Every signal in CapyScout is a plain-English question we check against the accounts you watch. The hard part is not writing them - it is knowing which ones are worth watching. This guide gives you a proven starter set and packs by business type, so you are never picking blind.
The universal starter set
These five fire often, are easy to act on, and work for almost any B2B seller:
- New funding round - fresh budget and a mandate to grow. Reach out within days, referencing what the money is earmarked for.
- New sales or marketing leader - new executives rebuild their stack in their first 90 days. Congratulate them and ask about priorities before habits set in.
- Hiring burst - a spike in open roles means growing pains your product may solve. Name the roles in your outreach.
- Uses a competitor - accounts already paying for a rival understand the problem. Watch for renewal-window and dissatisfaction cues.
- One disqualifier - something that marks an account as not-a-buyer (too small, wrong model, staffing agency). It keeps scans and credits pointed at real prospects.
Packs by business type
If you sell software (SaaS)
Add technology and evaluation signals: tool replacement (they mention migrating off a tool), evaluating alternatives, cloud migration, and hiring for data, AI, or security roles when those map to your product. A public RFP signal is rare but golden.
If you run an agency or professional services
Watch for moments that create projects: new market entry, new office, product launch, leadership change, and reputation slipping (ratings or reviews turning negative - an urgent, solvable problem).
If you sell to local businesses
Use the local pack: rating drop, review surge, negative sentiment turn, and newly claimed listing. Each is a specific, timely reason to call that almost no other tool surfaces.
If you sell into regulated or compliance-heavy industries
Add certification earned, licence granted or at risk, inspection outcome, and data breach. Compliance events come with deadlines, and deadlines close deals.
How many, and at what priority
Aim for 10-15 active signals per watchlist. Mark your best 5-8 as High - those drive account scores and suggestions. Always include at least one disqualifier. Broad signals (funding, hiring, leadership) fire more often than narrow ones, so start broad and tighten as you learn what a good hit looks like for your team.
Let CapyScout pick for you
You do not have to choose alone. Onboarding pre-picks a starter pack for your business and shows why each was chosen. The Signals page suggests additions tailored to your profile, with an Add all button. Playbooks install a matched signal pack plus alerts in one click. And you can ask Discover chat "which signals should I watch?" for personalized picks with the reason behind each.
Review after two weeks
Open the Signals page and look at the fired counts. A signal that never fires is either too narrow or not relevant - swap it. A signal that fires constantly but never leads to conversations is noise - mute it or lower its priority. The win-lift view shows which signals correlate with your closed-won accounts, so over time your pack gets provably sharper.