B2B Buyer Intent Data: Using Bombora, G2 & 6sense

We all know the stat by now: 70-80% of B2B buyers complete their research before they ever talk to a sales rep. If you're waiting for a demo request to hit your CRM, you've probably already lost the deal.

At Sotros Infotech, we've managed enough pipeline operations to know that generating demand is only half the battle. Capturing it early—before your competitors—is where the real money is made. That's why B2B buyer intent data isn't just a nice-to-have anymore; it's the foundation of modern Signal-Based Selling: Website De-Anonymization.

But here's the hot take: most teams buy expensive intent data tools, dump raw signals into their CRM, and wonder why sales ignores it. Spoiler alert: reps hate noise.

Let's break down how to actually use tools like Bombora, 6sense, and G2 to build pipeline effectively.

The Core Framework: Layering Signals

What most guides say: "Buy intent data to find out who is researching you."

What we actually see: Relying on a single source of intent data gives you a severely distorted view of the market. You need to layer multiple data types to create a high-fidelity picture.

1. First-Party Data: The foundation. Anonymous website visitors, content downloads, webinar attendance. If you aren't capitalizing on your First-Party Data Strategy for B2B Advertising, start there.
2. Second-Party Data: The high-intent review sites. G2 and TrustRadius show you who is actively comparing vendors.
3. Third-Party Data: The broad market view. Bombora's co-op tracks topic research across thousands of B2B sites.

When you combine these layers, you stop guessing and start predicting.

Deep Dive: The Big Three Players

Bombora: The Broad Net

Bombora is built on a massive data co-op (over 5,000 B2B websites). Their core metric, "Company Surge," identifies when a company's research behavior on specific topics spikes above their normal baseline.

• The Play: Use Bombora for early-stage awareness mapping. If an account starts surging on "AI content moderation" (and that's what you sell), it's time to trigger an educational ad campaign.
• The Trap: Don't send a list of surging accounts to your SDRs and tell them to call. It's too early. SDRs will get burned and lose faith in the data.
• Integration tip: Read Google's documentation on custom audience targeting to push these surging accounts directly into top-of-funnel display campaigns.

G2: The Bottom-of-Funnel Snipers

G2 provides some of the highest-fidelity, late-stage signals available. If an account is looking at your G2 profile, comparing you to a competitor, or checking your pricing page, they are in the market now.

• The Play: Competitor defense and immediate SDR routing. If a target account views a competitor's page, run interception ads. If they view yours, route to sales immediately.
• The Reality Check: G2 data is expensive and low volume. You won't find thousands of accounts here, but the ones you do find are pure gold.

6sense: The Orchestrator

6sense isn't just an intent provider; it's a revenue orchestration platform. It ingests data from Bombora, its own proprietary network, your CRM, and your website, then uses AI to score accounts.

• The Play: This is where Predictive Lead Scoring: AI Killing the Traditional MQL comes to life. 6sense tells you not just who is researching, but where they are in the buying journey (Target, Awareness, Consideration, Decision).
• The Ecosystem: 6sense replaces the manual work of building an AI MQL Scoring: Machine Learning to Qualify Leads model internally.

Actionable Tactics for Immediate Pipeline

So, you have the data. Now what?

1. Filter Ruthlessly by ICP

Intent data will show you that a high school in Ohio is researching enterprise ERP software. You don't care.

Before you let any intent signal touch your sales team, filter it rigorously against your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Filter by:

• Industry
• Revenue
• Company Size
• Technographics

If it doesn't fit the ICP, it doesn't pass the filter. Period.

2. Live in the CRM

Sales reps live in Salesforce, HubSpot, or Outreach. If you make them log into a separate platform to view intent data, they won't use it.

Push intent signals directly into the CRM interface. If you're trying to decide on your tech stack, review our guide on HubSpot vs Salesforce for B2B SaaS. Create custom fields for "Intent Score" and "Surging Topics" directly on the Account object.

3. Establish Concrete Thresholds

Don't pass every signal to sales. Set strict Intent Score thresholds.

Signal Type	Action Required	Owner
Topic Surge (Bombora)	Add to Nurture Sequence / Retargeting	Marketing
Website Visit (De-anonymized)	Enroll in dynamic LinkedIn Ad campaign	Marketing
G2 Comparison View	Create CRM Task, SLA: 2 hours	SDR
Contact forms fill + High Intent	Direct routing to Account Executive	Sales

For more on how to measure the effectiveness of this routing, check out our Account-Based Experience (ABX) Measurement breakdown.

Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)

After setting this up for dozens of clients, we see the same mistakes repeatedly:

• The "Creepy" SDR Outreach: Never have a rep say, "I saw you were researching us on G2." It's creepy. Instead, use the topic data to craft relevant, problem-centric messaging. "We've noticed companies in your space are struggling with X right now..."
• Ignoring the Buying Committee: B2B purchases involve 6-10 decision-makers. If one person is surging, you need to map the entire account and engage the whole committee. You can check Meta Business help on B2B targeting to understand how to expand reach within specific companies.
• Failing to Measure Lift: You must track whether these signals actually lead to closed-won revenue. Are you just generating noise, or are intent-driven accounts closing faster at a higher ACV?

Next Steps

Stop letting your competitors eat your pipeline before you even know it exists. Start by auditing your current first-party data capture, choose an intent provider that matches your budget and maturity, and integrate those signals directly into your sales workflows.

Need help orchestrating this complex data layer? That's exactly what we do. Reach out to the team at Sotros Infotech to turn your raw intent signals into predictable revenue.