How to Find Buyers (Not Just Mentions) on Reddit

The Mention Trap

You set up a keyword monitoring tool. Alerts start flowing in. You feel productive.

Then reality hits: 90% of these mentions are useless.

Someone mentioned your keyword in a meme. Another person complained about a problem but isn't actually looking for solutions. A third is just casually discussing the industry.

Buried somewhere in that noise? A person who's actively looking to buy. They have budget. They have urgency. They're comparing options right now.

The difference between a mention and a buyer is intent.

What is Buying Intent?

Buying intent is the likelihood that someone will make a purchase based on their current behavior and statements. On Reddit, buying intent shows up in how people write their posts.

Low Intent (The Browsers)

"What do you guys think about CRMs in general?"

This person is curious. They might buy something in 6 months. Or never. They're not your priority.

Medium Intent (The Researchers)

"I'm evaluating CRM options for my team. Has anyone used Salesforce vs HubSpot?"

Getting warmer. They're actively researching, but they're still in the comparison phase. Worth engaging, but not urgent.

High Intent (The Buyers)

"We need a CRM that integrates with Slack, costs under $50/user, and can be set up this week. Currently on spreadsheets and it's killing us. What do you recommend?"

This is gold. They have:

• Specific requirements (Slack integration, $50/user)
• Urgency (this week)
• Pain (it's killing us)
• Budget awareness (cost under $X)

This person will buy something soon. The question is whether they'll buy from you.

The 7 Signals of Buying Intent on Reddit

Signal 1: Specific Requirements

"Looking for a tool that does X, Y, and Z"

When someone lists exact features, they're past the "should I even do this?" phase. They know what they need.

Intent boost: +20 points

Signal 2: Budget Mentions

"Budget is around $100/month" or "Need something affordable for a small team"

Talking about money means they're ready to spend money. Even "affordable" signals they've accepted they'll pay something.

Intent boost: +25 points

Signal 3: Timeline Urgency

"Need this by end of month" or "ASAP" or "Our current solution expires next week"

Deadlines create action. Urgency means they're not just browsing—they're deciding.

Intent boost: +30 points

Signal 4: Competitor Dissatisfaction

"I've been using [Competitor] but it's too expensive/slow/complicated"

They're already paying for a solution. They're motivated to switch. Lower friction than acquiring a first-time buyer.

Intent boost: +25 points

Signal 5: Business Context

"For my startup" or "Our company needs" or "The sales team is struggling with"

B2B buyers. Real budgets. Actual decision-makers or influencers.

Intent boost: +20 points

Signal 6: Comparison Shopping

"Comparing A vs B vs C—which would you recommend?"

They've narrowed to a shortlist. A recommendation here could close the deal.

Intent boost: +15 points

Signal 7: Pain Amplification

"This is driving me crazy" or "Wasted hours on this" or "Can't believe there's no good solution"

Emotional language indicates genuine frustration. Frustrated people buy solutions.

Intent boost: +20 points

How AI Intent Scoring Works

Instead of manually reading every post looking for these signals, AI does it instantly:

1. Natural Language Processing analyzes the post text
2. Signal detection identifies buying intent markers
3. Scoring algorithm weighs signals and context
4. Score output (0-100) prioritizes your attention

A post with urgency + budget + specific requirements might score 95. A casual industry discussion might score 15. You focus on the 95s.

The Math of Intent-Based Prospecting

Let's say you track 10 keywords across 20 subreddits.

Without intent scoring:

• 200 alerts per week
• 10% are actual opportunities (20)
• You spend 30 seconds per alert = 100 minutes
• You catch maybe half the good ones = 10 leads

With intent scoring:

• Same 200 alerts, automatically scored
• You review only the 20 high-intent ones
• 30 seconds each = 10 minutes
• You catch 18+ of the 20 = 18 leads

80% more leads in 90% less time. That's not incremental—it's transformational.

Real Examples: Low vs High Intent

Example 1: CRM Keywords

Low Intent (Score: 22)

"Do people still use CRMs? Feel like there's got to be a better way to manage customer stuff."

Philosophical musing. No urgency. No specific need.

High Intent (Score: 91)

"Just raised our seed round and hiring 3 SDRs next month. Need a CRM that's dead simple, integrates with Gmail, and won't require a consultant to set up. Budget: $30-50/user. What are people using in 2026?"

Funded startup. Imminent hire. Specific requirements. Clear budget. This is a buyer.

Example 2: Project Management Tools

Low Intent (Score: 18)

"Notion vs Asana discussion thread—what's everyone's hot takes?"

Discussion bait. No buying signals.

High Intent (Score: 87)

"Our team of 12 just moved to remote and Slack isn't cutting it for project management. Need something visual (like a Kanban board), under $15/user, that works with our existing Google Workspace. Going to pick something this weekend."

Team size. Budget. Integration needs. Timeline. Decision this weekend.

What to Do With High-Intent Leads

Finding them is step one. Converting them is the game.

Respond Fast

High-intent posts often have a 24-48 hour decision window. If you respond in 4 hours vs 4 days, you might be the difference between winning and losing.

Lead With Value

Don't pitch immediately. Answer their question. Show expertise. Then introduce your solution in context.

Bad response:

"Check out our CRM at [link]! We have all those features."

Good response:

"For remote teams with that budget, the main options are X, Y, and Z. X is great if you need heavy customization. Y is simpler but limited reporting. We built Z specifically for this use case—the Gmail integration is native, not an add-on. Happy to answer questions about any of them."

Qualify Further

A high-intent post is a signal, not a guarantee. Ask follow-up questions:

• "Are you the one making the final decision?"
• "What's your main priority—price, features, or ease of setup?"
• "When do you need to have something in place?"

Multi-Platform Follow-Up

Reddit is great for discovery, but B2B deals often close over email or LinkedIn. Find their professional profile. Connect. Continue the conversation.

Building Your Intent-Based System

1. Set up AI-powered monitoring (not just keywords)
2. Define your intent threshold (e.g., only show me 70+ scores)
3. Create response templates for common high-intent scenarios
4. Track conversions from Reddit → demo → customer
5. Refine keywords based on what generates high-intent leads

The Bottom Line

Every day, people post on Reddit ready to buy. The question isn't whether they exist—it's whether you'll find them.

Keyword monitoring finds mentions. Intent scoring finds buyers.

In 2026, the founders winning on Reddit aren't the ones with the most alerts. They're the ones who can instantly identify the 5% of posts that actually matter.

Want to see your highest-intent leads from Reddit? Try FindLeadsBot free and let AI do the sorting for you.