What are Sales Triggers?
Sales triggers are specific events or changes within a company that create a timely opportunity for a sales rep to approach them with relevant products or services. Examples include new funding, product launches, mergers and acquisitions, leadership changes, and expansions into new markets.
New priorities, growth, and challenges tend to make organizations more receptive to new solutions. For instance, closing a round of funding normally means the organization is preparing to scale. To support that, they might need to invest in new technology.
As a seller, this is the perfect opportunity for outreach because (a) you know they have the money to potentially sign and (b) they’re using at least some of that money to facilitate some sort of major change — be it increasing headcount, entering a new market, or developing a new product — which your solution can support.
Basically, sales triggers are like a “window of opportunity” that opens up for sales reps to make their pitch. As a seller, it’s important to look out for them because they present some of the easiest and most effective ways to get your foot in the door (and land new business).
Synonyms
- B2B sales triggers
- Buying signals
- Trigger events
- Trigger points
Types of B2B Sales Trigger Events
When you hear the word “sales trigger” like this, 99% of the time it’s referring to B2B sales.
In the B2C space, buying signals sure do exist. But they all happen online (e.g., searching the web for “best gym membership” after living in a new city for a month). So all the “selling” is done through marketing automation software — the gym might serve you an ad the next time you scroll Instagram, for example.
In the B2B world, buying signals are often displayed to the public through PR, founders’ LinkedIn or Twitter (X) profiles, blog posts, etcetera. And, since the driving force behind B2B sales is human reps who prospect and reach out to potential customers, these are the types of events they’re actively looking for when deciding who to target.
Company-related triggers
Company-related sales triggers are external events that take place within a company. Growth or change within the company suggests a need for new solutions, making it a prime time to reach out as a sales rep.
Examples include:
- New funding
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
- Leadership changes
- Hiring or laying off a significant number of employees
- Expanding into new markets or regions
- Running a major promotion
When you see these, you want to reach out to the company in a way that frames your solution as a way to help them with their new goals or challenges. For instance, if a company just received funding, you could reach out with a consideration they might not have thought of, and suggest your solution as a way to help them achieve their growth objectives.
Product-Related Triggers
Product-related triggers are exactly what they sound like: sales triggers related to the company’s product. You’ll see these in companies that have just launched a new product, service, or feature.
Examples include:
- Launching a new product
- Discontinuing an old product
- Releasing an update to an existing product
- A competitor doing any of the above
When a company releases a new product, they’re going to be looking for ways to promote it and generate buzz. This is where you, as a sales rep, can open the dialogue about what that means for their company and what they might need to plan for going forward.
Industry-Related Triggers
Industry sales triggers are broader. They don’t just affect the company you’re thinking of targeting with cold outreach. They have bigger implications for entire the market as a whole.
Examples include:
- Changes in regulations or legislation
- Economic downturns and uptrends
- Advancements in technology
- Shifts in consumer behavior
- Major global events (e.g., disasters)
Here, you can take a consultative selling approach with your target companies. Bringing something to the prospect’s attention that they might not have considered is a great way to get more demos on your calendar.
For example, “Here’s what {new regulation} means for your business,” or “You know about {X), but have you considered {Y}?” can be effective ways to get prospects interested in hearing more about your solution.
The key: You have to TEACH them something for this to work.
Customer-Related Triggers
Customer-related triggers are events that happen to current or potential customers that could lead them to look for additional products or services.
Examples include:
- A negative review of a competitor
- Complaints about a competitor’s product or service (e.g., on social media)
- Approaching contract expiration date
- High engagement with your marketing content
- Success with using your product
- Advocacy for your product as a current customer
For prospective customers, these are opportunities to jump in as the savior. If you’ve identified a customer-related sales trigger, you can reach out to the prospect with content that is tailored specifically for them.
As for your highly engaged customers, this is where you look for ways to upsell or cross-sell them. You already have a 60-70% chance of selling something to a customer you already have, so it’s worth reaching out and offering them something new.
Benefits of Tracking Sales Triggers
All sales strategies need good targeting to succeed. You could have the best product or service in the world, but if you’re going after companies that aren’t interested or don’t have a need for your solution, it’s not going to make much of a difference.
B2B sales triggers eliminate a lot of the guesswork when determining who to reach out to. Instead of sending tons of emails or making hundreds of cold calls, a smaller list of well-targeted companies is more likely to result in success.
Plus, being aware of sales triggers makes it easy to personalize your messaging and approach. When you cut through the noise, you have a better chance of actually getting through to the person you’re trying to reach.
Tracking sales triggers helps you:
- Identify the best time to reach out to a prospect
- Tailor your messaging and approach based on the trigger event
- Focus on more qualified leads, increasing your chances of closing deals
- Strengthen relationships with current customers by offering targeted upsells or cross-sells
You can also analyze data from past sales to identify patterns and trends. Over time, you’ll get better and better at determining which triggers are strong indicators of a purchase-ready prospect.
How to Track Trigger Events
The tricky thing about triggers is they happen sporadically. And it’s not like you can monitor everyone who fits your ICP at once. That would be thousands (if not tens of thousands) of companies.
There are, however, a few steps you can take to get a handle on tracking sales triggers:
Define your ICP
Your ideal customer profile (ICP) is, well, your ideal customer. It’s the type of company that benefits most from your product or service, and is most likely to buy it.
This includes things like:
- Company size
- Industry
- Revenue
- Geographical location
- Goals
- Pain points
When you build your ICP, start by making a list of your best current customers. Consider their attributes, and which ones have been most successful with your solution.
Once you have a solid list of characteristics, develop a list of companies that fall into that category. These are the ones you should focus on when tracking sales triggers.
Use technology to your advantage
There are plenty of tools out there that can help you monitor trigger events for your target companies.
A few of the best:
- Google Alerts: This free tool allows you to set up alerts for specific keywords and phrases. You can set it to monitor mentions of your target companies or keywords related to sales triggers (for example, company announcements). You’ll get the alerts right to your email inbox.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: A must-have for B2B sales reps. It allows you to save leads, track activity on their profiles, and get custom lead recommendations based on your saved account list.
- Sales intelligence tools: There are specialized tools you can use to stay on top of company news and events. Similar to Google Alerts, you’ll be able to monitor for specific types of content, like a product launch or round of fundraising.
- Stay active on social media: Tons of founders and employees are on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn posting content every day. Follow and engage with people from your target accounts. If/when they post something that indicates they’re ready for a change, you can be the first one to jump on it.
- Use a CRM: A customer relationship management tool is what you’ll use to manage all your sales activities. This includes tracking leads, keeping notes on conversations and meetings, setting reminders for follow-ups, etc,
Stay on top of your industry
Follow blogs and news outlets that are relevant to your industry and target customers. If a major event happens (e.g., new legislation affecting your customer’s industry, a competitor’s product launch), you’ll want to be on top of it.
For instance, if you sell a security software to retailers and there’s a major data breach at one of the largest retail chains in the country, that could be a sales trigger for your prospects. They’ll likely be looking for ways to improve their own security measures as a result.
And how you find out about this major breach? By staying up to date on industry news.
Network and build relationships
When you’re selling in a changing marketplace, you have to be agile and willing to adapt. Building relationships with people in your industry and target market is a great way to stay informed about potential trigger events.
This could mean:
- Attending conferences and trade shows
- Joining networking groups and associations
- Publishing your own content on social media
These are things that will make others pay attention to you. By extension, you’ll also be one of the first to know when something big happens.
People Also Ask
What are examples of trigger events in SaaS sales?
Some common trigger events in SaaS sales include a company raising a new round of funding, changes in leadership within the target company, expansion into new markets or launch of a new product/service by the target company, and M&A transactions involving the target company.
You’ll also want to look into new legislation or industry regulations that could impact the target company’s business, as well as significant company announcements and milestones (e.g., closing a Series A).
How important are sales triggers in sales prospecting?
In your sales strategy, triggers are one of the most critical components. Without them, you’re shooting in the dark. By tracking sales triggers, you’ll be able to identify and focus on prospects who are most likely to buy your product or service at any given time.
In addition to driving sales efficiency, acting on sales triggers helps you up your win rate, since you’ll be targeting companies that have a specific need or pain point your solution can address (and you’ll be doing it with personalized messaging, according to the trigger).
Are sales triggers used in account-based marketing and sales?
An account-based marketing strategy involves targeting a specific group of high-value accounts rather than a broad market. Tracking sales triggers is crucial in this approach, as it helps you identify when a target account is most likely to need your solution.
Since ABM means you’re only looking at a few accounts, it’s a lot easier to pay attention for triggers and respond to them quickly. And, since you’re reaching out based on something specific to that company, you’re way more likely to get a response.
That’s a huge plus because with ABM, you don’t have thousands of other accounts to fall back on if a few of your key accounts don’t respond. You have to “get it right” the first time, and that’s what triggers are for.