You’ve Heard of Intent Data. Then You Saw the Price.
You’re looking for a better way to find leads. You search Google. You read a few articles about “intent data” and “buying signals.” It sounds promising – a system that tells you which companies are actively looking for your service. Maybe even a signal-based approach that catches them at the right moment.
Then you see the pricing. Bombora starts at £20,000 a year. 6sense wants £40,000 to £95,000. Most require annual contracts, CRM integration, and a dedicated team to manage the platform.
You close the tab.
You’re running a 15-person company with two salespeople. You don’t need a platform. You need leads that pick up the phone.
What Intent Data Actually Is
Intent data tracks online browsing behaviour. Providers like Bombora and 6sense monitor activity across networks of publisher websites. When someone at a company visits multiple pages about a topic – say, “commercial pest control” – the system flags that company as showing purchase intent.
The idea: if someone is reading about your category, they might be getting ready to buy.
Sales teams get a list of flagged accounts and start calling. The pitch is that you’re contacting warm prospects, not cold ones.
The Part They Don’t Tell You
Intent data has a fundamental problem: reading about something isn’t the same as needing it.
Someone researching pest control could be: - A buyer comparing providers - A student writing a dissertation - A journalist preparing an article - A competitor checking what you charge - An employee browsing out of curiosity
The system can’t tell the difference. It sees page views and guesses.
The numbers back this up. 48% of organisations report frequent false positives from intent data, with some analyses putting the false positive rate above 80%. Only 5% of B2B buyers are in-market at any given time – so 95% of the accounts flagged as “showing intent” aren’t ready to buy.
And here’s the kicker: intent data is non-exclusive. Every company subscribing to the same provider gets the same flagged accounts. So even when a lead is real, five of your competitors already got the same alert and are already calling.
Sound familiar? It’s the same problem as buying a cheap list – except this time it costs £20,000.
What Signal Data Is
Signal data takes the opposite approach. Instead of guessing what someone might be thinking based on their browsing, it tracks what has actually happened.
A signal is a real-world event – recorded in a public database – that confirms a specific business needs a specific service right now.
Not a guess. Not based on browsing patterns. A confirmed event, with a date stamp.
Intent data guesses what someone might need. Signal data confirms what they definitely need.
Government regulators and official bodies publish these events. They’re free to access, updated regularly, and each one creates a time-bound need that the business can’t ignore.
Signal vs Intent Data: The Comparison
| Intent Data | Signal Data | |
|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | Browsing behaviour | Real-world events |
| Certainty | A guess – “might be interested” | Confirmed – “this happened” |
| Annual cost | £20,000 – £95,000+ | Free at source |
| Delivery | Dashboard, CRM integration | CSV by email – open it in Excel |
| Setup time | Weeks (integration + training) | Minutes (open the file, start calling) |
| False positive rate | 48 – 80%+ | Near zero |
| UK data quality | Thin (most providers are US-focused) | Strong (UK government data is comprehensive) |
| Best for | Enterprise teams with dedicated data budgets | SMEs with 1-5 salespeople |
Three Signals You Can Act On Today
These come from UK public data. Each one creates immediate, confirmed demand for specific services.
1. Food hygiene failures (FSA)
When a restaurant gets rated 0, 1, or 2 by the Food Standards Agency, they face a regulatory mandate to fix structural and hygiene problems. That almost always means pest control, deep cleaning, and building repairs. The FSA publishes the rating within days of the inspection – before the restaurant has even started looking for help.
Hundreds of these exist across London alone at any given time. Each one is a warm lead with a documented, government-confirmed need.
2. New CQC registrations
When a new care home registers with the Care Quality Commission, they need to hire staff, buy medical equipment, arrange insurance, and contract support services – all before they can open. The recruitment agency or medical supplier who reaches them first wins the contract.
The CQC publishes around 380 new registrations every month on its public register.
3. Companies House director changes
When a company files new directors, leadership transitions trigger reviews of existing supplier relationships. Accountants, insurers, and legal firms have a narrow window to introduce themselves before the new director settles into existing arrangements.
Companies House publishes these filings as they happen. Free to access, timestamped, and specific.
Why This Matters If You’re Not Enterprise
Intent data was built for companies with 50-person marketing teams, six-figure data budgets, and account-based marketing platforms. If that’s your world, it might be worth the investment.
But what if you’ve got 10 to 30 people, a couple of salespeople, and you just need them busy on the phones? You don’t need browsing guesses filtered through a £40,000 platform. You need a spreadsheet of businesses that definitely need your service this week, with a phone number and an address. Something you can hand to your team on Monday morning and let them get on with it.
That’s what signal-based selling delivers. No dashboard. No integration. No training. Just a CSV with real leads who have a real reason to talk to you right now.
Get Signal-Based Leads for Free
We monitor UK public data sources and package the signals into ready-to-use lead lists – businesses with confirmed, time-stamped needs for specific services.
If you sell to restaurants, care homes, or any business where timing matters, request a free sample and we’ll send you leads in your area. Real businesses, real needs, verified this week.