If you’re in B2B sales or marketing, you’ve probably heard that “intent data” will change your life. Spoiler: it won’t, unless you actually know what to do with it. This guide is for people who want to use ZoomInfo intent data to find and focus on the best prospects—without wasting time chasing after every shiny signal.
Whether you’re running a small sales team or hustling solo, you don’t need to be a data scientist. You just need to know what works, what’s noise, and how to cut through the fluff.
Step 1: Understand What ZoomInfo Intent Data Actually Is (and Isn’t)
Before you start, let’s get real about what ZoomInfo intent data actually tells you:
- What it is: ZoomInfo tracks online research activity—like what companies are reading, searching, or downloading on certain topics. If a company’s employees suddenly read a bunch of “cybersecurity best practices” articles, ZoomInfo flags that as intent.
- What it isn’t: It’s not a magic mind-reader. You don’t know who at the company did the searching. You don’t know if they’re actually planning to buy. It’s just a nudge that they might be interested.
Bottom line: Treat intent data like a tip, not a guarantee. It’s one signal, not the whole story.
Step 2: Define What “High Value” Means for You
Don’t let the tool decide what’s important. Before you even log in, get clear on:
- Your ideal customer profile: Industry, size, revenue, tech stack, whatever matters to you.
- Deal size or potential: Is it all about big logos? Fast sales? Renewals?
- Pain points you solve: Not every intent signal will be relevant—stick to topics that align with what you actually sell.
Pro tip: Write this down. You’ll need it when you start filtering data later.
Step 3: Set Up Intent Topics That Actually Matter
ZoomInfo gives you tons of “intent topics.” Most are generic or only loosely related to your business. Here’s how to avoid drowning in noise:
- Pick 3–5 core topics that map to your solution and your customers’ real buying journeys. Avoid vague stuff like “cloud” or “sales.”
- Customize if you can: Sometimes you can request custom intent topics from ZoomInfo support. Worth it if you sell something niche.
- Ignore vanity topics: Just because a topic is “trending” doesn’t mean it’s relevant to you.
What doesn’t work: Tracking 20+ intent topics and hoping something sticks. You’ll get overwhelmed, and your sales team will tune it out.
Step 4: Layer Intent Data with Your Own Filters
Intent by itself is “meh.” The real power comes when you filter it down:
- Company fit: Use your ideal customer profile (from Step 2) to filter out companies that are too small, too big, or totally outside your wheelhouse.
- Existing pipeline: Cross-check with your CRM. Are these companies already in play? If so, tag them for extra attention, but don’t treat them like cold leads.
- Tech stack or firmographics: Most teams ignore this, but you can filter by what tech a company already uses, region, or growth stage. It helps weed out mismatches.
Don’t bother: Trying to “warm up” every company that shows intent. Focus is your friend.
Step 5: Score and Prioritize—Don’t Just Dump Leads
Dumping a list of “intent” accounts into your sales team’s lap is a fast way to get ignored. Instead:
- Create a scoring system: Give points for fit, points for recent intent activity, maybe a bonus if they’re a target account.
- Rank by score: Top scorers go to your best reps or get the most attention.
- Set a threshold: Only pass accounts that score above a certain number. Less is more.
Real talk: If you give people a list of 200 “intent” companies, they’ll chase none. Give them 10, with context, and you’ll actually see action.
Step 6: Make Outreach Contextual—Not Creepy
Intent data is a conversation starter, not a script. When you reach out:
- Reference the topic: “I noticed your team’s been researching X. We help companies like yours with that.”
- Don’t sound like a stalker: Never say “We saw you googling….” Stay general.
- Bring value: Offer something useful related to the intent topic—case study, one-pager, webinar invite.
Skip the templates: People can smell automation a mile away. Personalize, or don’t bother.
Step 7: Track What Actually Works and Adjust
Most teams set up intent data, spray a few emails, and forget about it. Don’t fall into this trap.
- Log outcomes: Did the account reply? Book a meeting? Go dark?
- Refine your topics: Drop intent topics that never convert. Double down on what works.
- Tweak your scoring: Maybe “recent activity” matters more than you thought. Or maybe company size should matter more.
Honest take: Most of your early “intent” leads won’t convert. That’s fine. The goal is to find the patterns that do work, not to be perfect out of the gate.
Step 8: Integrate with Your Existing Sales Motion (Or Don’t)
ZoomInfo will pitch you on automating everything, syncing with your CRM, and “seamless workflows.” Here’s the truth:
- Start manual: At first, pull lists yourself. See what’s useful and what’s junk.
- Automate slowly: Once you know which filters and topics work, automate those pieces. Don’t rush it.
- Avoid “automate everything” traps: Automation works best when you’ve already figured out what moves the needle. Not before.
Step 9: Ignore the Hype—Intent Data Is a Tool, Not a Silver Bullet
Intent data is just one way to spot warm prospects. It works best when:
- You combine it with your own list building and research.
- Sales reps use it as context—not as an excuse to spam people.
- You regularly review and clean up your intent topics and scoring.
It doesn’t work if you treat it as a set-and-forget lead machine.
Keep It Simple—and Iterate as You Go
Don’t get lost in dashboards or try to “optimize” before you’ve even reached out to a few prospects. Start small, see what actually gets results, and refine from there. Intent data is useful, but only if you keep it focused and treat it as one part of your prospecting toolkit—not the whole thing.
Stay skeptical, stay practical, and don’t let the shiny tools distract you from what really matters: talking to the right people, at the right time, with something worth saying.