What Are Intent Signals? How to Qualify Leads at the Moment You Meet Them

The quick answer

Intent signals are pieces of information that show how likely a lead is to buy, and how soon: interest level, quantity, budget, timeline or the next step they asked for. They come in two kinds. Third-party intent signals are inferred from online behaviour and usually bought from data providers. First-party intent signals come from your own conversations, and they are the most reliable, because the person told you directly.

Habsy lets you define your own intent signals and mark them in seconds when you scan a card or badge.

Two kinds of intent signals

Third-party data helps you decide who to approach. First-party signals tell you what to do with the people you have already met. At events, where every conversation is first-hand, first-party signals are the ones that decide follow-up.

Why intent signals matter at events

After a busy event, you might have 200 new contacts. Without intent signals, they all look the same: a name, a company, an email. The follow-up turns into a generic email to everyone, and the five people who asked for a quote get the same message as the people who picked up a pen.

With intent signals recorded at the booth, you can filter before you follow up:

• Everyone who wants a quote, with a timeline of this quarter
• Everyone who needs more than 1,000 units
• Everyone who asked for a demo but has no meeting booked

How to design intent signals your team will use

1. Keep it to three to five fields. In a busy hall, nobody fills in ten.
2. Use fixed options, not free text. “Wants a quote” is filterable. “Seemed keen-ish” is not.
3. Make options observable. Base them on what the person said or asked, not a guess.
4. Use your own units. If you sell event supplies, quantity tiers like 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 match how you price.
5. Add a note for detail. Mark the tier, and type the exact figure in the note if they gave one.
6. Use the same fields for the whole team. Otherwise filters break across reps.

Example intent signals by industry

How intent signals work in Habsy

With Habsy Plus, you create intent signal fields that fit your sales process and product, and define your own scales. You can also let Habsy create intent signals with AI from your website or a short description of your business, then edit them.

At the moment of capture, after scanning a card, badge or QR code, you mark the contact’s level on each scale and add a note for exact figures or extra context. A voice note, transcribed into English and searchable, can hold the rest of the conversation.

Afterwards, intent signals work across Habsy:

• Filters let you build a call list from the signals, such as everyone who wants a quote this quarter.
• Exports include intent signals as columns, alongside notes and transcripts.
• CRM sync sends contacts to your CRM with the context attached.
• The Habsy Platform lets managers filter the team’s contacts by intent signals, and the campaign post-event report includes lead scoring to help decide the follow-up order.

Good scales and bad scales

A scale only works if two reps would pick the same option for the same visitor.

Rolling intent signals out to a booth team in 10 minutes

1. Show the fields on one phone and explain what each option means, with an example visitor for each.
2. Role-play two visitors. One rep plays a visitor, another scans a sample card and taps the signals.
3. Agree the rule for doubt: if unsure, pick the lower option and say why in a note.
4. Agree when to record: straight after the conversation, before the next visitor.
5. Check after the first hour on the Habsy Platform: are signals being filled in for most scans?

What happens to intent signals after the show

Intent signals do most of their work after the event:

• Day 1 call lists: filter by signals, such as everyone who wants a quote this quarter.
• Routing: on the Habsy Platform, filter by signals and assign contacts to the right team member with a reminder.
• Exports: signals are included as columns, so a spreadsheet or CRM import keeps them.
• The post-event report: the campaign’s lead scoring helps decide the follow-up order.

Common mistakes

• Too many fields. Reps skip them in a rush.
• Vague labels. “Hot” means different things to different people.
• Recording later. Signals marked the next morning are guesses.
• Not using them. If follow-up ignores the signals, the team stops recording them.

Bottom line

Intent signals turn a contact list into a prioritised call list. The most reliable ones come from the conversation, recorded on the spot with fields your team agreed in advance. Habsy lets you define them and mark them in seconds. Read how they fit into the wider flow in how to avoid losing event leads, or see event lead capture.