--- title: "How traxy Decides Who Counts as a Lead (2026)" description: "How traxy picks leads: fit from your lead criteria, plus signals you define on the Signals screen, then refine from your MCP client." canonical: "https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead" last_updated: "2026-11-04T22:00:00.000Z" --- # How traxy Decides Who Counts as a Lead (2026) > How traxy picks leads: fit from your lead criteria, plus signals you define on the Signals screen, then refine from your MCP client. [Home](https://traxy.ai/) [Blog](https://traxy.ai/blog) [Buyer Intent & Signals](https://traxy.ai/blog/topics/buyer-intent-and-signals) Buyer intent # How traxy decides who counts as a lead: the six parts of the Signals screen How traxy picks leads: fit from your lead criteria, plus signals you define on the Signals screen, then refine from your MCP client. By the traxy teamNov 4, 20267 min read ![How traxy decides who counts as a lead: the six parts of the Signals screen — traxy blog](https://traxy.ai/assets/blog-covers/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead.jpg) **In this article**[Why do the best leads have both fit and a signal?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#why-do-the-best-leads-have-both-fit-and-a-signal) [What goes on the Signals screen?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#what-goes-on-the-signals-screen) [How does traxy label a signal?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#how-does-traxy-label-a-signal) [What does a good Signals setup look like?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#what-does-a-good-signals-setup-look-like) [How do you refine signals from your MCP client?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#how-do-you-refine-signals-from-your-mcp-client) [How do you know your signals are wrong?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#how-do-you-know-your-signals-are-wrong) [What should you say to a lead once you see the signal?](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#what-should-you-say-to-a-lead-once-you-see-the-signal) [FAQ](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#faq) [Related reading](https://traxy.ai/blog/how-traxy-decides-what-is-a-lead#related-reading) [Open product docs](https://docs.traxy.ai/) **In traxy, the strongest leads meet two tests. They fit your buyer profile, with an ICP match of at least 50 percent against your lead criteria, and they show a signal that matches what you defined on the Signals screen. On the Signals screen you'll see six parts: a description of what makes a signal relevant, the buyer pains your offer solves, the buying triggers that make someone ready to act, the relevant topics your buyers talk about, the competitors you sell against, and weighted relevance rules that decide which evidence raises a signal's priority. Together, those six parts make up your Signal Brief. traxy labels each lead as Warm, Related or Activity based on the signal, or ICP match when someone fits your profile but has no recorded signal yet, and shows the evidence. You can refine your Signal Brief in the app or from an MCP client connected to traxy.** ## Why do the best leads have both fit and a signal? Fit alone gives you a list. Plenty of people match your job titles and company size and have no reason to hear from you this month. A signal alone gives you noise. Peers, job seekers and other vendors engage with the same posts your buyers do. traxy keeps the two separate on purpose. Lead criteria decide fit: roles, departments, seniority, locations, company size, industry and niche keywords ([lead criteria](https://docs.traxy.ai/discovery/lead-criteria) ). A person needs an ICP match of at least 50 percent to qualify ([how qualification works](https://docs.traxy.ai/discovery/qualification) ). Signals decide relevance: why this person, and why now ([signals](https://docs.traxy.ai/discovery/signals) ). Someone who fits but has no recorded signal yet can still show up as an ICP match lead. The ones to contact first have both. ## What goes on the Signals screen? Open **Targeting**, then **Signals**. On the Signals screen you'll see six parts. Together they make up your Signal Brief: the description of problems, topics and buying situations that traxy uses to judge why someone is relevant. ### 1\. What makes a signal relevant A plain-language description of your business. traxy reads it when judging an engagement, so say what you sell, who buys it and what problem it solves. ### 2\. Buyer pains The problems your offer solves, written the way a buyer would describe them. "Our SDRs spend half the week building lists" is better than "inefficient prospecting". People don't post in category language. Start with the pains you hear most often and add more as you learn. Each one should be specific enough that you'd recognize it in a comment. ### 3\. Buying triggers Events that make someone more likely to act. Examples: - Switching off a tool, or a tool shutting down (Trigify users after October 22, 2026, for example) - Starting a new role - Hiring for a function your offer supports - Raising a round - Launching into a new market Name the triggers that matter for your offer and leave out the rest. A long trigger list makes most leads look relevant. ### 4\. Relevant topics The subjects an engagement has to touch to count. These are broader than pains. For a company selling to RevOps leaders, relevant topics might be CRM migration, forecasting accuracy and lead routing. ### 5\. Competitors The companies you sell against. People who engage with a competitor's posts, or mention a competitor, often have the problem you solve. Add competitors here, and track their profiles and company pages under **Tracking** so traxy reads who engages with them. ### 6\. Relevance rules Positive evidence that raises a signal's priority. Each rule has a name, a description that starts "Increase priority for ...", and a weight such as High. Rules look something like this: - **Direct lead-authored pain:** increase priority for statements written by the lead that describe a problem your offer solves. - **Competitor evaluation engagement:** increase priority for comments or questions about a competitor's product that show active evaluation or comparison. - **Relevant commercial trigger:** increase priority for evidence of a timely project, such as a new outbound initiative or a market expansion. - **Requests for recommendations:** increase priority for posts or comments in which the lead asks for tool recommendations or implementation advice. Rules don't filter anyone out; they decide which evidence counts for more, so a question about tools ranks above a passing comment. To change who fits at all, edit your **Lead criteria**. ## How does traxy label a signal? Every lead carries a label that describes signal strength ([signals](https://docs.traxy.ai/discovery/signals) ): Label What it means Example Warm A direct signal relevant to your offer Commented "we're replacing our listening tool, any recommendations?" Related Contextual evidence related to your offer Posted about a CRM migration when you sell RevOps tooling Activity Observed activity with a weaker connection Liked a post on a related topic ICP match Fits your profile with no recorded signal of the other types Right title and company, nothing observed The label is separate from the ICP match score and from the source that brought the person in. A Warm lead with a 55 percent match and an Activity lead with a 90 percent match need different follow-ups. Open the lead's **Signals** tab to see the recorded observations and source links. Write from the evidence shown. A missing signal doesn't prove someone has no interest. It means nothing was recorded. ## What does a good Signals setup look like? Here is an example for a company that sells LinkedIn lead generation to B2B agencies. The details are illustrative. **What makes a signal relevant** - "We help B2B agencies show clients what their LinkedIn content produced in leads, not just impressions." **Buyer pains** - "Clients ask what their LinkedIn content produced and we only have impressions." - "We lose clients around month five or six." **Buying triggers** - A client asking for a results report - Hiring a first account manager **Relevant topics** - Ghostwriting, client reporting, content ROI **Competitors** - Two content analytics tools the agency owner has used before **Relevance rules** - **Reporting question:** increase priority for comments in which an agency owner asks how others prove LinkedIn results to clients. Weight: High. - **Client churn pain:** increase priority for posts describing clients leaving after a few months. Weight: High. Who fits is set separately in **Lead criteria**: agency owners and heads of client services. With this setup, an agency owner who comments "how are you all proving ROI to clients?" under a creator's post gets a Warm label. A freelance writer who likes the same post doesn't fit the lead criteria, so they don't qualify. ## How do you refine signals from your MCP client? If you work in Claude, Cursor or another MCP client connected to traxy, you can refine your Signal Brief without opening the app and ask questions about your traxy data ([connect an AI client](https://docs.traxy.ai/integrations/ai-clients) ). Some things you could ask: > "Add 'losing clients after six months' as a buyer pain." > > "Can you add a relevance rule, weighted High, that raises priority for in-house RevOps leads describing a reporting problem?" > > "Which of my recent Warm leads talk about client reporting?" What comes back depends on your data. Review suggested changes before saving them. A small edit can change who qualifies. ## How do you know your signals are wrong? Read ten leads in a row. Then check: - **The people are wrong.** Fix **Lead criteria**, not signals. - **The people are right but the reasons are weak.** Tighten your pains, and add or reweight relevance rules for the evidence you want ranked higher. - **Too few leads.** Broaden your relevant topics, add tracked profiles, or check whether your lead criteria are too narrow ([discovery runs](https://docs.traxy.ai/discovery/agent-runs) ). - **The same irrelevant pattern keeps showing up.** If it's the wrong people, tighten **Lead criteria**. If it's the wrong kind of evidence, sharpen your description of what makes a signal relevant and your buyer pains. Use **Good fit** and **Bad fit** feedback on individual leads and explain the reason. Feedback records your judgment; it doesn't rewrite the lead. ## What should you say to a lead once you see the signal? Match the message to the evidence. traxy's [signal cheat sheet](https://docs.traxy.ai/using-traxy/signal-cheat-sheet) gives a simple rule: refer to what the person did, and don't claim more than that. Someone who asked for tool recommendations can hear about your tool. Someone who liked a post can hear about the topic, not about their "interest in buying". More examples are in [from a LinkedIn signal to a message you can back up](https://traxy.ai/blog/linkedin-signal-to-message) . ## FAQ **What counts as a buying signal?** Something a person did that connects to a problem your offer solves: a comment, a post, a question, a trigger event such as a new role or a tool switch. It's a reason to start a conversation, not proof of budget. **What's the difference between lead criteria and signals in traxy?** Lead criteria describe who fits. Signals describe why someone is relevant now. The strongest leads have both. **What is a relevance rule?** A relevance rule tells traxy which evidence should raise a signal's priority, with a weight such as High. For example, a rule can raise priority when a lead describes a problem your offer solves. **Can traxy find hiring, funding and job-change signals?** Yes. traxy uses deep research and other tools to find a wide range of signals, including those. Add the ones that matter for your offer as buying triggers. **Can I change my signals from Claude?** Yes, with an MCP client connected to traxy, such as Claude. Review the change before you save it. ## Related reading - [LinkedIn engagement signals explained](https://traxy.ai/blog/linkedin-engagement-signals-explained) - [Buyer intent signals: the complete B2B guide](https://traxy.ai/blog/buyer-intent-signals-complete-b2b-guide) - [Outbound not working? Test the list before you rewrite the copy](https://traxy.ai/blog/fix-outbound-lead-list-before-copy) Want leads that fit and have a reason to talk? [Set up your signals in traxy](https://traxy.ai/) . [Back to all articles](https://traxy.ai/blog) ## Keep reading [All Buyer Intent & Signals guides](https://traxy.ai/blog/topics/buyer-intent-and-signals) [Buyer intent7 min read ## Buyer Intent Signals (2026): What Buying Signals Are, Examples by Type and How Sales Teams Act on Them Buyer intent signals explained: what buying signals are, examples by type, how reps act on each one and a simple scoring framework to prioritize accounts. Updated Nov 6, 2026Read article](https://traxy.ai/blog/buyer-intent-signals-complete-b2b-guide) [Buyer intent6 min read ## Firmographic, technographic and engagement data: what each tells you about a B2B lead, and what it misses Firmographic data describes a company, technographic data its tools, engagement data what a named person did. How to use all three to pick who to contact. Nov 7, 2026Read article](https://traxy.ai/blog/firmographic-technographic-engagement-data) [Buyer intent4 min read ## Sales Navigator 'Viewed your Company Page recently': what the filter shows, its limits, and how to follow up What the Sales Navigator 'Viewed your Company Page recently' filter shows, its limits, and how to follow up with a clearer reason than the page view. Nov 7, 2026Read article](https://traxy.ai/blog/sales-navigator-viewed-company-page) The right people are already out there. ## Find your warmest leads. _Send them personalized messages._ From relevant interest to personalized outreach. Put traxy to work. [Start your free trial](https://app.traxy.ai/signup) [Book a demo](https://calendly.com/d/cvj3-p2p-cpv/traxy-demo?utm_source=website&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=book-demo&utm_content=footer) 7-day free trialNo LinkedIn connection required [traxy](https://traxy.ai/) Get the most qualified leads on LinkedIn, in real time. **Product**[Social Intent Search](https://traxy.ai/social-intent-search) [LinkedIn Social Listening](https://traxy.ai/linkedin-social-listening) [Signal-Based Outbound](https://traxy.ai/signal-based-outbound) [MCP Access](https://traxy.ai/#mcp) [Case Studies](https://traxy.ai/case-studies) [Pricing](https://traxy.ai/pricing) [DFY Outbound](https://traxy.ai/managed) **Resources**[Scoreboard](https://traxy.ai/scoreboard) [FAQ](https://traxy.ai/faq) [Guides](https://traxy.ai/guides) [Docs](https://docs.traxy.ai/) [Blog](https://traxy.ai/blog) [News](https://traxy.ai/news) [Affiliate ProgramNew](https://traxy.ai/affiliates) [Agency Partners](https://traxy.ai/agency) [Creators](https://traxy.ai/creators) [About traxy](https://traxy.ai/about) [Contact](https://traxy.ai/contact) **Legal**[Privacy Policy](https://traxy.ai/privacy-policy) [Terms of Service](https://traxy.ai/terms-of-service) [Cookie Policy](https://traxy.ai/cookie-policy) © 2026 traxy, inc. All rights reserved.