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Your comprehensive reference for B2B sales, lead generation, and outbound marketing terminology. From ABM to warm leads, understand every term that matters for growing your pipeline.
128 terms covering B2B sales, lead generation, outbound marketing, and revenue operations.
A method of comparing two versions of an email, landing page, or sales message to determine which performs better. In outbound sales, A/B testing is commonly used to optimize subject lines, email body copy, CTAs, and sending times to improve open rates, reply rates, and conversions.
Optimize your cold emails with us →A strategic B2B marketing approach that focuses resources on a defined set of target accounts rather than casting a wide net. ABM aligns sales and marketing teams to create personalized campaigns for each high-value account, resulting in higher conversion rates and larger deal sizes.
See our ABM-powered outreach services →A data-driven methodology for ranking target accounts based on their likelihood to convert and their potential revenue value. Account scoring combines firmographic data, technographic signals, engagement history, and intent data to assign a numerical score that helps sales teams prioritize which accounts to pursue first.
Build your ICP with our free tool →The average annualized revenue per customer contract, excluding one-time fees. ACV is a key SaaS and B2B metric used to segment customers, measure sales performance, and forecast revenue. A higher ACV typically justifies a more hands-on, outbound sales approach.
The process of scheduling qualified sales meetings between a company's sales team and potential buyers. Appointment setting combines prospecting, outreach, and qualification to deliver sales-ready meetings directly onto the closer's calendar.
Learn about our appointment setting services →The total predictable revenue a company expects to receive annually from its subscription or recurring-revenue customers. ARR is the north-star metric for SaaS businesses and is calculated by multiplying monthly recurring revenue (MRR) by 12.
A sales qualification framework that evaluates prospects based on four criteria: Budget (can they afford it?), Authority (are they a decision maker?), Need (do they have a genuine pain?), and Timeline (when do they plan to buy?). BANT helps SDRs quickly determine whether a lead is worth pursuing.
A sales professional focused on generating new business opportunities, typically through outbound prospecting. BDRs identify potential customers, initiate contact via cold email, cold calling, or LinkedIn, and qualify leads before passing them to account executives.
A real-time database of IP addresses or domains that have been identified as sources of spam or unwanted email. Being placed on a blacklist (also called a blocklist) by services like Spamhaus, Barracuda, or SORBS causes emails from that IP or domain to be rejected or filtered to spam by receiving mail servers. Monitoring blacklist status and maintaining good sending practices are essential for cold email deliverability.
Protect your email reputation with Dewx →In email outreach, the percentage of sent emails that were undeliverable and returned by the recipient's mail server. A high bounce rate damages sender reputation and deliverability. Industry best practice is to keep bounce rates below 3%.
Improve your email deliverability →Behavioral signals that indicate a prospect is actively researching or considering a purchase. Intent data can come from website visits, content downloads, review site activity, and search queries. Sales teams use intent data to prioritize outreach to prospects most likely to buy.
A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. Buyer personas include demographics, job titles, goals, challenges, and buying behaviors that help sales and marketing teams craft targeted messaging.
Build your ICP with our free tool →The group of individuals within a target organization who collectively influence and make a purchasing decision. A typical B2B buying committee includes 6-10 stakeholders spanning roles like economic buyer, technical evaluator, end user, and executive sponsor. Successful outbound strategies map and engage multiple members of the buying committee simultaneously.
Learn how we engage buying committees →The complete process a B2B buyer goes through from recognizing a problem to selecting and purchasing a solution. The buying journey typically includes awareness, consideration, and decision stages, and modern buyers complete up to 70% of this journey independently before engaging with a sales rep.
A structured sequence of sales outreach activities (emails, calls, LinkedIn messages, etc.) spread over a defined period. A well-designed cadence ensures consistent follow-up and multi-channel touchpoints to maximize response rates from prospects.
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing spend, sales salaries, tools, and overhead. CAC is calculated by dividing total acquisition costs by the number of new customers gained. A healthy business maintains a CAC well below customer lifetime value (LTV).
The number of months it takes for a company to recoup the cost of acquiring a new customer. CAC payback period is calculated by dividing customer acquisition cost by the monthly gross margin per customer. A shorter payback period indicates a more efficient sales and marketing engine, with under 12 months generally considered healthy for SaaS businesses.
An internal advocate within a target account who actively supports and promotes your solution to other stakeholders in the buying committee. Champions have firsthand experience with the problem your product solves, possess organizational influence, and are willing to spend political capital to push the deal forward. Identifying and enabling a champion is one of the strongest predictors of deal success.
See our multi-channel approach →The percentage of customers who cancel or fail to renew their subscription within a given time period. Churn rate is the inverse of retention and directly impacts recurring revenue growth. Reducing churn is often more cost-effective than acquiring new customers, making it a critical metric for subscription-based businesses.
The practice of making unsolicited phone calls to potential customers who have not previously expressed interest. Despite being one of the oldest outbound tactics, cold calling remains highly effective for B2B sales when combined with research, personalization, and a strong value proposition.
Explore our cold calling services →An unsolicited email sent to a prospect with no prior relationship to introduce a product or service. Effective cold emails are personalized, concise, and offer clear value. When done right, cold email is one of the most scalable and cost-effective B2B lead generation channels.
Learn about our cold email services →The percentage of cold calls that result in a live conversation with the intended prospect. Connect rate is a key cold calling metric that depends on factors like time of day, phone number accuracy, caller ID reputation, and whether the prospect answers unknown numbers. Industry averages hover around 5-10% for B2B cold calls.
Boost your connect rates with our cold calling team →The percentage of prospects who take a desired action, such as replying to an email, booking a meeting, or becoming a customer. Conversion rate is tracked at every stage of the sales funnel and is a key indicator of campaign effectiveness.
Software used to manage all interactions with current and potential customers. CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive centralize contact data, track deal progress, automate follow-ups, and provide reporting to help sales teams close more deals efficiently.
The ongoing practice of maintaining clean, accurate, and up-to-date data within a CRM system. CRM hygiene includes deduplicating records, updating stale contact information, standardizing data fields, and removing invalid entries. Poor CRM hygiene leads to wasted outreach, inaccurate reporting, and unreliable pipeline forecasts.
A prompt in a marketing message or sales email that tells the recipient what to do next, such as "Book a demo," "Download the guide," or "Reply to this email." A clear, low-friction CTA is critical for driving conversions in outbound campaigns.
The total revenue a business expects to earn from a single customer over the entire duration of their relationship. LTV is used to determine how much a company can afford to spend on acquiring new customers (CAC) while remaining profitable.
The process of enhancing raw contact or company data with additional information such as job titles, company size, industry, technographics, and intent signals. Enriched data allows sales teams to better segment, personalize, and prioritize their outreach efforts.
The monetary value of a sales opportunity or closed deal. Average deal size is a critical metric for forecasting revenue and determining the appropriate sales motion -- larger deals typically require more touchpoints, longer sales cycles, and senior-level engagement.
A defined step in the sales pipeline that represents where an opportunity currently sits in the buying process. Common deal stages include prospecting, discovery, proposal, negotiation, and closed-won/closed-lost. Each stage has specific entry and exit criteria that help sales teams forecast revenue accurately and identify which actions are needed to advance the deal.
The individual within a target company who has the authority and budget to approve a purchase. Identifying and reaching decision makers early in the sales process is essential for shortening sales cycles and avoiding deals that stall at the approval stage.
The ability of an email to successfully reach a recipient's inbox rather than being filtered into spam or blocked entirely. Deliverability depends on sender reputation, domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), email content, and list quality.
Check your email with our Cold Email Grader →A comprehensive marketing strategy focused on creating awareness and interest in a company's products or services to build a qualified pipeline. Unlike lead generation, which captures existing demand, demand generation creates new demand through content marketing, thought leadership, events, and educational campaigns that position the brand as a trusted authority.
An initial sales conversation designed to understand a prospect's needs, challenges, goals, and buying process. Discovery calls help sales reps qualify opportunities, build rapport, and tailor their pitch to the specific pain points of each prospect.
An email authentication protocol that uses cryptographic signatures to verify that an email message was sent by an authorized server and has not been altered in transit. DKIM adds a digital signature header to outgoing emails that receiving servers validate against a public key published in the sender's DNS records. Proper DKIM setup is essential for cold email deliverability.
Check your email authentication setup →An email authentication policy that builds on SPF and DKIM to protect a domain from being used in email spoofing and phishing attacks. DMARC tells receiving mail servers what to do when an email fails SPF or DKIM checks -- none, quarantine, or reject. Implementing a DMARC policy is critical for maintaining domain reputation and ensuring high inbox placement rates.
Verify your DMARC policy →The process of gradually increasing email sending volume from a new domain or IP address to build a positive sender reputation with email service providers. Skipping warm-up often results in emails landing in spam. A proper warm-up typically takes 2-4 weeks.
Learn about our cold email infrastructure →An automated series of pre-written emails sent to prospects over a set period. Drip campaigns nurture leads by delivering relevant content and touchpoints at scheduled intervals, keeping your brand top-of-mind until the prospect is ready to engage.
A series of automated or semi-automated emails sent in a specific order to a prospect. Unlike one-off emails, sequences include follow-ups, varied messaging angles, and different CTAs to maximize the chance of getting a response.
See how we craft winning sequences →The practice of gradually sending and receiving emails from a new email account to establish a positive sender reputation. Warm-up tools automate this process by exchanging emails with other accounts, marking them as important, and pulling them from spam folders.
A marketing and social selling strategy where employees actively promote their company's brand, content, and value proposition through their personal social media profiles, particularly LinkedIn. Employee advocacy programs amplify reach organically, build trust through authentic voices, and generate inbound leads at a fraction of the cost of paid advertising.
Explore our personal branding services →The percentage of recipients who interact with your outreach, including opens, clicks, replies, or social media interactions. Engagement rate is a leading indicator of campaign health and is used to optimize messaging, targeting, and timing.
A sales approach focused on closing large, complex deals with major organizations. Enterprise sales typically involve long sales cycles (3-12+ months), multiple stakeholders, customized solutions, and higher average contract values compared to SMB or mid-market sales.
Additional recurring revenue generated from existing customers through upsells, cross-sells, and add-ons beyond their initial contract value. Expansion revenue is a key growth lever for SaaS businesses because it increases customer lifetime value without incurring new acquisition costs. A healthy expansion rate can offset churn and drive net revenue retention above 100%.
Descriptive attributes used to categorize and segment companies, similar to how demographics categorize individuals. Firmographic data includes company size, industry, annual revenue, location, number of employees, and organizational structure. Firmographics are foundational to building an ICP and targeting the right accounts for outbound campaigns.
Build your ICP with our free tool →Behavioral signals collected directly from your own digital properties that indicate a prospect's interest in your product or service. Sources include website page visits, content downloads, pricing page views, demo request form submissions, and email engagement. First-party intent data is highly reliable and actionable because it reflects direct interaction with your brand.
The act of re-engaging a prospect after an initial touchpoint. Research shows that 80% of sales require at least five follow-ups, yet most salespeople give up after one or two. Effective follow-ups add new value rather than simply "checking in."
A model representing the stages a prospect goes through from initial awareness to becoming a customer. The typical B2B sales funnel includes stages like awareness, interest, consideration, evaluation, and purchase. Funnel metrics help identify where prospects drop off.
A unit of measurement equal to one full-time employee's workload. In B2B sales outsourcing, FTE is used to quantify the dedicated resources assigned to a client's campaign, such as "2 FTE SDRs focused on outbound prospecting."
A person (such as an executive assistant or office manager) who controls access to a decision maker. In cold calling and outbound sales, successfully navigating gatekeepers is a critical skill that requires tact, confidence, and a compelling reason to connect.
The strategy and plan a company uses to launch a product or enter a new market, encompassing target audience, messaging, pricing, channels, and sales motions. A strong GTM strategy aligns marketing, sales, and product teams around a unified approach to customer acquisition.
A detailed description of the type of company that would get the most value from your product or service. An ICP includes firmographic criteria such as industry, company size, revenue, geography, and technology stack. Targeting the right ICP is the foundation of effective outbound sales.
Build your ICP with our free tool →The percentage of sent emails that successfully land in the recipient's primary inbox rather than being routed to spam, promotions, or other folders. Unlike deliverability rate, which only measures whether an email was accepted by the receiving server, inbox placement rate specifically tracks whether the email reached the inbox. It is the most accurate measure of email campaign reach and is influenced by sender reputation, authentication, content quality, and engagement history.
Maximize your inbox placement →A marketing methodology that attracts customers through valuable content, SEO, social media, and other pull strategies rather than interruptive outbound tactics. Inbound marketing generates leads who come to you, while outbound proactively reaches out to prospects.
Explore our SEO services →Information collected about a prospect's online behavior that signals their interest in a particular topic, product, or solution. Intent data sources include website visits, content consumption, search activity, and third-party data providers like Bombora or G2.
Specific behavioral indicators that reveal a prospect or account is actively researching solutions related to your product category. Intent signals include surges in content consumption around relevant topics, visits to competitor websites, review site comparisons, and job postings for related roles. Sales teams use intent signals to time their outreach for maximum relevance and receptivity.
A sales model where reps sell remotely via phone, email, and video calls rather than meeting prospects in person. Inside sales is the dominant model in B2B SaaS and technology companies, offering greater scalability and lower costs than field sales.
A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a team or campaign is achieving its objectives. Common B2B sales KPIs include meetings booked, pipeline generated, conversion rates, average deal size, and revenue closed.
A strategically important customer or target account that receives dedicated attention and resources due to their high revenue potential or strategic value. Key account management involves building deep relationships and providing tailored solutions to retain and grow these accounts.
A person or company that has shown some level of interest in your product or service, or matches your ideal customer profile. Leads can be generated through inbound marketing, outbound prospecting, referrals, events, or purchased data lists.
The process of identifying and attracting potential customers for a business. B2B lead generation encompasses both inbound strategies (content, SEO, ads) and outbound strategies (cold email, cold calling, LinkedIn outreach) to fill the sales pipeline with qualified opportunities.
Explore our lead generation services →A valuable piece of content or resource offered for free in exchange for a prospect's contact information. Common lead magnets include ebooks, whitepapers, templates, calculators, checklists, and free tools. In demand generation, lead magnets attract top-of-funnel prospects who can then be nurtured through email sequences and eventually qualified for sales outreach.
The process of building relationships with prospects at every stage of the buyer's journey by providing relevant information and value. Lead nurturing keeps your company top-of-mind for prospects who are not yet ready to buy, increasing the likelihood of future conversion.
A methodology for ranking leads based on their perceived value to the organization. Lead scoring assigns points based on demographic fit (job title, company size) and behavioral signals (website visits, email opens) to help sales teams prioritize their outreach.
The practice of using LinkedIn to connect with, engage, and convert B2B prospects. LinkedIn outreach includes connection requests, direct messages, content engagement, and InMail campaigns. It is particularly effective for reaching senior decision makers in professional contexts.
Learn about our LinkedIn outreach services →A score from 0 to 100 calculated by LinkedIn that measures how effectively a user leverages the platform for social selling. SSI is based on four pillars: establishing a professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships. A higher SSI correlates with greater visibility, more connection acceptances, and stronger outreach results.
Boost your LinkedIn presence →The process of creating targeted lists of prospects that match your ICP for outbound campaigns. List building involves using data providers, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, CRM data, and manual research to compile accurate contact information for potential buyers.
See Customer Lifetime Value (CLV/LTV). LTV represents the total net profit a company expects to earn from a customer over the duration of their business relationship. It is a critical input for determining sustainable customer acquisition costs.
An advanced sales qualification framework that evaluates opportunities based on six criteria: Metrics (quantified business impact), Economic Buyer (person with budget authority), Decision Criteria (how they evaluate solutions), Decision Process (steps to approval), Identify Pain (the core business problem), and Champion (internal advocate). MEDDIC is widely used in enterprise sales for complex, high-value deals.
A lead that has been deemed more likely to become a customer based on their engagement with marketing content or campaigns. MQLs have met certain criteria (such as downloading a whitepaper or attending a webinar) and are passed to the sales team for further qualification.
The predictable revenue a subscription-based business earns each month from active customers. MRR is calculated by multiplying the total number of paying customers by the average revenue per account. It is the foundational metric for tracking SaaS growth, and when multiplied by 12, yields ARR.
An outbound sales strategy that combines multiple communication channels -- such as email, phone, LinkedIn, and direct mail -- in a coordinated cadence. Multi-channel outreach significantly increases response rates compared to single-channel approaches by meeting prospects where they are most active.
See our multi-channel approach →A sales strategy of building relationships with multiple stakeholders within a target account rather than relying on a single point of contact. Multi-threading reduces deal risk by ensuring that if one contact leaves the company, changes roles, or loses influence, the opportunity remains alive through other engaged stakeholders.
See our ABM approach to outreach →The percentage of prospects contacted who ultimately schedule a sales meeting. Meeting booking rate is the primary performance metric for SDR teams and appointment setting campaigns. Industry benchmarks vary, but a 2-5% rate from cold outreach is generally considered strong.
A response to an outbound sales message where the prospect explicitly declines interest, asks to be removed from the list, or expresses dissatisfaction. Tracking negative reply rate separately from positive and neutral replies helps sales teams refine targeting, improve messaging, and maintain compliance. A high negative reply rate often indicates poor ICP fit, overly aggressive messaging, or list quality issues.
A metric that measures the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over a given period, including the effects of upgrades, downgrades, and churn. An NRR above 100% means the company is growing revenue from its existing customer base even without acquiring new customers. Top-performing SaaS companies target NRR of 110-130%.
The skill of addressing a prospect's concerns or reasons for not moving forward in the sales process. Effective objection handling involves listening, empathizing, reframing concerns, and providing evidence or social proof to overcome resistance.
The percentage of email recipients who open a given email. While open rate has become less reliable due to Apple Mail Privacy Protection and similar features, it remains a useful directional metric for evaluating subject line effectiveness and deliverability.
A structured, repeatable framework for executing outbound sales that defines target account selection, messaging strategy, channel mix, cadence structure, qualification criteria, and handoff processes. A well-defined outbound methodology ensures consistency across SDR teams and enables data-driven optimization of every stage of the outreach process.
Explore our outbound sales services →A proactive sales strategy where reps initiate contact with potential customers through cold email, cold calling, LinkedIn outreach, and other direct channels. Unlike inbound, outbound sales does not wait for prospects to come to you -- it targets specific accounts and decision makers.
Explore our outbound sales services →The act of proactively contacting prospects through various channels to generate interest and schedule meetings. Effective outreach is personalized, value-driven, and persistent, typically involving multiple touchpoints across email, phone, and social media.
A specific problem or challenge that a prospect or their company is experiencing. Identifying and addressing pain points is the foundation of consultative selling -- the best sales messaging speaks directly to the prospect's most pressing challenges.
The practice of tailoring sales and marketing messages to individual prospects based on their specific role, company, industry, or behavior. Personalization goes beyond using a first name -- it involves referencing relevant business challenges, recent news, or mutual connections.
The total value and volume of active sales opportunities at various stages of the sales process. A healthy pipeline has enough qualified deals to meet revenue targets, with a balanced distribution across stages. Pipeline generation is the primary goal of outbound sales efforts.
The ratio of total pipeline value to the revenue target for a given period. For example, if a team has a $1M quota and $3M in pipeline, their pipeline coverage is 3x. Most B2B sales organizations aim for 3-4x coverage to account for deals that will slip, stall, or be lost. Insufficient pipeline coverage is a leading indicator of missed revenue targets.
A metric that measures how quickly deals move through the sales pipeline. Pipeline velocity is calculated as: (Number of Deals x Average Deal Value x Win Rate) / Average Sales Cycle Length. Increasing any of these variables accelerates revenue generation.
The percentage of outreach messages that generate a favorable response indicating genuine interest, such as agreeing to a meeting, requesting more information, or asking for a proposal. Positive reply rate is a more meaningful metric than total reply rate because it excludes negative responses and out-of-office replies, providing a true measure of campaign effectiveness and message-market fit.
See how we optimize reply rates →A sales calling tool that automatically dials the next number on a list as soon as the previous call ends, eliminating manual dialing and maximizing the number of calls a rep can make per hour. Unlike predictive dialers, power dialers connect one call at a time, ensuring a rep is always available when a prospect answers. Power dialers are essential for high-volume cold calling operations.
Learn about our cold calling services →The first stage of the sales process where reps identify and reach out to potential customers. Prospecting involves researching target accounts, finding contact information, and initiating conversations through cold outreach to build a pipeline of opportunities.
A prospect who has been vetted and meets specific criteria indicating they are a good fit and have genuine potential to become a customer. Qualification typically assesses budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT) or similar frameworks.
A predefined sales target that a rep or team is expected to achieve within a specific time period. Quotas can be measured in revenue, meetings booked, deals closed, or pipeline generated. They serve as the primary benchmark for individual and team performance.
A strategic function that aligns sales, marketing, and customer success operations to drive revenue growth. RevOps teams own the tech stack, data, processes, and reporting that enable go-to-market teams to work efficiently and make data-driven decisions.
A performance metric that measures the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. In B2B sales, ROI is calculated by comparing the revenue generated from a campaign or service against its total cost. A positive ROI means the investment is generating profit.
See our client results and ROI →A lead that has been reviewed and formally accepted by the sales team as meeting the agreed-upon criteria for follow-up. SAL is the handoff stage between marketing and sales, sitting between MQL and SQL in the lead lifecycle. Tracking SAL acceptance rates helps identify misalignment between marketing and sales on lead quality definitions and ensures accountability on both sides of the funnel.
Any content or materials used by sales teams to support the selling process and move deals forward. Sales collateral includes case studies, one-pagers, ROI calculators, product demos, battle cards, and proposal templates. Effective collateral addresses buyer objections, demonstrates value, and differentiates your solution from competitors at each stage of the buying journey.
The entire process from initial contact with a prospect to closing the deal. B2B sales cycles vary widely -- from a few weeks for SMB deals to 6-12+ months for enterprise. Understanding and optimizing each stage of the sales cycle is key to predictable revenue growth.
The function within a sales organization responsible for the top of the funnel: prospecting, outreach, and qualifying leads. Sales development teams (staffed by SDRs and BDRs) generate pipeline that is then handed off to account executives for closing.
The strategic process of providing sales teams with the content, tools, training, and resources they need to effectively engage buyers and close deals. Sales enablement bridges the gap between marketing and sales by ensuring reps have the right materials, messaging frameworks, and competitive intelligence at every stage of the sales process.
A software platform that helps sales teams manage and automate multi-channel outreach at scale. Sales engagement platforms like Outreach, Salesloft, and Apollo centralize email sequences, call tasks, LinkedIn steps, and analytics in one interface, enabling SDRs to execute cadences efficiently while tracking engagement across every touchpoint.
See how Dewx powers outreach at scale →The collection and analysis of data about prospects, accounts, and markets to inform and improve sales strategies. Sales intelligence encompasses contact data, firmographics, technographics, intent signals, organizational charts, funding history, and news alerts. Platforms like ZoomInfo, Apollo, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator provide sales intelligence that enables reps to personalize outreach and prioritize high-potential opportunities.
A comprehensive document that codifies a company's sales process, including target personas, messaging templates, objection-handling scripts, qualification frameworks, competitive positioning, and best practices. A well-maintained playbook ensures consistency across the sales team, accelerates onboarding for new reps, and provides a repeatable framework for success.
A sales professional who focuses on outbound prospecting and lead qualification. SDRs reach out to potential customers via cold email, phone, and LinkedIn, qualify their interest and fit, and book meetings for account executives. SDRs are the engine of outbound pipeline generation.
Hire dedicated SDRs through Dewx →A score assigned by email service providers (ESPs) that reflects the trustworthiness and quality of an email sender. Sender reputation is influenced by bounce rates, spam complaints, engagement metrics, sending volume consistency, and domain authentication. A poor sender reputation results in emails being filtered to spam or blocked entirely, making it the single most important factor in cold email deliverability.
Protect your sender reputation with Dewx →A predefined series of outreach steps (emails, calls, LinkedIn touches) executed in a specific order with set time intervals between each step. Sequences automate the follow-up process and ensure consistent multi-touch engagement with every prospect in a campaign.
A formal commitment between a service provider and client that defines expected deliverables, quality standards, and timelines. In B2B sales, SLAs often exist between marketing and sales (e.g., marketing agrees to deliver X MQLs per month, sales agrees to follow up within Y hours).
An email authentication protocol that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of a domain. SPF works by publishing a DNS record that lists approved sending IP addresses. When a receiving server gets an email, it checks the SPF record to verify the sender is legitimate. SPF is one of three essential authentication protocols (alongside DKIM and DMARC) for cold email deliverability.
Verify your SPF setup →A lead that has been vetted by the sales team and confirmed as a genuine opportunity worth pursuing. SQLs have typically had a discovery call, demonstrated clear need, and met criteria around budget, authority, and timeline. SQLs are further along the funnel than MQLs.
A rating that indicates the likelihood of an email being flagged as spam by email service providers. Spam scores are influenced by subject lines, content, sending patterns, domain reputation, and technical authentication. Lower spam scores mean better inbox placement.
Check your email's spam score →An email address operated by ISPs or anti-spam organizations specifically to catch senders who email unsolicited or poorly maintained lists. Spam traps look like real addresses but are never used for legitimate communication. Hitting a spam trap severely damages sender reputation and can result in domain blacklisting. Maintaining clean, verified email lists is the best defense against spam traps.
Keep your lists clean with Dewx →The average number of days a deal spends in each stage of the sales pipeline before advancing to the next stage or being marked as lost. Tracking stage duration helps identify bottlenecks in the sales process, forecast close dates more accurately, and highlight deals that are stalling and may need intervention or requalification.
A spike in research or content consumption activity by an account around a specific topic, detected by intent data providers. Surge signals indicate that multiple individuals at a company have suddenly increased their interest in a subject area relevant to your product. These signals represent high-priority outreach triggers because they suggest an active buying process may be underway.
The total revenue opportunity available if a company captured 100% of its target market. TAM helps businesses understand the upper bound of their growth potential and is used by investors and leadership to assess market opportunity and inform go-to-market strategy.
A specific company identified as a high-priority prospect for outbound sales efforts. Target accounts are selected based on ICP criteria and are the focus of ABM strategies, personalized outreach, and dedicated sales resources.
Data that describes the technology stack, tools, and software a company currently uses. Technographic data includes CRM platforms, marketing automation tools, cloud infrastructure, and other technologies. Sales teams use technographics to identify companies using complementary or competing solutions, enabling more targeted and relevant outreach messaging.
Build your ICP with our free tool →Behavioral signals collected from external sources outside your own digital properties that indicate a prospect or account is actively researching topics related to your product category. Third-party intent data is aggregated by providers like Bombora, G2, and TrustRadius from publisher networks, review sites, and content consumption patterns across the web.
In intent data, groups of related keywords and subjects that are tracked together to identify when an account is researching a particular solution category. For example, a "sales automation" topic cluster might include terms like CRM, email sequencing, pipeline management, and sales engagement. When an account shows elevated research activity across a topic cluster, it signals potential buying intent.
Any interaction between a prospect and your company throughout the sales process. Touchpoints include emails, phone calls, LinkedIn messages, website visits, webinar attendance, and content downloads. Research suggests it takes 8-12 touchpoints to convert a cold prospect into a meeting.
A significant occurrence at a target company that creates a timely reason for outreach and increases the likelihood of a positive response. Trigger events include leadership changes, funding rounds, mergers and acquisitions, product launches, office expansions, and technology adoption. Sales teams that leverage trigger events in their outreach see significantly higher response and conversion rates.
A clear statement that explains how your product or service solves a customer's problem, delivers specific benefits, and differentiates you from competitors. A compelling value proposition is the foundation of all effective sales messaging and outreach campaigns.
A specific industry or market segment that a company targets with specialized products, services, or messaging. Focusing on verticals allows sales teams to develop deep expertise, relevant case studies, and tailored value propositions that resonate with prospects in that industry.
See the industries we serve →A cold calling technique where a pre-recorded voicemail message is automatically delivered to a prospect's voicemail box without ringing their phone. Voicemail drops save time by eliminating the need to manually leave messages, ensure consistent messaging quality, and serve as an additional touchpoint in a multi-channel cadence. They are especially effective when paired with a follow-up email sent at the same time.
Explore our cold calling services →A prospect who has shown some level of interest or engagement with your company, such as opening emails, visiting your website, or engaging with content. Warm leads are more receptive to outreach than cold prospects and typically convert at higher rates.
The initial phase of building sending reputation for a new email domain or account before launching full-scale cold outreach campaigns. During the warm-up period, sending volume is gradually increased over 2-4 weeks while engagement metrics are carefully monitored. Rushing through or skipping the warm-up period is the most common cause of new cold email campaigns landing in spam from day one.
Learn about our email infrastructure →An online seminar or presentation used in B2B marketing to educate prospects, demonstrate thought leadership, and generate leads. Webinars are effective for attracting MQLs and nurturing prospects through the middle of the funnel with valuable, in-depth content.
Browse our upcoming webinars →The percentage of sales opportunities that result in a closed-won deal. Win rate is calculated by dividing the number of deals won by the total number of opportunities in a given period. It is a key indicator of sales team effectiveness, deal qualification rigor, and product-market fit. Improving win rate has a direct multiplier effect on pipeline velocity and revenue.
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Social Selling
The practice of using social media platforms (primarily LinkedIn) to find, connect with, and nurture prospects. Social selling involves sharing valuable content, engaging with prospects' posts, and building relationships that eventually lead to sales conversations.
Explore our personal branding services →