September 27, 2025 | Read online
Stop Chasing Ghosts: Why Contact-Level Intent Is the Future of Sales
by Kevin 'KD' Dorsey
“The account is surging.” Cool. Who?
“They’re in-market.” Fantastic. Which human?
This is the broken promise of account-based intent.
Too many sellers are still calling blind, emailing ghosts, and chasing shadows—while the real buyer already signed with your competitor.
Let’s get real:
- Businesses don’t buy. People do.
- Accounts don’t feel pain. Humans do.
- Companies don’t raise hands. Individuals do.
So why are we still playing guessing games with account-level signals?
Lesson 1: Intent is only powerful if it’s specific
Account-level data might tell you something is happening… but it can’t tell you who is doing it. That leaves reps guessing.
Contact-level intent, on the other hand, tells you:
✅ WHO visited your site
✅ WHAT they looked at
✅ WHEN they’re actually ready
It’s the difference between shooting in the dark and turning the lights on.
Lesson 2: A bad opener kills a good signal
Here’s the harsh truth: even if you know who is showing intent, you can still blow it in the first 10 seconds.
“Hey, I saw you were on our website” = Delete.
“I noticed your company showing intent” = Trash.
“Looks like you’re researching solutions” = Ghost.
The problem isn’t the data. The problem is the outreach.
That’s why I use the KPICC framework for every email, call, or message:
- Know → What I know about you/persona
- Problem → What I believe you’re dealing with
- Impact → What that problem is actually causing
- Connect the Dots → Why I’m reaching out
- Call to Agreement → A soft next step, not a hard ask
When sellers do this right, conversion rates jump 3–4x. Not because the data magically got better (though it did)… but because we finally know WHO to call and WHAT to say.
Lesson 3: Contact-level intent = competitive edge
Here’s the bottom line: your buyer doesn’t live at the “account level.” They’re a human with pain, urgency, and decision power.
If you’re still chasing “accounts in market,” you’re already behind.
Teams using contact-level signals aren’t guessing anymore. They’re knowing. And they’re winning.
Want to see this in action?
On October 1st, I’m teaming up with Influ2 and my good friend Katie Penner to break this wide open.
We’ll cover:
- Real-world examples of contact-level intent in play
- Outreach frameworks that don’t get deleted
- How AI-driven search intent is changing the game
No fluff. No theory. Just tactical plays you can steal tomorrow.
Let’s stop chasing ghosts. Let’s start calling humans.
KD
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