The B2B lead generation glossary

Outreach & deliverability

Cold email

Cold email is outbound email sent to a prospect who has not previously engaged with you, used to start a sales conversation rather than nurture an existing relationship. Effective B2B cold email pairs a verified list with personalized, multi-step sequences and depends on strong deliverability to reach the inbox at all. Cold Email Outreach →

Sequence

A sequence is a set of scheduled outbound messages, usually three to seven emails or LinkedIn touches sent over one to three weeks, that follows up on an initial outreach attempt. Each step adds new context or a different angle so a prospect who ignored the first message still has a reason to reply. Cold Email Outreach →

Cadence

Cadence describes the timing and channel mix behind a sequence: how many days pass between touches, which channels are used in what order, and how volume ramps over time. A well-paced cadence keeps outreach feeling human rather than automated, which protects both reply rates and account safety. LinkedIn Lead Generation →

Deliverability

Deliverability is the likelihood that an email reaches a recipient's inbox instead of spam or a bounce. It depends on sender reputation, authentication records, list quality, and sending volume, and it's the first thing to fix when open rates are low, since no amount of good copy helps a message nobody sees. Cold Email Outreach →

Domain warming

Domain warming is the practice of gradually increasing email volume from a new sending domain, typically over about three weeks, so mailbox providers build trust in it before a full campaign launches. Skipping this step is the most common reason new cold email domains land in spam. Cold Email Outreach →

SPF, DKIM and DMARC

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are email authentication records published in a domain's DNS that prove a message actually came from the domain it claims to. Mailbox providers use them to filter spoofed or spammy mail, so a sending domain without all three will see a growing share of email land in spam. Cold Email Outreach →

Open rate

Open rate is the percentage of delivered emails that a recipient opens, used as an early signal of subject line quality and inbox placement. It's a targeting and deliverability metric more than a copywriting one: a relevant email to the right person gets opened even with a plain subject line. Why Your Cold Email Open Rate Is Stuck Below 20 Percent →

Reply rate

Reply rate is the percentage of delivered messages that get any response, positive or negative, and it's the metric that matters most in outbound because it reflects whether the message actually resonated. It depends on list accuracy, message relevance, and how tightly the ICP is defined. Cold Email Outreach →

Connection request

A connection request is the first step in a LinkedIn outreach cadence, an invitation to connect that's typically personalized to reference something specific about the recipient. Accepted requests open the door to a value-first message sequence rather than an immediate sales pitch. LinkedIn Lead Generation →

Targeting & qualification

ICP

An ideal customer profile, or ICP, is a clear description of the buyers most likely to buy quickly, get results, and refer you, built from your best current or past customers rather than a wish list. It filters prospecting lists and shapes messaging so both point at the same buyer. How to Define Your ICP in 30 Minutes →

SDR

An SDR, or sales development representative, is the role responsible for outbound prospecting: researching accounts, running outreach sequences, and qualifying interest before handing a conversation to a closer. An SDR pod owns the whole outbound motion, from list building through multi-channel execution and pipeline reporting. Outbound SDR as a Service →

BDR

A BDR, or business development representative, does largely the same work as an SDR: outbound prospecting and early qualification. Some companies use the titles interchangeably, while others split them by channel or by whether the rep works inbound leads (SDR) versus pure cold outbound (BDR). Outbound SDR as a Service →

Qualified meeting

A qualified meeting is a booked call with a prospect who has been checked against agreed criteria, such as company size, role, and budget, before the meeting lands on a calendar. Tracking qualified meetings rather than raw bookings keeps a sales team's time focused on prospects who can actually buy. Appointment Setting →

Show rate

Show rate is the percentage of booked meetings a prospect actually attends. It's improved with calendar integrations, confirmation workflows, and reminders in the days before the call, and it's tracked alongside meetings booked and qualified rate as one of the core weekly outbound metrics. Appointment Setting →

MQL

An MQL, or marketing qualified lead, is a contact who has shown enough interest through marketing activity, such as downloading a lead magnet or attending a webinar, to be considered a stronger prospect than a cold contact, but who hasn't yet been vetted by sales as ready for a conversation.

SQL

An SQL, or sales qualified lead, is a contact that a sales team has reviewed and accepted as worth actively pursuing, typically because it matches the ICP and shows a real buying signal. It sits one step further down the funnel than an MQL, closer to a booked meeting.

Brand & positioning

Demand generation

Demand generation is marketing activity, usually paid social and search, designed to build awareness and capture interest from buyers who are already close to acting. It runs alongside outbound outreach rather than replacing it: prospects who already recognize a brand from ads reply to cold email and LinkedIn messages at a higher rate. Demand Generation & Paid →

Positioning

Positioning is the clear, specific claim about who you serve, what problem you solve, and why you're the better choice than the alternative, stated in a way a buyer can repeat back. Sharp positioning lifts reply rates, website conversion, and close rates because prospects understand the difference in one line. Brand Strategy & Positioning →

Messaging pillar

A messaging pillar is one of a small set, typically three, of core themes that a positioning statement breaks down into: a specific proof point, benefit, or differentiator that shows up consistently across a website, outreach copy, and sales conversations so every channel tells the same story. Brand Strategy & Positioning →

Brand voice guide

A brand voice guide documents the tone, vocabulary, and style a company uses across its writing, from cold email to website copy, so multiple writers and channels sound like one consistent business rather than a patchwork of individual styles. It usually follows a positioning and messaging pillars exercise. Brand Strategy & Positioning →

Go-to-market

A go-to-market strategy, or GTM plan, applies a company's core positioning to one specific launch, such as a new product or market, with a channel plan, content calendar, and outreach copy the team can act on. It answers who to reach, through which channels, and with what message, in what order. Go-to-Market & Messaging →

Operations & pipeline

CRM

A CRM, or customer relationship management system, is the system of record that tracks contacts, deals, and pipeline stages for a sales team. A CRM only stays useful with ongoing management, clean data, defined stages, and routing rules, since a tool set up once and never revisited quickly falls out of sync with reality. CRM Setup & Management →

Lead routing

Lead routing is the set of rules that assign an incoming lead to the right owner, whether that's by territory, company size, source, or round robin. Clear routing rules prevent leads from sitting unclaimed and make sure every prospect gets a timely, appropriate follow-up. CRM Setup & Management →

Pipeline

Pipeline is the collection of open deals moving through defined stages toward a close, tracked by value, stage, and conversion rate between stages. A healthy pipeline is visible in the CRM in real time and reflects what's actually happening in sales conversations rather than a rep's private spreadsheet. CRM Setup & Management →

Attribution

Attribution is tracking which channel, campaign, or touch actually generated a lead or a closed deal, so budget and effort can go toward what's working. In outbound, it means logging source on every contact in the CRM so pipeline results can be traced back to the sequence or channel that started them. Outbound SDR as a Service →

Lead magnet

A lead magnet is a piece of content or a tool, such as a guide, template, or calculator, offered in exchange for a prospect's contact information on a landing page. It gives a visitor a reason to convert before they're ready to talk to sales, and feeds the top of a funnel. Landing Pages & Sales Funnels →

Landing page and funnel

A landing page is a standalone page built around a single, clear offer, and a funnel is the sequence of pages and steps, from ad or email click through form and follow-up, that turns a visitor into a lead. Both are built and A/B tested around one offer at a time. Landing Pages & Sales Funnels →

Lead audit

A lead audit is a structured review of a company's funnel, ICP, messaging, and tooling that identifies where prospects are being lost and produces a prioritized plan to fix it. It's typically the starting point for a company unsure why outreach or a website is underperforming. Sales Funnel & Lead Audit →

Compliance

General definitions only. These are not legal advice; confirm your specific outreach program with counsel.

TCPA

The TCPA, or Telephone Consumer Protection Act, is a US federal law that restricts unsolicited calls and text messages to consumers, including rules around automated dialing and prior consent. It primarily governs phone and SMS outreach, not email, and businesses running outbound calling or texting should confirm their program meets current requirements with counsel.

CAN-SPAM

The CAN-SPAM Act is a US federal law that sets requirements for commercial email, including an accurate sender identity, a working return address, a clear opt-out mechanism, and honoring opt-out requests within 10 business days. It applies to cold email outreach and doesn't require prior consent before a first message, unlike some other countries' rules.