Buying signals in sales: 14 signals and 4 false ones

“How long does the rollout take?”

The question is no longer whether, but how. The timeline is already on their mind.

→“Usually [time frame]. By when would it need to be up and running for you?”

“Does it work with our [CRM / system]?”

Someone who checks the integration is planning to run it. Curiosity asks about features, not interfaces.

→Answer honestly, then: “Who looks after [system] at your company? We should have them in the next meeting.”

“How long does the contract run, and how do we cancel?”

Contract questions come from someone weighing up the risk just before a decision.

→Answer clearly, then: “Shall I send you the contract today so your legal team can review it in advance?”

“Do you have customers in our industry?”

The person is looking for reassurance for a decision they have to defend internally.

→Give a fitting example, then: “Who would you show this to internally?”

“What would it cost for [specific number] users?”

A price question with their own number is a calculation, not curiosity. The general question “What does it cost?” is something else, see below.

→Give the exact figure, then: “Does that fit with what you had planned?”

“I’d need to discuss this with [name].”

Can be an excuse. If the person names a specific person or role, it is usually a real step.

→“What will [name] want to know? Shall the three of us talk it through?”

“By the end of the quarter we need to …”

A deadline turns a topic into a priority.

→“Then let’s work backwards: when would the decision have to be made for that to work?”

“How would we get started?”

Asking about the first step, often a test or pilot, is almost a yes to trying it.

→Propose a specific start, with a date, scope and attendees.

“When we use this, …”

Someone who says “when” instead of “if” already sees themselves as a customer.

→Pick it up: “When you use it, who on the team would work with it first?”

The call gets longer instead of shorter.

Someone who keeps asking questions past the agreed time is interested and makes the time for it.

→“We’re over time. Shall we set a follow-up meeting rather than cut it short now?”

The person brings in colleagues or forwards your material.

They are building support internally. Nobody does that for a topic they don’t care about.

→Ask who is joining, and offer material for exactly that person.

“So that means we wouldn’t have to …”

The person is translating the value into their own work. An argument doesn’t get any stronger than that.

→Confirm it and make it concrete. Don’t keep presenting.

The person talks at length about a problem without being asked.

They are looking for a solution and checking whether you have understood it.

→Listen, summarise, ask a follow-up question. The solution comes afterwards.

“How does training work for our twelve people?”

An objection about a detail is interest in the thing itself. Someone who doesn’t want it at all doesn’t ask about the training.

→Answer specifically, then ask about the time frame for the rollout.

“Sounds interesting, just send me some information.”

Often the politest way to end a conversation.

→“Happy to. So I send the right thing: what matters most to you? And when shall we talk about it?”

“So what does it cost?”, right at the start

Often a filter to size up or end the conversation quickly.

→Give a price range, then: “So I can be more specific: how do you handle this today?”

Lots of agreement, no questions: “Yes, sure, very good.”

Someone who asks nothing is checking nothing. Agreement without questions is often absence.

→“Which part of this would be least relevant for you?” The answer shows whether they were listening.

“We’ll be in touch.”

Without a date and a reason, that is an ending, not a next step.

→“What will decide whether you get in touch? Then I know what I can clarify in the meantime.”