What the Filter Does
Most company filters describe who a company is: its size, industry, or location. The Buying Signals filter looks at signals that suggest whether a company may be ready to buy, such as the teams and leaders it has and how fast it's hiring.
Available Signals
Signal | What it means | Options |
Small website | Based on the company's monthly website visits. | Yes: fewer than 5,000 visits. No: 5,000 or more. |
Hiring pace | How fast the company is hiring relative to its size. | Low, Moderate, High, Very high |
Teams | The company already has this team in place. | Has product, Has HR, Has legal, Has software engineering, Has QA, Has product design, Has UX, Has AEs/AMs, Has SDRs/BDRs, Has product management, Has community roles |
Leaders | The company already has someone at Director, Head, VP, or C-level in this department. | Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Product, Data |
Hiring a leader | The company has an open role at Director, Head, VP, or C-level in this department. | Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Product, Finance, HR, Design, Customer success |
Seniority by department | The company has people at a given seniority level in this department. | Departments: Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Product. Seniority levels: Owner, Founder, Board member, C-level, Partner, VP, Head of, Director, Manager, Senior, Professional, Entry, Intern, Other |
Where Else You'll See Buying Signals
Search table: a Buying signals column shows each company's signals in your results.
Company quickview: a Buying signals card shows the signals for that company.
Availability
Filtering by buying signals requires an add-on. Without it, the filter shows as locked. You can still see the Buying signals column and quickview card, but you can't filter by them.
To get access, contact your account manager or reach out to us at [email protected].
Using the Filter with MCP
The Buying Signals filter is also available through Ocean.io MCP, so you can use it from AI assistants like Claude or Cursor. For example: "Find SaaS companies in Germany with a high hiring pace that are hiring a sales leader." See Using Ocean.io with AI Assistants (MCP) to get set up.
When to Use This Filter
Prioritizing outreach: focus on companies that look ready to buy, not just those that match your ICP.
Timing campaigns: reach companies while they're building teams, hiring leaders, or growing quickly.
Selling to specific teams: if your product serves a particular function (for example SDRs or QA), target companies that already have that team.
Buying Signals vs. Job Postings
Buying Signals shows how fast a company is hiring and whether it's hiring a leader. For open-role counts by department, seniority, or location, use the Job Postings filter.
Tips for Best Results
Combine Buying Signals with Size, Industries, or Headquarter Location to keep results within your ICP.
Start with Any of and switch to All of if your list is too broad.
Use the Buying signals column to compare companies quickly before loading more results.
Summary
The Buying Signals filter finds companies based on six signal groups: Small website, Hiring pace, Teams, Leaders, Hiring a leader, and Seniority by department. You can match any or all selected signals. The filter requires an add-on and also works through MCP.