TL;DR
- Demandbase specializes in intent signals—tracking which companies are researching specific topics, visiting B2B websites, or consuming digital content.
- Salesmotion delivers actionable account signals—publicly verifiable business moves like hiring, funding, product launches, and leadership shifts from 1,000+ trusted sources.
Intent signals show who is interested; account signals reveal what’s changing, why, and when to act. They’re complementary, and top-performing teams use both depending on their go-to-market strategy and workflow integration.
Choosing an ABM platform isn’t about the “best”—it’s about finding the right fit for your sales motion and stack.
ABM platforms differ fundamentally in the types of signals they surface:
Demandbase (Intent): "Company X is researching 'cybersecurity compliance' and showing a surge in relevant keyword searches."
Salesmotion (Account Signals): "Company X just opened a Berlin office, hired a VP for EMEA, and posted new strategic job openings."
Both types of signals matter—intent signals flag interest, while account signals reveal context, timing, and relevance for engagement.
Demandbase is the market leader for intent data. It uses:
Intent signals are powerful for surfacing in-market accounts and prioritizing early engagement, particularly in large addressable markets and marketing-driven ABM.
Salesmotion continuously monitors public, third-party data sources to surface meaningful account signals such as:
These account signals offer real-world context and timing, enabling sales teams to reach out when an account’s business is actually changing.
| Feature | Demandbase (Intent Signals) | Salesmotion (Account Signals) |
|---|---|---|
| Data Type | Intent signals (web, content, search) | Account signals (news, hiring, funding, filings) |
| Timing | When accounts start researching | When key business signals indicate new needs |
| Depth | Activity-level signals | Context-rich signals, linked to sources |
| Integration | Standalone platform + CRM sync | Embedded in CRM, email, Slack |
| Best Use | Discovering in-market accounts | Timing and personalizing outreach |
| Implementation | 60–90 days | Operational in days |
| Pricing | Enterprise ($30K+ / year) | By monitored account list, starts ~$1,000/mo |
Modern ABM leaders use both:
For example: Intent may show a spike in “supply chain software” searches, while account signals reveal a recent expansion and hiring blitz—making your outreach timely and hyper-relevant.
The best platforms will surface the most relevant account signals, right inside the tools where sales teams already work.
A: Yes—high-performing teams use intent data to spot in-market accounts and account signals to add timing and context for outreach. Demandbase and Salesmotion can be used together.
A: Salesmotion aggregates thousands of sources—news, earnings calls, filings, hiring trends, exec moves—to surface actionable account signals every day.
A: Demandbase can require 1–3 months for setup; Salesmotion can start pushing account signals into your CRM and workflows in days.
A: Both platforms use only public or anonymized data. No personal data is tracked; Demandbase anonymizes web signals, Salesmotion only indexes public disclosures.
A: Workflow-integrated tools win. Salesmotion pushes signals into Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack—no separate logins required, maximizing adoption.
A: Yes—if you have defined target accounts and long sales cycles, actionable account signals can create pipeline and save hours, even for small teams.
A: Focus on engagement rates, pipeline velocity, time to meeting, and win rates for accounts surfaced by account signals.