Know When Prospects Are Researching Your Competitors

A step-by-step guide to using intent signals to spot buyer research, reach out at the right time, and turn it into pipeline.

May 04, 2025

Read time: 5 min

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You can control who you reach out to with outbound. You can control what you say. But you can’t control timing. And honestly, that’s why so many good opps end up in “closed lost.”

That’s why I like this intent signal.

G2 Intent data, because it shows you when your ICP is actually checking out your competitors, and evaluating your product category.

I’ve used G2 before, and the first time, we totally messed it up.

No filters, just noise. A lot of manual work.

Reps ignored it. Total waste.

So this is the guide I wish I had back then.

How to actually use G2 signals properly: clean them, route them, and turn them into meetings and revenue.

Let’s get into it.

Quick heads-up, this isn’t a sponsored post. I’m not affiliated with G2 in any way.

I just think this signal is underrated and can create pipeline fast, especially if you’re selling in a mature category. Like, Calendly vs Chili Piper, or any tool with legacy vendors.

And as far as I know, G2 is the only tool that gives you this level of signal: your ICP accounts, what they viewed: category/competitor, and even their location. (Let me know if you know another tool that can help with this use case).

(But hey, if someone from G2 is reading this… happy to talk sponsorship.)

Here’s how I do it

If you’re thinking of testing this too, start small.

Don’t automate it yet.

Run it manually first, get results, then think about scaling.

So, when I get G2 intent signals and see that a target account is:

Viewing my category
Comparing me to a competitor
Reading reviews of my competitor

I get a G2 ping with the account name, what they did on G2, and the city they’re in.

Step by step, this is what I do:

Filter the signal. I check the basics: company size, region, and if it’s a good ICP fit.
Find the right people. I use LinkedIn Sales Nav, go straight to titles like Head of Ops, RevOps, or VP CS, in that specific location from the G2 signal.
I identify the key buyers (titles like Head of Ops, RevOps, VP CS) using LinkedIn Sales Navigator at the location mentioned via G2.
Figure out what they might care about. Based on the G2 page they visited.
Write the message. I send an outbound message that feels relevant to what they’re researching. I never say “hey, I saw you on G2.” It feels creepy. But I use that info to shape the message if relevant.
If it’s a tier 1 account or we lost the deal in the past, I ask an exec if they have any warm intros.

🚨 Quick heads up:

I don’t mention this signal in the messaging, not in calls, emails, or LinkedIn. It's creepy. I just use it to know who to go after. It helps me target the right ICP at the right time.

Why It Works

These G2 signals show real intent.

If they’re browsing your category, they know they have a problem.
If they’re checking your competitor, they’re comparing options.

Timing matters in outbound. G2 tells you:

Who to reach out to
When to do it
And even why, based on what page they looked at

Case study:

Pigment tried this play. They got multiple G2 signals from a CPG company reviewing their legacy competitor, reached out, and booked a meeting in less than a month.

That same deal? Closed won 8 months later, and became a top 20 customer.

Once they saw it worked, they didn’t waste time, they made G2 signals a priority for their BDRs.

How you can implement it

Goal: When G2 tells you:

“Someone from Company A in San Francisco viewed the [Competitor] page.”

You want to:

Filter your ICP
Identify the right persona(s) at Company A, in SF.
Enrich them with contact info.
Assign to the correct sales rep (based on territory or account owner).
Trigger an outbound sequence automatically.

Step 1: G2 → CRM or Enrichment Tool

Set up G2 Intent to push pings into Salesforce or HubSpot via native integration.
Use Zapier or a webhook if your plan doesn’t support it natively.

→ Now you’ve got company name + contact location in your CRM.

Step 2: ICP Filter

You have two filtering options to catch only qualified accounts:

Option A: CRM-Based ICP Filter

G2 account domain matches an existing ICP-tagged account in Salesforce or HubSpot.
Use custom fields like ICP Tier = 1/2 or ICP = TRUE.
Use workflows to check:
- Company size
- Industry
- Region
- Tech stack

If matched → pass to enrichment.

If not → send to “Non-ICP” holding queue or trigger manual review task.

Option B: Clay-Based ICP Filter

Set up a Clay table ingesting G2 pings (via Salesforce or n8n).
Add logic columns for your ICP fit:
- Existing ICP Score (or build it with Clay logic)
- Industry, size, tech stack, etc.

Boolean field: ICP Fit? → True/False based on your scoring→ If true trigger enrichment

If not → push to Notion table, Slack channel, or manual account list for review.

Step 3. Enrich Automatically via Clay

Use a 2nd Clay table to:

Take the company + location from the G2 ping .
Filter for contacts with your buyer personas titles (e.g., RevOps, VP CS, Director IT).
Filter by location if G2 provides it.
Use Find LinkedIn Profile (with title and company)
Use Get verified email/phone waterfall

💡 Clay lets you run this as a full enrichment table with logic like:

“If G2 ping includes SF, find contacts in SF HQ only. If no city match, fallback to country.”

Step 4. Auto-Routing by Territory or Account Owner

In Salesforce/HubSpot:
- Account exists?
  - Yes, If the account is owned by someone → Route to the account owner.
  - If not owner by someone → Use a round-robin assignment tool like LeanData, Chili Piper to assign the contact/account based on territory.
- If the account doesn't exist, create the account, and use a round-robin assignment tool based on territory.

Step 5. Trigger Outbound Sequence

Push contact + company into your SEP: Outreach / Salesloft.
Trigger an outbound sequence but don't mention that you saw they are considering your competitor on G2. I would use a relevant messaging.

Step 6. Trigger Alerts for Speed

Set up:

Slack alerts when contacts are automatically enrolled in sequences
Weekly intent digest for reps with best-fit accounts to prioritize

Step 7. Measure and Refine

Track: Opps created from G2-intent sourced leads

🧰 Tools

G2 + CRM Integration: Capture G2 signals in real-time
ICP Filter: Clay/Salesforce
Clay: Enrich with contacts, filter by location, add logic
CRM: Salesforce / HubSpot: Store account + contact, trigger workflows
Lead Routing: LeanData / Chili Piper: Auto-assign based on routing rules
SEP: Outreach / Salesloft: Launch outbound sequences
Slack: Realtime alerts
Workflow automation platform: n8n/Zapier

This is a simple outbound play to capture your ICP accounts when they start evaluating your competitors and product category.

Let me know if you need help with a Clay table to run this.

Let's get cooking!

See you in the next newsletter.

👨‍🍳 Elric

Chef, Outbound Kitchen

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