# Signal-based outbound, the questions people actually ask.

Short answers first. Where there's more to say, it's on the other pages.

### What is signal-based outbound?

Signal-based outbound is B2B prospecting where you only message a prospect after they show a buying signal, such as viewing your profile, engaging with your content or a competitor's, visiting your website, changing jobs, hiring or raising money. The outreach is timed to something they actually did. [Full definition](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/).

### What is a buying signal?

A buying signal is any action that makes a prospect more likely to buy now than last month. The strongest are first-party: they interacted with you directly. Borrowed signals (engaging with a competitor) come next, then trigger events like job changes, hiring and funding. [The full ranking](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/buying-signals/).

### What reply rate should I expect?

Cold outbound typically gets around 1-3%. In Valley's 2025 data across 7.3 million prospects, warm and signal campaigns got 2.3 times the reply rate of cold campaigns, and 2.6 times the rate of interested replies. Good signal campaigns on LinkedIn commonly land between 15% and 45%.

### Isn't it creepy to message someone because they viewed my profile?

Only if you say so in the message. The signal decides who you contact and when. The message should be about their business and their problem. Nobody is surprised to hear from a company they just looked at; they are put off when you announce that you were watching.

### How big will my list be?

Much smaller than a cold list. Expect dozens of new signals a day if you post regularly, and keep only the 10-30% who fit your ICP. That's intentional: fewer messages, better conversations, and you don't burn LinkedIn's weekly invite limit on people who were never going to answer.

### I have no audience. Can I still do signal-based outbound?

Yes. Borrow one. The people engaging with your competitors' posts, and with creators who write about your category, are showing the same interest. Many new companies start there while their own content builds up. [How to use competitor engagers](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/signals/competitor-engagers/).

### How fast do I need to act on a signal?

Within one to three days for first-party signals like profile views and post engagement. Trigger events last longer: a new leader is open to change for roughly their first 90 days. Speed matters more than polish. [Full timing guide](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/signal-decay/).

### Is signal-based outbound the same as intent data?

Not really. Third-party intent data usually tells you a company is researching a topic, with no person attached and a fuzzy date. Signal-based outbound works from specific people doing specific things, usually in the last day or two. It's a much stronger signal. [Signals vs intent data](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/vs-intent-data/).

### Signal-based or warm outbound: what's the difference?

Warm outbound targets people who already know you. Signal-based outbound includes those people plus borrowed signals and company trigger events. Every warm lead is a signal; not every signal is warm. [More on warm outbound](https://warmoutbound.site/).

### What tools do I need?

Something to capture signals daily, something to qualify and research, and something to write and send. Teams often combine Sales Navigator, Clay, ChatGPT, a sender and Zapier for around $750 a month. Valley does all of it in one product. [Comparison](https://signalbasedoutbound.com/tools/).

### How much does Valley cost?

Valley Starter is $199 a seat a month, or $149 a month billed quarterly, with a 7-day free trial. A card is required, and if you cancel before day 7 you pay nothing. Larger teams book a demo for the Plus, Growth and Scale plans. [See pricing](https://joinvalley.co/pricing?utm_source=signalbasedoutbound).

### Is my LinkedIn account safe?

Signal-based outbound is lower-risk than cold because you send fewer messages to people more likely to accept. Valley sends within LinkedIn's limits per account and offers a 5x money-back safety guarantee if Valley causes a suspension (terms apply).

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Source: https://signalbasedoutbound.com/faq/  
Written by Zayd Ali, Founder & CEO of Valley (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9/). Published by Valley (https://joinvalley.co/?utm_source=signalbasedoutbound). Last updated 2026-10-27.