B2B Lead Generation Glossary

The process of identifying and attracting potential business customers (leads) who may be interested in your company's products or services. Unlike B2C, B2B lead generation focuses on selling to other businesses.

A detailed description of the type of company that would benefit most from your product or service. ICPs include characteristics like industry, company size, revenue, pain points, and technology stack.

A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data. Unlike ICP (which describes companies), buyer personas describe the individuals within those companies who make purchasing decisions.

A methodology for ranking prospects based on their perceived value to your organization. Lead scores help sales teams prioritize which leads to focus on based on fit and engagement.

A numerical rating (typically 0-100) that indicates how well a prospect matches your Ideal Customer Profile. Higher fit scores suggest the prospect is more likely to become a customer.

The process of extracting business intelligence from a company's website and online presence. This includes identifying industry, company size, products/services, and potential pain points.

A potential customer who has been identified as fitting your target market criteria but has not yet been qualified or contacted. Prospects are the output of lead generation activities.

A lead that has been deemed more likely to become a customer based on marketing engagement criteria. MQLs typically show interest through actions like downloading content or visiting key pages.

A prospective customer who has been researched and vetted by both marketing and sales teams and is ready for direct sales engagement. SQLs meet specific qualification criteria.

A sales strategy where representatives proactively reach out to potential customers who haven't expressed prior interest. This includes cold calling, cold emailing, and LinkedIn outreach.

A marketing strategy that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. Instead of pushing products, inbound marketing pulls customers in through SEO, content marketing, and social media.

A B2B marketing strategy that focuses resources on a set of target accounts. ABM treats individual accounts as markets of one, creating personalized campaigns for each target company.

A sales team member responsible for outbound prospecting and qualifying leads. SDRs focus on the top of the funnel, booking meetings for Account Executives to close.

The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses. CAC is calculated by dividing total acquisition costs by the number of new customers acquired.

The percentage of leads that complete a desired action, such as becoming a customer. Conversion rates are tracked at each stage of the sales funnel to identify bottlenecks.

A visual representation of the customer journey from initial awareness to final purchase. The funnel narrows at each stage as prospects are qualified or disqualified.

A specific problem or challenge that a prospect experiences which your product or service can solve. Identifying pain points is crucial for effective B2B sales messaging.

Contacting potential customers who have no prior relationship with your company. This includes cold calls, cold emails, and social selling on platforms like LinkedIn.

The person within a target company who has the authority to approve purchases. In B2B sales, identifying and reaching decision makers is critical for closing deals.

Using artificial intelligence to automate and enhance the process of finding and qualifying potential customers. AI prospecting can analyze vast amounts of data to identify ideal prospects.