A static list of good-fit companies goes stale within a quarter. Signals turn the same list into a queue: here are the accounts where something changed this week, and here is what changed.
Signals worth wiring up
Incorporations and status changes, registered-address moves, director appointments and resignations, new filings, job postings, and local news mentions. Each maps to a different play and a different sender.
Job postings are the strongest tech-and-growth proxy; relocations are the strongest facilities and services trigger; appointments are the strongest reason to restart a stalled deal.
Delivery mechanics
Prefer webhooks over polling: fewer calls, faster reaction. Sign payloads, verify the signature, respond quickly and process asynchronously. Deduplicate on event identifier because retries will happen.
Keep an events table with a stable identifier and timestamp. That table is what an agent reads to build a daily digest, and what you replay after an outage.
Let the agent draft, not send
Give the agent the event plus the account record and have it draft a short, specific message referencing the change. Route it to the owner for one-click approval.
Measure reply rate per signal type. Within a few weeks you will know which signals deserve automation and which should be dropped.
Frequently asked questions
Which signal converts best?
It depends on the offer, but job postings and leadership changes consistently outperform generic firmographic triggers because they carry timing.
How fast do signals arrive?
As fast as the underlying register or source publishes. Some markets publish daily, others weekly, so always show the observation date alongside the event.
