading gated content, signing up for a free trial, or asking specific questions about features and pricing, are indicators of a potential customer’s interest and readiness to purchase your solution. These signals do more than just simplify the closing process — they’re critical to your sales success.

Prospects are 80% more likely to make a purchase when reps respond to these signals. Yes, you read that correctly. 

Training your team to identify and act on buying signals allows you to prioritize high-intent leads and close deals more efficiently. And the payoff is substantial: responding to buying signals can shorten the sales cycle by as much as 30%. Imagine the impact this can have on your sales performance.

The key takeaway? If you want to shorten the sales cycle and target the right people, you need to know how to identify these signals.

How to Identify Positive Buyer Signals

Positive buyer signals can be identified by asking pointed questions and closely monitoring and analyzing your prospects' behaviors and interactions with your content.

Here’s how to identify them:

Ask the right questions: On initial calls, be upfront and ask your prospects about their timelines, priorities, and who needs to be involved. This will help you understand how to approach the deal because you’ll have a better grasp on their deadlines and key stakeholders involved. Having the answers to these questions will help you customize your approach and align with the needs of your buyers.

Here are some specific questions you might consider:

• Can you share your target timeline for implementing a solution?
• What are the top priorities you are looking to address with this solution?
• Who else needs to be involved in the decision making process?

To stay organized, leverage tools like Gong. This platform highlights key events so you can plan what steps to take and when. Plus, it analyzes conversation patterns, helping you understand what’s working and what’s not, so you can continually refine your approach.

‍Monitor key actions: Look for key actions your prospects are taking. For example:

• Are they opening your follow-up emails repeatedly?
• Are they frequently viewing the contract you sent over?
• Are they looping in their security team or additional stakeholders to your conversations?
• Are they asking detailed questions about implementation or integration?

By understanding these actions, you’ll gain a better sense of their level of interest and readiness to move forward.

As you monitor their actions, consider using a Deal Execution Platform such as Accord to track these events and help you take appropriate action based on real-time data. Accord consolidates prospect interactions into a single view, making it easier to track engagement and identify when a lead is heating up. It also drives consistency and improves accuracy on every deal using deal criteria that’s mapped to your CRM opportunity stages so no steps or stakeholders are missed. 

Pay attention to prospect behavior: The vast majority of prospects — 70% — do their own research before talking to vendors. This means that before you ever speak with your prospect, they likely have a solid understanding of their options and potential solutions. A key positive buyer signal to watch for is whether prospects are visiting your site, engaging with your content, and seeking feedback about your offerings in popular online communities. These actions suggest they’re seriously considering your solution and are looking for validation from their peers.

By carefully monitoring these behaviors and interactions, your team can identify high-intent leads and engage with them as soon as possible. 

Examples of Positive Buying Signals 

Positive buying signals include everything from budget discussions to timelines and involvement of key stakeholders. In this section, we’ll dive into five key buying signals that many sellers miss so you know what to look for.

• Budget discussions: Money talks, and if your prospect is discussing their budget early on, this is a strong indicator that they have allocated funds to address their specific issue. This allows you to align early on a realistic solution and proposal. Discussing budget early helps ensure that your solution fits within their financial constraints and sets the stage for a smooth negotiation process.

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• Timelines for key milestones: If your prospect has a specific date in mind, such as because their current contract is ending or they have an upcoming business event and require a solution like yours, this leads to quicker decision making because they are working against a deadline. Understanding their timeline helps you position your solution as timely and relevant, and it also allows you to plan your sales process to meet their needs.

When your prospect shares their timeline, take it as an opportunity to partner with them by creating a Mutual Action Plan (MAP). A MAP is a detailed, step-by-step plan that outlines the key activities and milestones both parties need to achieve to reach a successful outcome. It helps keep everyone accountable and on the same timeline as your buyer moves through the evaluation process.

• Key stakeholders involved: If your initial contact is bringing in C-suite executives like the CFO or VP of Operations, it indicates that they’re serious about moving forward and are nearing a purchasing decision. This involvement means that the deal is being considered at a high level within their organization, increasing the likelihood of closure.

To stay organized as stakeholders are added, use a stakeholder mapping template. This tool helps you track who is involved, their roles, and their influence on the decision making process. 

• Security document review: When your prospect starts reviewing security documentation such as SOC 2 reports or compliance certifications, it’s a positive signal in the later stages of the deal. This indicates that they’re considering your solution seriously and are moving toward final approval.

Want to gain a better understanding of how to facilitate a smooth security review? Check out this masterclass. It covers how integrating security can accelerate your sales process and explores effective strategies for involving security teams early.

• Proposal review: Tracking how often your prospect is reviewing the proposal is a strong indicator of active evaluation. Frequent reviews suggest that they’re considering your offer in detail and are possibly comparing it with competitors. This engagement signifies a high level of interest and a readiness to make a decision soon.
  

Warning Signs of Negative Buyer Signals 

Not all buyer signals are positive — in fact, some are negative. The more you know about these signals, the better equipped you are to address potential issues before they derail your sales process.

Here are a few to be aware of:

• Unresponsiveness: Is your prospect going silent on follow-up emails or attempted outreach? Are they not viewing proposals and other important documents you share? If your prospects aren’t responding to your emails, are constantly delaying or rescheduling meetings, and not seriously reviewing the information you send them, this might indicate a lack of interest or a longer decision timeline.

If your prospect is slow to respond or ghosting you altogether, rather than reaching out to them daily and appearing desperate, wait a few days and send them an email like this:

“Tried to reach you a few times over the last few weeks, but we didn’t hear back . . . 

Where should we go from here?”

This sends the message to your prospect that you respect their time and are ready to move forward only when they are. It also creates urgency by prompting them to make a decision or provide feedback on the next steps.

• Unrealistic expectations: Does your prospect have unrealistic expectations about the features, pricing, or implementation timelines? Although it can be tempting to heavily discount or overpromise to make a sale, remember that doing so can lead to future dissatisfaction and strained relationships. If after additional discovery you still find your prospect isn’t willing to accept the terms of your solution, it might not be a good fit for them anyway.

• Single-threaded deal: The average B2B deal involves four or more decision makers. If you’re only working with one person and not multithreading, this is a negative buying signal. It may indicate there isn’t broad support for your solution, or the people who should be part of the deal are unaware it’s underway, which can create roadblocks and delays in the decision making process. To avoid this, make efforts to engage multiple stakeholders early on, ensuring all relevant parties are informed and involved.

By recognizing these negative buyer signals, you can better navigate the sales process, avoiding potential pitfalls and focusing your efforts on prospects who are more likely to convert.

Following Up On Positive Signals  

If you want to capitalize on buying momentum and increase your win rates by up to 50%, it’s essential to follow up on positive buying signals. Once you identify them, personalize your outreach based on the specific signal.

For example, if a prospect has reviewed the security SOC2 documents, follow up with them saying something like:

“Hi [Prospect’s Name],

I noticed you recently reviewed our SOC 2 security documents. Do you have all the information you need, or is there anything else I can provide to help you in your decision making process? I'm here to provide you with everything you need to make an informed decision. 

Best regards,
[Your Name]”

Doing this will demonstrate your attentiveness to their needs and reinforce your commitment to providing excellent service, which builds trust and keeps the momentum going.

Additionally, whenever a new stakeholder is added to the mix, make sure to work with your champion to understand their specific needs. This will help you tailor your communication and proposals to address the concerns and priorities of all decision makers. 

Conclusion

Remember, most buying signals occur before a prospect enters your pipeline because modern buyers do their research in advance. As a seller, it’s essential to not only recognize but also act on these signals to engage prospects at the right moment. Not only will this enable you to focus your time and energy on the most promising leads, but it will also increase your efficiency and win rates. 

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