The B2B sales glossary
The language of outbound, defined.
Clear, practical definitions of the cold calling, email outreach, lead generation, and sales development terms that actually move pipeline. Written by the team that runs outbound every day.
438 terms and growing · 6 categories · Updated continuously
438
Terms defined
6
Categories
129K+
Meetings behind the advice
10 yrs
Running outbound
Impression
An impression is a single exposure of a person to your brand or message, such as seeing an email in their inbox, an ad in a feed, or a banner on a...Inbound Lead Generation
Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting and converting business buyers who proactively seek information or solutions, typically through...Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is a strategy for attracting people to your brand through helpful content and experiences instead of interruptive outreach. In B2B...Inbound Qualification
Inbound qualification is the process B2B sales development teams use to quickly evaluate and prioritize incoming leads from channels like web forms,...Industry Codes
Industry codes are standardized classification systems, such as SIC and NAICS, that categorize companies based on their primary line of business. In...Industry Segmentation
Industry segmentation is the practice of organizing target accounts into distinct industry or vertical groups, often using NAICS/SIC or self-reported...Influencer
An influencer is a person who shapes other people's decisions through expertise, authority, or trust. In B2B sales development, an influencer...In-House Cold Calling
In-house cold calling is when a B2B company builds and manages its own internal team of sales development representatives (SDRs) to make outbound...Inside Sales
Inside sales is a B2B selling model where SDRs and account executives engage prospects remotely, primarily via phone, email, video, and digital...Inside Sales Rep
An Inside Sales Rep is a B2B salesperson who sells remotely, primarily via phone, email, and video, rather than traveling to meet prospects in...Intent Data
Intent data is behavioral information captured from digital activities, such as content consumption, keyword searches, and comparison research, that...Key Accounts
Key accounts are the high-value target or existing customer organizations that generate or are expected to generate a disproportionate share of...Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the quantifiable metrics an organization uses to measure progress toward its most important goals. In B2B sales...Knowledge Base
A knowledge base is a centralized, searchable repository of information that a team or its customers use to find answers quickly. In B2B sales...Landing Page
A landing page is a standalone web page built to turn visitors into leads or customers by focusing them on one action. In B2B sales development, a...Lead
A lead is a person or organization that has shown some interest or fit for your product and is captured in your sales process for follow-up. In B2B...Lead Enrichment
Lead enrichment is the process of adding accurate, up-to-date firmographic, technographic, contact, and intent data to raw leads so B2B sales teams...Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of identifying and engaging potential B2B buyers (leads) who fit your ideal customer profile and may have intent to...Lead Generation Agency
A B2B lead generation agency is a specialized firm that builds and runs outbound prospecting programs, using channels like cold calling, email, and...Lead Generation Company
A lead generation company is a specialized B2B partner that builds qualified sales pipeline for its clients by researching target accounts,...Lead Generation Services
Lead generation services are specialized B2B programs that research, identify, and engage your ideal prospects across channels like cold email, cold...Lead Management
Lead management in B2B sales development is the end-to-end process of capturing, enriching, routing, engaging, and tracking prospects from first...Lead Qualification
Lead qualification in B2B sales development is the process SDRs use to determine whether a prospect is a good fit, has genuine buying intent, and is...Lead Score
Lead score is a numerical value that ranks B2B prospects by their likelihood to become qualified opportunities or customers, based on firmographic...Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is a structured method for ranking B2B prospects by assigning them a numeric value based on fit and buying intent, so sales development...Lead Source
A lead source is the primary channel or touchpoint through which a prospect first enters your pipeline, such as a search engine, paid campaign,...Lifetime Value (LTV)
Lifetime value (LTV) is the total revenue or profit a customer is expected to generate over the entire relationship with a company. In B2B sales...LinkedIn Automation
LinkedIn automation is the use of software and workflows to streamline repetitive LinkedIn activities like prospect research, connection requests,...LinkedIn Automation Platform
A LinkedIn automation platform is a software tool that automates repetitive LinkedIn outreach tasks, such as profile visits, connection requests,...LinkedIn Marketing
LinkedIn Marketing is the use of LinkedIn's professional network and ad tools to build a brand, reach a target audience, and generate leads. In B2B...List Building
List building is the process of identifying, researching, validating, and organizing a set of contacts or accounts to reach, such as an email list or...List Building Software
List building software is a category of B2B sales tools that helps revenue teams automatically identify, compile, and maintain targeted prospect...List Building Team
A List Building Team in B2B sales development is a specialized group, internal or outsourced, responsible for identifying, researching, verifying,...List Building Tools
List building tools are software platforms and data services that help B2B sales teams identify, compile, and enrich targeted lists of accounts and...List Cleaning
List cleaning is the ongoing process of verifying, correcting, and removing invalid, duplicate, or outdated records from a contact database. In B2B...List Cohort
A list cohort is a tightly defined subset of prospects or accounts within a larger outbound list that share common attributes, such as industry,...List Filtering
List filtering is the practice of narrowing a large contact or account database into smaller, prioritized segments using defined criteria. In B2B...List Provider
A list provider is a third-party data vendor or service that supplies targeted B2B prospect lists, typically including company, contact, role, and...List Scraping
List scraping is the automated extraction of data from websites or databases into a structured list, a common data-collection technique across...Definitions are step one. We run this playbook for clients every single day.
About this glossary
A working reference, not a textbook
The short version is on the surface. Open any question to go deeper.
It is a practical reference for the language of B2B outbound sales. Every entry explains a cold calling, email outreach, lead generation, or sales development term in plain English, with the context and best practices that actually matter when you run campaigns.
They come from the SalesHive team, the same strategists and SDRs who run outbound campaigns for thousands of clients every day. The goal is working knowledge you can apply, not textbook theory.
Search by name at the top of the page, jump straight to a letter with the A to Z rail, or filter by category. Each term links to a full entry with real benchmarks, best practices, expert tips, common challenges, and FAQs.
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