Customer Readiness Signal Strategy
Find what customers do before buying and enter that moment
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Start with the pain your offer resolves, then work backward through the customer’s life to find an observable event that occurs shortly before the buying decision. That event might be a job posting, a purchase, a search query, a registration, or another change that signals emerging demand. The business then enters that existing process through useful content, partnerships, outreach, or referrals. The mechanism is timing: instead of persuading an indifferent audience, the company appears when the customer is already moving toward a solution. Tests should compare signals and channels based on qualified conversations and sales, not merely reach. The method should be implemented transparently; Dan’s fake-resume story illustrates the underlying mechanism but is not an ethical tactic to reproduce.
Origin
Dan Martell learned the strategy from his coach Bob, who described a salesperson watching a competitor’s deliveries to identify customers before their next order. Martell adapted the principle to enterprise software demand generation.
Core principles
- 01Every customer has a moment when a problem becomes urgent
- 02Observable behavior can reveal purchase intent
- 03Marketing works better when it enters an existing process
- 04The signal should precede the buying decision
- 05Ethical partnerships and content can scale access to the signal
How to run it
- 1
Define the pain
State the specific problem the customer wants resolved and the point at which it becomes important enough to act.
Pro tip Interview recent buyers about what changed immediately before they started looking.
Watch out Do not begin with your preferred channel or product features.
- 2
Trace the pre-purchase journey
List the actions, purchases, searches, staffing changes, or conversations that commonly occur before customers seek your solution.
Pro tip Look for events that are both observable and close to the buying decision.
Watch out A broad demographic trait is not the same as a readiness signal.
- 3
Choose a signal
Select one behavior that plausibly indicates the customer is preparing to solve the problem.
Pro tip Prefer signals that can be detected consistently and lawfully.
Watch out Avoid deceptive identities, invasive surveillance, or misuse of personal data.
- 4
Enter the process
Create a useful way to appear at that moment, such as educational content, a retailer partnership, a referral arrangement, or relevant outreach.
Pro tip Help the customer take the next step rather than immediately forcing a sale.
Watch out Do not confuse interruption with timely relevance.
- 5
Validate and refine
Measure whether the signal produces qualified conversations and purchases, then refine the signal, message, and channel.
Pro tip Compare conversion rates across several readiness signals.
Watch out High traffic without qualified demand does not validate the strategy.
In the wild
Martell inferred that companies planning enterprise portals would advertise for specialized roles. By detecting that activity, his company could begin a relevant conversation while the buyer was assembling the capability.
→ The approach contributed to the first $5 million in revenue for Spirit Technologies.
A personal trainer could partner with a fitness-clothing retailer because buying workout gear may signal that someone is preparing to begin exercising. The retailer can introduce the trainer at a naturally relevant moment.
→ The trainer reaches prospective clients near the beginning of their buying journey.
Common mistakes
Targeting everyone
Broad promotion ignores when customers become ready and wastes attention on people without immediate intent.
Copying the unethical tactic
The reusable insight is to detect readiness signals, not to impersonate candidates or deceive intermediaries.
Measuring attention instead of demand
A signal is useful only if it produces qualified conversations, opportunities, or sales.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders and marketers who understand their customer but lack a repeatable demand-generation channel.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when customer behavior cannot be observed or when entering the process would require deception or privacy violations.
From the transcript
“Every customer has a moment where they decide they need a solution to the problem.”
“What I realized because Bob challenged me, he goes, what does the customer do that would tell you they're ready for what you have?”
“that's literally how I built the first 5 million in revenue in my business, was understanding what the customer did before they were ready to…”
From the episode
How to Push Past Your Revenue Ceiling with Dan Martell
Dan Martell