Identifying ICP Companies That Show Intent

Monitor intent signals

Having defined your ICP, the next step is to monitor for signs that these companies are showing interest or intent to buy. These intent signals can come from various actions, like visiting your website, downloading content, or engaging with third-party platforms that track buyer activity.

Set up intent monitoring

To make this process efficient, it’s essential to use tools that can monitor these signals in real-time. Platforms like Leadfeeder by Dealfront, for example, can help you track which companies are visiting your website and alert you when companies that match your ICP show signs of interest. Intent monitoring tools can provide data from sources like search behavior or content engagement, giving you a clearer picture of which prospects are actively exploring solutions like yours.

By setting up these tools, you can receive real-time notifications when an ICP company is showing intent, allowing your team to take timely action. Acting on these alerts means that your outreach is always relevant and well-timed, increasing your chances of converting these leads into customers.

To set up intent monitoring using Leadfeeder by Dealfront, you’ll first need to have saved a list of your ICP companies in Dealfront Target. Once you’ve got your list of ICP companies saved, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to Leadfeeder by Dealfront.

2. On the left hand side, click “+ Create custom feed”.

   

3. On the right, under “Feed Name” you can customize the feed. To do so, simply name the feed according to what you observe. For example, “ICP companies”.

4. Beneath this you can choose if you want to receive weekly updates about new companies identified in this feed. The first two checkboxes will be ticked by default and we recommend keeping these boxes ticked so that you never miss out on new additions to your feed.

5. Next you’ll need to choose your filters: scroll down to the filters tab and click “Add a new filter”, then from the dropdown select “Company info” and then “company list”. Now select the created list in Target “ICP Companies” and select “Add”.

6. To exclude companies that already exist in your CRM, you’ll want to add another filter: Select “CRM” and then “Connection to CRM”. Within the filter you can then choose “is not” and “Connected” from the dropdowns. Your custom feed will now only show companies in the selected list that are not connected to your CRM.

   

7. Now you need to define which intent makes a company interesting for you. Here are some examples:

   • Frequent Visits to Product Pages - when a prospect repeatedly visits pages that describe your products or services, it shows they are actively exploring what you offer.

   • Visits to Request Demo Page Without Filling Out the Form - when a prospect visits the "Request Demo" page but doesn't complete the form, it suggests they have significant interest but may need a gentle nudge or more information before committing.

   • Regular Visits to Pricing Pages - if a prospect frequently checks your pricing page, it's a strong indicator that they are considering making a purchase and are evaluating the cost.

   • Downloading High-Value Content - actions like downloading case studies, whitepapers, or reports indicate that the prospect is seriously evaluating solutions and gathering information to make a decision.

   • Signing Up to Consume Your Content - any prospect filling out a form with their contact details, signing up to hear from you, is a prospect with their interest peaked and one that’s keen to hear more about what you have to say.

8. Add a new filter. Click “Behaviour” and select the filter that is most important for you (eg. File download, page url, pages views per day, video play, visit length etc.) For this example, we will use the behavior of a prospect visiting the pricing page.

   

9. Click “Save feed”.

10. You will now see all identified companies that match your filters in your selected time range. You can edit the time range by custom selecting a new date range in the top left side of your screen.

    

11. You can click on each company to see more information. Here you will find information covering:

    • Basic information like company location, website, industry, company size 

    • The quality of the visit with pageviews and when the company last visited the website

    • Activity of the website visit

    • Contacts that work in this company with location and contact data if available

Set up targeted outreach

You can easily use Leadfeeder by Dealfront to help you with targeted outreach. Here are some easy steps to get you started:

1. Navigate to Leadfeeder by Dealfront.

2. Go to edit your feed.

3. To get notifications as soon as a prospect shows intent so you can start with targeted outreach, you can set notifications. These are the options:

If you have Slack integrated with Dealfront you can get channel alerts for every new company that is added to your custom feed.

1. To configure your custom feeds' notifications to be delivered to Slack, click on “Edit” on one of the feeds.

2. Enter the tab for Slack notifications, choose which channel you want to get the notifications to, and click “Add”. By default you'll see public channels, but also a private channel can be added.

3. When setting up the Slack notifications, you can choose the new companies to be sent to your Slack either when new data is available or daily at 9 AM your account time. Send Identified Companies to Slack

As well as subscribing to the feed, you can also set up automatic email notifications for relevant colleagues using the 'Share via email' feature. This will send a message to the specified email address every time a new company is identified by this feed for the first time - or daily or weekly if you prefer. The recipients of this email aren't required to be Dealfront users either, so if you use freelance sales resources, they can benefit too.

• Get Email Notifications

If your CRM is integrated with Dealfront, companies that land on your website and meet specific qualification criteria can also be pushed directly into your CRM. You’ll need to create a custom feed containing this qualification criteria to set up an automation for this feed: 

• Send identified Companies to your CRM

Discover accounts that are ready to buy

Prioritize your outreach when you notice buying signals from your prospects and expand your target list using machine learning.

Boost your sales

Analyze intent data

Once you’re set up to monitor intent signals, the next step is to analyze the data you’re receiving to gain deeper insights into each company’s behavior. Intent data can reveal where a company is in its buying journey and what specific products, services, or topics they are most interested in. By evaluating these insights, you can better understand whether they’re in the early research phase, comparing solutions, or ready to make a purchase.

Using intent data, CRM integrations, and behavioral analytics, you can organize and interpret this information effectively. Having the right techstack will help you track patterns, such as repeated visits to certain product pages or downloading key resources, which can signal stronger intent. This analysis allows you to customize your outreach strategy based on the company’s specific needs and interests, ensuring your communication is more relevant and aligned with where they are in the decision-making process.

By understanding each company’s intent more thoroughly, you can create a more personalized and timely approach, increasing the likelihood of engaging them meaningfully and converting them to paying customers.

Align with Sales and Marketing

For intent data to drive real results, it’s important that both your sales and marketing teams are on the same page. This means aligning on how to interpret and act on the signals you're tracking. Regular meetings, shared dashboards, and collaborative tools like Slack or Asana can help ensure that everyone is working from the same data and following a unified strategy. When both teams are aligned, marketing can nurture prospects based on their intent, while sales can reach out at the right moment with a personalized approach.

This collaboration leads to a more cohesive strategy, where both sales and marketing are effectively capitalizing on intent signals to engage the right prospects at the right time.

Execute targeted outreach

Craft personalized messaging

With a clear understanding of a company’s intent data, the next step is to craft personalized messaging that speaks directly to their current interests and needs. By using tools like email templates and CRM notes, you can develop tailored outreach that resonates with each prospect. This ensures your communication is highly relevant and is aligned with where they are in their buying journey.

It’s important to ensure your outreach is GDPR compliant with the geography of the prospect you are targeting. Different countries in Europe have different rules for cold calling and email outreach, so make sure you’re familiar with, and are adhering to, the legalities of the geographies you’re working in.

Here are some resources that may help you navigate the legal complexities within Europe:

• B2B Sales Strategies for DACH

• Cold Calling in Germany: What’s Allowed?

• B2B Sales Strategy for Benelux 

To help you craft more personalized and impactful outreach, we've provided a set of templates below. These resources are designed to guide you through tailoring your messaging to resonate with your prospects, making your outreach more relevant and effective:

Choose the right channels

To maximize the impact of your outreach, it’s important to choose the most effective channels for each prospect. This could include email, LinkedIn, phone calls, or even direct mail, depending on where the company is most likely to engage. Using multi-channel outreach platforms, CRM tools, and customer preference data, you can develop a well-rounded strategy that reaches prospects through the right touchpoints. A multi-channel approach increases the likelihood of engagement and ensures that your message gets in front of the right people at the right time.

Execute and track outreach

Once your outreach is drafted, it’s time to initiate contact with the ICP companies that have shown intent. Using your CRM system, email tracking tools, and sales engagement platform, you can not only execute your outreach but also monitor its effectiveness.

Tracking key metrics such as open rates, response rates, and follow-up actions allows you to gauge how well your messaging is resonating, allowing you the opportunity to adjust your approach as needed. This ensures active engagement with your target companies and provides insights for improving future outreach efforts.

Expected results

This play offers a clear and comprehensive approach to identifying ICP companies that are showing intent, ensuring your outreach is both timely and relevant. By following a structured process that enables you to monitor intent signals, analyze data, and craft personalized messages, you can significantly increase your chances of engaging high-potential prospects. Ultimately, this targeted approach will help you drive more meaningful interactions and, in turn, boost your sales outcomes.