If you buy leads for a living, you've probably heard both terms thrown around loosely: "exit signal" and "growth signal." They sound similar, but they point in opposite directions, and mixing them up wastes outreach time on the wrong prospect at the wrong moment.
What an exit signal actually is
An exit signal is a documented, dated event suggesting a business owner is likely to sell, retire, or otherwise step away from the business — not eventually, but soon. The strongest exit signals include a founder's retirement announcement, a death of the owner with no successor already installed, or a documented health-driven exit. A weaker but still useful signal is an aging owner with no clear successor in place, even without a specific triggering event.
Exit signal leads are what business brokers, M&A advisors, and private acquirers want, because they identify a seller before that business is competitively shopped on a public marketplace like BizBuySell.
What a growth signal actually is
A growth signal points the opposite direction: a business that's expanding, not exiting. New equipment financing, added headcount, a second location, or a lease for larger space are all growth signals. These matter most to commercial lenders looking for businesses about to need capital, and to CRE brokers tracking companies about to outgrow their footprint.
Why the distinction matters for your outreach
Reaching out to a growing business with an acquisition pitch — or a retiring owner with a growth-capital pitch — burns the contact and your credibility with it. The signal should determine both who you contact and what you say when you do.
- Exit signal → business brokers, M&A advisors, private acquirers, search funds
- Growth signal → commercial lenders, growth equity, some CRE brokers
- Owner-occupier signal (a growth-signal variant) → CRE brokers specifically, ahead of a relocation or sale-leaseback
How we verify each type
Whichever signal type a lead is built around, we cross-check it against public records — state registries, licensing boards, obituary and news archives for exit signals, or equipment financing and permit filings for growth signals — before attaching a verified contact and sending it out. A signal without verification is just a guess with better branding.