Intent data is information suggesting a company may be in the market for something now. It helps decide who to contact first, and gives a cold email a timely reason to exist.
The main kinds
- Research signals: a company's people reading about a topic across many websites, collected by data providers.
- Public trigger events: hiring for a role you support, raising money, opening a new office, launching a product, a new leader in the department you sell to.
- Your own signals: visits to your pricing page, a download, a past conversation that went quiet.
Using it well
Treat it as a reason to reach out, not proof they'll buy. Public trigger events are the most useful for cold email, because you can mention them honestly: "Saw you're hiring two SDRs." Third-party research signals are useful for prioritising, but don't tell someone you know what they've been reading.
Combining it
Start with your ideal customer profile, then use intent to pick which of those companies to email this week.