How to find high-intent accounts
A high-intent account is a company that fits your criteria and shows a recent, visible reason to care about the problem you solve. Hiring, new leaders, funding, what their people post about, and engagement with a competitor can all point that way. The useful question each week is which accounts changed, and what the change means for your next move.
What makes an account high-intent
Fit comes first. An account that matches your industry, size and buyer profile is worth watching. It becomes high-intent when something changes that makes your problem more likely to be on the agenda now.
These are the changes most worth watching.
Hiring
Open roles show where a company is spending money and attention. Several roles in the team you sell to, or a job post that names your category or a competitor, can mean a problem is getting real resources.
New leaders
A new executive in the function you sell to often reviews tools, vendors and plans in their first months. A new leader can also be a past champion of yours who brings you along.
Funding and other company news
New funding, an acquisition, a new market or a big product launch can create new needs. Read the announcement to see whether it touches your area before you move the account up.
What their people post about
When people at the account post about a problem you solve, or engage with posts about it, that suggests the topic is live for them. A post from the buyer carries more weight than a post from someone outside the buying group.
Competitor engagement
People at the account who follow, comment on or engage with a competitor may be learning about the category. Several people from the same account doing this is worth more than one.
None of these signals proves a company is buying. Each is a reason to look closer. The guide to buyer intent signals explains what each kind of signal can and cannot tell you.
Why a reason matters more than a score
Many tools give each account a number. A number is quick to sort but hard to act on. An AE cannot write a good first message from "intent score 82." They can write one from "two data reliability roles posted this month and a new VP of data who joined in September."
A clear reason helps in several ways.
- The rep can check it. A linked source shows exactly what happened and when.
- The rep can use it. The reason becomes the opening line, the discovery question, or the case for an intro.
- The rep can disagree. If the reason does not fit the deal, the rep can skip the account instead of trusting a number.
- The team learns. Over time you can see which reasons led to meetings and which did not.
Scores can still help sort a long list. Just make sure every account on the list also carries its reason and its source.
A weekly prioritization routine
A short routine each week beats a long research project each quarter. This one is meant to fit in a single sitting once the account list exists.
1. Keep a defined account list
Start with the accounts you own or want to own. Keep it to a number you can actually work. If the list is too long to review in one sitting, cut it.
2. Review what changed this week
For each account, look only at what is new since last week. New roles, new leaders, company news, new posts from relevant people, and new competitor engagement.
3. Write one line of reason per account
For accounts that changed, write what happened, when, and why it might matter for your deal. Link the source. If you cannot write the line, the change probably does not matter.
4. Check the CRM
Look at open deals, current customers and recent activity before acting. A change at an account with an open deal is a reason to update the plan. A change at an existing customer may be an expansion conversation instead.
5. Rank and choose a next step
Put the accounts with the clearest reasons at the top. For each of the top few, choose one next step. Research a person, ask for an intro, send a message, or wait for more evidence.
6. Note what you decided
Record why you moved each account up, down or off the list. Next week you will start from that note instead of from memory.
For accounts you will watch over many months, continuous account research covers how to keep the view current without drowning in alerts.
Combine intent with a warm way in
Intent tells you when to engage. A warm path tells you how. The best accounts this week have both.
Once an account makes the top of the list, ask who already knows someone there. Check your team, past coworkers, customers, past champions and investors. If you find a strong path to someone in the buying group, use the reason you wrote in step 3 as the reason for the intro.
A simple way to sort the week is to split the top accounts by intent and warmth.
| Account has | Suggested next step |
|---|---|
| Clear reason and a warm path | Ask for the intro this week, using the reason in the ask |
| Clear reason, no warm path | Research the buyer and send a direct message tied to the reason |
| Warm path, no clear reason | Keep the path on file and watch for a change before spending the intro |
| Neither | Keep watching and review again next week |
The warm intros guide covers how to find paths and write the ask. What is warm pipeline? explains where warmth comes from and how teams build it.
Common mistakes
- Confusing fit with intent. A perfect-fit account with no recent change belongs on a watchlist until something changes.
- Reacting to every change. A new marketing hire rarely matters if you sell to engineering. Tie each change to your deal.
- Using old signals. A job post from six months ago may be filled. Always check the date.
- Quoting the signal at the buyer. Saying "I saw you liked a post" feels like surveillance. Use the signal to choose the topic, then talk about the problem.
- Skipping the CRM. Acting on a signal at an account another rep owns creates conflict and confuses the buyer.
How Lumnis helps
Lumnis shows which accounts are in market this week and the warmest way in, then keeps watching your deals so they don't stall. It ranks accounts by what changed this week, with the reason and a next step. For each account it finds who on your team, among past coworkers and among customers already knows the buyer, using work history and shared connections, and drafts the intro ask. Account research adds the org map, what each person posts about and engages with most, who at the account engages with your competitor, and updates on open deals from the CRM.
Lumnis works with Salesforce, HubSpot, Attio, Gmail, Outlook and LinkedIn. Nothing sends until a person approves it, and every signal links to its source.
High-intent account questions
What is the best signal of buying intent?
There is no single best signal. A change that ties directly to your problem, comes from someone in the buying group, and happened recently is usually more useful than any one signal type on its own.
How often should I review high-intent accounts?
Weekly works for most enterprise AEs. It is frequent enough to catch changes while they matter and slow enough to keep the list manageable.
How many accounts should be high-intent at once?
Only as many as you can act on well this week. For most reps that is a handful of accounts at the top of the list.
Can a small company be high-intent?
Yes, if it fits your criteria. Intent depends on what changed and how it relates to your problem. Size only matters if it is part of your fit criteria.
Should I mention the signal in my outreach?
Use the signal to choose what to talk about. Mention public company news if it helps, but avoid pointing at an individual's likes or follows.
Start each week with the accounts that changed
Keep a defined list, review what changed, write the reason, and pair the top accounts with a warm way in.