Pick signals for what you sell

Start from what you sell, not from the list of signals. Each type of business tends to be needed at a different moment in a company's life.

Two ways to set up

• By what you sell. In the set-up wizard, type what you sell and choose the closest match. NewcoHunter sets up an alert aimed at companies likely to need it. You can find the same thing later under Likely Buyers in the menu.
• By industry and place. Choose a sector and, optionally, a region or city, and get every new company that fits.

Thinking in families

Signals are grouped into families. See Signal families for the full picture. As a rule of thumb:

If you sell...	Start with
Things every new business needs: accounting, banking, insurance, premises, web design	New companies
Things a growing business buys: finance, recruitment, larger premises, software	Scaling
Cost-saving or turnaround help	Shrinking
Insolvency, recovery or asset services	Failing
Things that follow a change: new director, new owner, office move	Changing

Keep it narrow

A narrow alert you read beats a broad one you ignore. Add a sector and a place first, then widen if you see too little. Remember that a signal tells you something happened, not that the company will buy. See Does a signal mean they will buy?

How you know it worked

Your first digest should be mostly companies you would be glad to call. If not, edit the search from Saved Searches and tighten it.