Cold Calling
Definitions of the cold calling terms B2B sales teams use. To see how SalesHive runs cold calling with US-based SDRs, visit our Cold Calling page.
Telemarketer
A telemarketer promotes offers, takes orders or arranges sales appointments by phone. Learn the duties, B2B role boundaries and checks to use when hiring a caller.
Learn moreB2B Telemarketing
B2B telemarketing is phone outreach from one business to people at other businesses. Reps reach the right decision maker, qualify interest and book a meeting for a salesperson, rather than trying to close a sale on the first call.
Learn moreTelemarketing
Telemarketing is selling, or setting up a sale, over the phone. It covers outbound calls to prospects and inbound calls from them, to consumers or to businesses. In B2B the goal is usually a qualified meeting, not a sale on the first call.
Learn moreOutsourced Telemarketing
Outsourced telemarketing is hiring an outside company to make outbound sales calls for you. In B2B, the provider supplies the callers, dialer and management, and books qualified meetings while you keep the close.
Learn moreSales Script
A sales script is a planned outline of what a sales rep says at each stage of a conversation: the opener, the questions, objection responses and the ask for a next step. Reps use it as a guide, not a speech to read.
Learn moreCold Calling Agency
A cold calling agency is an outside team that runs B2B phone prospecting for you: it builds the call list, makes the calls, qualifies interest and books meetings for your sales reps.
Learn moreTelesales
Telesales is selling over the phone. In B2B, a telesales rep calls prospects, qualifies their interest and either closes a simple sale or books a meeting for an account executive. It can be outbound, inbound or both.
Learn moreGatekeeper
A gatekeeper is the person or system that screens and controls access to a decision-maker, such as an executive assistant, receptionist, office manager, or switchboard. In B2B sales development cold calling, gatekeepers decide which calls get through, so effective SDRs learn to collaborate with them rather than simply trying to get past them.
Learn moreTCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a U.S. federal law that restricts telemarketing calls, texts, and certain automated dialing practices, including those used in B2B sales development. For SDR teams, it governs when, how, and to whom you can place outbound calls or send texts, especially to mobile numbers, and imposes steep per-violation penalties for non-compliance.
Learn moreCold Calling List
A cold calling list is a structured, prioritized database of B2B accounts and decision-makers that sales development reps (SDRs) call to generate pipeline. It typically includes firmographic data, contact details, buying role, and notes for personalization, and is maintained in a CRM or sales engagement platform so SDRs can run consistent, measurable outbound calling campaigns that align with overall revenue goals.
Learn moreCold Call Analysis
Cold call analysis is the systematic review of outbound sales calls to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve results. In B2B sales development, it combines quantitative metrics (connect rates, conversion rates, call duration) with qualitative insights from call recordings (messaging, objection handling, tone) to continuously optimize SDR performance and pipeline generation.
Learn moreB2C Telemarketing
B2C telemarketing is the practice of using outbound phone calls to sell products, services, or subscriptions directly to individual consumers rather than businesses. In a B2B sales development context, it often appears in hybrid contact centers where the same infrastructure, processes, and SDR skill sets that power B2B cold calling are also used to reach consumer decision-makers, prosumers, or very small business owners at home or mobile numbers.
Learn moreCold Calling Conversion Rate
Cold Calling Conversion Rate is the percentage of outbound cold calls that result in a meaningful next step, such as a booked meeting, qualified opportunity, or sales acceptance. In B2B sales development, it is typically measured as meetings booked per total dials or per live conversations, and used to evaluate SDR performance, list quality, messaging effectiveness, and overall outbound strategy efficiency.
Learn moreOff-Shore Cold Calling
Off-shore cold calling is the practice of using sales development reps (SDRs) based in lower-cost countries (such as the Philippines or India) to make outbound B2B prospecting calls into higher-cost markets like the U.S. or Western Europe. It combines labor arbitrage with modern sales tech stacks to generate pipeline, qualify leads, and book meetings while significantly reducing the fully loaded cost of an internal SDR team.
Learn moreCold Calling Script
A cold calling script is a structured talk track B2B SDRs and sales reps use to guide live outbound calls, including openers, discovery questions, value propositions, objection handling, and next-step language. Unlike a rigid word-for-word monologue, an effective script functions as a flexible framework that keeps conversations consistent, buyer-focused, and aligned with your ideal customer profile and sales process.
Learn moreCall Center
A call center is an operation that handles a high volume of phone calls, and often email or chat, for a business. Inbound call centers receive calls, for example to take orders or provide information and support; outbound call centers place calls, for example to promote products or raise donations. A B2B sales call center is one application: a centralized, often distributed team of sales development reps (SDRs) who conduct outbound and inbound sales calls to identify prospects, qualify leads, and book meetings for account executives. Using specialized dialing technology, scripts, and analytics, B2B call centers focus on repeatable conversations with decision-makers to consistently generate pipeline for complex products and services.
Learn moreClick-to-Call
Click-to-Call has two related meanings. For buyers, it is a phone number link or call button on a website or ad that starts a phone call when tapped. For sales teams (often called click-to-dial), it is a telephony feature that lets reps place a call by clicking a phone number in a CRM, browser, or sales engagement platform instead of dialing digits by hand. In sales development, it connects your prospect lists, sequences, and dialer so SDRs can move through high-volume cold-calling blocks with far less friction and error.
Learn moreCold Calling Team
A cold calling team is a specialized group of sales development representatives (SDRs) dedicated to generating B2B pipeline by engaging net-new prospects over the phone. They research target accounts, make high-volume outbound calls, qualify decision-makers, and book meetings for account executives, often working in tandem with email and other outbound channels to maximize connection and conversion rates.
Learn moreTelemarketing Companies
Telemarketing companies are specialized providers that run outbound calling programs to generate and qualify B2B sales opportunities. They supply trained sales development representatives (SDRs), calling technology, data, and scripts to book meetings, nurture prospects, and feed pipeline for their clients’ sales teams, often integrating with email, LinkedIn, and CRM systems for a full outbound engine.
Learn morePart-Time Cold Caller
A part-time cold caller is a sales development professional who spends a limited number of hours each week making outbound B2B calls to identify prospects, qualify leads, and book meetings for account executives. Instead of hiring a full-time SDR, companies use part-time cold callers, often outsourced or fractional, to add flexible, cost-efficient calling capacity that supports pipeline growth and tests new markets.
Learn moreNear Shore Cold Calling
Near shore cold calling is the practice of outsourcing outbound B2B sales calls to teams located in nearby or neighboring countries that share similar time zones and cultural alignment with your target market. It aims to combine the lower labor costs of outsourcing with higher call quality, real-time collaboration, and better buyer experience than distant offshore options, making it attractive for modern sales development teams focused on pipeline generation and meeting setting.
Learn moreCold Calling Outsourcing
Cold calling outsourcing is the practice of hiring an external B2B sales development partner to handle outbound calling, prospecting, and appointment setting on your behalf. These specialized teams act as fractional SDRs, using your ICP, messaging, and tech stack (or theirs) to generate qualified meetings and pipeline while your internal team focuses on closing deals and strategy.
Learn moreCaller ID
Caller ID is the phone number, and sometimes the business name or logo, that displays on a recipient device when you place a call. In B2B sales development, the caller ID your SDRs dial from directly influences whether decision-makers pick up, how they perceive your brand, and whether carriers or spam filters flag your calls, making it a critical lever for cold-calling performance and pipeline growth.
Learn moreCall-to-Meeting Rate
Call-to-Meeting Rate is the percentage of outbound calls that result in a scheduled meeting, usually a qualified discovery or demo. In B2B sales development, it’s calculated by dividing the number of meetings booked by the total number of calls made in a period, and it helps SDR leaders understand how efficiently cold-calling activity is turning into real sales conversations and pipeline opportunities.
Learn more