$ man signals

Signals

Data points that indicate intent, fit, or timing. Funding announcements, job postings, tech stack changes, web visits, content downloads, competitor mentions, G2 reviews. Anything that suggests "this company is worth talking to right now."

not all signals are created equal. some are unique and actionable. some are overrated noise that everyone's already using. the signal itself doesn't matter as much as what you can offer based on it. my guiding principle: rather than obsessing over the perfect signal, focus on what you can give them that's low-hanging fruit and actually valuable. funding announcements? everyone sees those. that's overrated. but a customer complaint thread about fulfillment delays on a company's own website? that's a signal only you found because you actually looked.

I spec out signals per partner. what signals are unique for this ICP? what can I pull that competitors aren't using? I have 6 signal categories I sweep for: (1) funding activity — Series B-D raises that indicate scaling pressure. (2) M&A activity — acquisitions that create integration pain. (3) hiring signals — bulk job postings that reveal strategic direction. (4) market expansion — new regions, new retail partners, new product lines. (5) technology adoption — ERP migrations, new tech stack mentions. (6) customer complaints — negative reviews, WISMO threads, fulfillment issues. I built an Exa script that sweeps all 6 signal types per company with date filters (last 6 months only — signals are time-sensitive). it ran across 73 companies and returned 342 hits. each hit includes the signal type, source URL, and a cleaned text summary. those signals feed directly into research prompts that generate {pain_point} and {poke_the_bear} variables. the signal is the proof. the variable is how you use it.