Account Scoring Beyond Firmographics
Static data tells you who they are. Intent data tells you when they're ready. Combine both to win.
Firmographics — company size, industry, revenue, location — are the foundation of most account scoring models. They're useful for filtering out irrelevant accounts. But they're terrible at telling you which accounts are ready to buy right now. For that, you need a different layer entirely.
The Problem with Static Scoring
A 500-person SaaS company in your ICP is equally scored whether they just raised a Series B and hired a new CRO, or whether they're in a cost-cutting mode following a tough Q4. Same firmographics. Completely different buying windows.
Static scoring treats all accounts in your ICP as equally worth pursuing at all times. That's why reps end up calling the same accounts repeatedly with diminishing returns, and why pipeline velocity stays stuck.
What Intent Data Actually Is
Intent data is behavioral. It captures what a company is doing, not just what it is. There are several categories:
First-party intent: Visits to your pricing page, re-engagement with old emails, a champion who just changed jobs and is now at a new company.
Second-party intent: G2 reviews in your category, competitor comparison research, community discussions about problems you solve.
Third-party intent: Bombora topic surges, TechTarget content consumption, LinkedIn engagement with thought leadership in your space.
Operational signals: Hiring patterns, tech stack changes, funding events, executive moves.
Building a Dynamic Score
The goal is a score that changes based on signal recency and strength, not just account attributes. An account that fits your ICP and is showing three concurrent intent signals should jump to the top of your priority list immediately.
A practical model: start with a base score from firmographics (is this account in my ICP at all?), then layer a velocity multiplier from behavioral signals (are they showing signs of being in a buying window?).
Accounts above a threshold on both dimensions are your hot list. Everything else is nurture or outbound.
The Role of AI in Scoring
Manual scoring doesn't scale. The number of signals, data sources, and accounts that need to be evaluated every day exceeds what any human team can process. AI agents can continuously monitor signals, recalculate scores, and surface the right accounts at the right moment — so reps never have to guess where to focus.
The teams winning in B2B right now aren't the ones with the biggest lists. They're the ones with the most precise targeting.
