B2B Outbound & GTM Glossary

The complete reference for outbound sales, sales development, revenue operations, and go-to-market terminology. 200+ terms defined.

How to use this glossary:

• Terms are organized by category

• Arrow GTM proprietary terms are listed first

• Use Ctrl+F / Cmd+F to search for specific terms

Last Updated: February 2026

Arrow GTM Proprietary Terms

These are frameworks and concepts developed or defined by Arrow GTM.

95-5 Rule A principle stating that at any given time, only 5% of a company's total addressable market is actively in-market for their solution. The 95-5 Rule implies that the primary driver of outbound response rates is timing—reaching prospects when they're actively buying—rather than message personalization. This principle informs signal-based outbound strategies that prioritize intent detection over volume. → Full explanation: The 95-5 Rule

Cost Per Meeting (CPM) A key performance metric for outbound programs calculated by dividing total outbound spend (tools, labor, services, data) by the number of qualified meetings generated. Industry benchmarks: $1,500-3,200 for in-house SDR teams, $800-1,500 for traditional agencies, $300-500 for signal-based approaches. Note: In advertising, CPM typically means "cost per mille" (thousand impressions)—context determines meaning.

Dual-Engine Architecture An outbound system design that operates two parallel engines: a Volume Engine (high-volume outreach across the full TAM for market sorting and data generation) and a Signal Engine (targeted outreach to prospects showing active buying signals). The Volume Engine identifies patterns; the Signal Engine captures high-intent opportunities.

Enrichment Waterfall A sequential data enrichment process that queries multiple data providers in priority order to maximize contact information coverage while minimizing cost. A typical enrichment waterfall queries the cheapest or fastest source first (e.g., Apollo), then falls back to more expensive sources (e.g., ZoomInfo, Clearbit) only when the primary source returns no data. This approach optimizes for both coverage and cost efficiency.

Expansion Signal A buying signal triggered when a company's sales team grows 15%+ over 6 months with zero corresponding Sales Operations or RevOps investment. This indicates an infrastructure gap where the company has scaled headcount but not supporting systems, creating openness to solutions that address operational pain.

ICP Scoring Engine An automated system that scores prospect accounts against Ideal Customer Profile criteria using weighted variables including firmographic fit, technographic indicators, intent signals, and timing factors. ICP Scoring Engines typically output a 0-100 score used to prioritize outreach sequences and allocate research resources.

Leaky Bucket Signal A buying signal triggered when a target company posts 3+ SDR, BDR, or sales development job openings simultaneously. This signal indicates pipeline pressure and growth mandates, suggesting the company is already allocating budget to solve the pipeline generation problem. Response rates for Leaky Bucket signals typically range from 15-25%.

New Sheriff Signal A buying signal triggered when a target company hires a new executive (VP Sales, CRO, CMO, Head of Marketing, VP Revenue Operations) within the past 90 days. New executives typically have 100-day mandates to demonstrate results, making them highly receptive to vendor conversations. Response rates for New Sheriff signals typically range from 25-40%.

Outbound Operating System (Outbound OS) A unified infrastructure layer that combines signal detection, multi-channel orchestration, AI-powered personalization, and CRM integration to replace fragmented outbound tools and manual SDR processes. Unlike point solutions, an Outbound OS provides end-to-end orchestration from prospect identification through meeting booking, with native attribution and continuous optimization. → Full explanation: The Outbound Operating System

Pain-Qualified Segment (PQS) A cluster of prospects who share a specific, acute business problem with quantifiable impact, active buying triggers, and a defined decision-making structure. Unlike traditional segmentation (industry + company size + title), PQS clusters prospects by the intensity and urgency of their pain, enabling more precise messaging and higher response rates. → Full explanation: Pain-Qualified Segments

Signal-Based Outbound A prospecting methodology that prioritizes timing over personalization by targeting prospects who exhibit real-time behavioral or contextual signals indicating active buying intent. Unlike traditional outbound (targeting static lists based on firmographic fit), signal-based outbound monitors dynamic indicators—such as funding events, executive hiring, technology adoption, and public statements of pain—to identify the 5% of prospects who are actively in-market. → Full explanation: Signal-Based Outbound

Signal Engine The component of a dual-engine outbound system responsible for monitoring buying signals and executing targeted outreach to high-intent prospects within 24-48 hours of signal detection. The Signal Engine prioritizes speed and relevance over volume, typically achieving 15-35% response rates.

Social Proxy Signal A buying signal triggered when a prospect publicly discusses pain points relevant to your solution on LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter/X, or other social platforms. Social Proxy signals indicate self-identified pain with high intent, as the prospect has already started the conversation. Response rates typically range from 40-60%.

Tech Stack Bloat Signal A buying signal triggered when a company uses 5+ disconnected sales tools without an orchestration or integration platform. Companies experiencing Tech Stack Bloat typically pay $150K+ annually for tools that don't communicate, creating data silos and workflow inefficiency. This creates openness to consolidation solutions.

Vendor Churn Signal A buying signal triggered when a target company shows signs of dissatisfaction with their current vendor through G2 reviews, social media complaints, or RFP activity. Vendor Churn signals indicate an active buyer with allocated budget seeking alternatives. Response rates typically range from 35-50%.

Volume Engine The component of a dual-engine outbound system responsible for broad-reach outreach across the full TAM. The Volume Engine generates market intelligence, identifies engagement patterns, and feeds data to the Signal Engine. Typical volume: 15,000-20,000 touches per month.

Outbound & Sales Development Terms

Core terminology for outbound sales and sales development.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) A B2B marketing strategy that concentrates resources on a defined set of target accounts, using personalized campaigns designed to engage each account based on their specific attributes and needs. ABM aligns marketing and sales around shared target account lists.

Account-Based Sales Development (ABSD) A sales development approach that applies ABM principles to outbound prospecting, focusing SDR efforts on named accounts with coordinated multi-channel outreach rather than high-volume spray-and-pray tactics.

Account Executive (AE) A sales professional responsible for managing client relationships and closing deals, typically handling opportunities after they've been qualified by SDRs or BDRs. AEs are measured on closed revenue and quota attainment.

Account Mapping The process of identifying and documenting all relevant contacts within a target account, including their roles, influence levels, and relationships. Account mapping is essential for navigating complex B2B buying committees.

Blended Response Rate The overall response rate across all outbound channels (email, phone, LinkedIn, etc.) combined, weighted by volume. Useful for comparing total program performance rather than individual channel metrics.

Bounce Rate (Email) The percentage of sent emails that could not be delivered to recipients' inboxes. Hard bounces indicate invalid addresses (permanent failure); soft bounces indicate temporary delivery issues (mailbox full, server down). Bounce rates above 5% damage sender reputation.

Business Development Representative (BDR) A sales role focused on generating new business opportunities, typically through outbound prospecting. BDRs often focus on larger or more strategic accounts than SDRs and may handle both inbound and outbound leads.

Buying Committee The group of individuals within an organization who influence or make purchasing decisions. Average B2B buying committee size has grown from 3-4 people (2019) to 6-10+ people (2026), requiring outbound strategies that engage multiple stakeholders.

Cadence A structured sequence of outreach touchpoints (emails, calls, LinkedIn messages) delivered over a defined time period. Also called a "sequence" or "flow." Typical cadences include 7-12 touches over 21-30 days.

Call Disposition The outcome recorded after a sales call attempt, such as "connected," "voicemail," "no answer," "wrong number," or "not interested." Disposition data drives workflow automation and performance analysis.

CAN-SPAM Act United States legislation establishing requirements for commercial email, including opt-out mechanisms, accurate header information, and physical address inclusion. Violations can result in penalties up to $46,517 per email.

Champion A contact within a target account who actively supports your solution and advocates for it internally. Champions provide intel, make introductions, and help navigate the buying process.

Cold Calling The practice of making unsolicited phone calls to prospects who have not previously expressed interest in the product or service being offered. Cold calling typically achieves 1-3% connect rates.

Cold Email An unsolicited email sent to a prospect with whom the sender has no prior relationship, typically for sales or business development purposes. Cold email is governed by CAN-SPAM (US), GDPR (EU), and other regulations.

Connect Rate The percentage of phone call attempts that result in a live conversation with the intended prospect. Industry benchmarks: 3-7% for cold calls, 15-25% for warm calls.

Conversion Rate The percentage of prospects who complete a desired action (reply, book meeting, advance to next stage) relative to the total number contacted. Context-dependent—always specify which conversion.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software used to manage customer and prospect interactions, track communications, and store relationship data. Common CRM platforms include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.

Discovery Call An initial sales conversation focused on understanding a prospect's challenges, goals, and fit for the offered solution rather than presenting or pitching. Discovery calls gather information for qualification and personalized follow-up.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) An email authentication protocol that allows receivers to verify that an email was authorized by the domain owner. DKIM is essential for email deliverability.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) An email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM, allowing domain owners to specify how unauthenticated emails should be handled. DMARC is increasingly required for B2B email deliverability.

Email Deliverability The ability to deliver emails to recipients' inboxes rather than spam folders or having them blocked entirely. Deliverability depends on sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and list hygiene.

Email Warmup The process of gradually increasing email sending volume from a new domain or mailbox to establish sender reputation and maximize deliverability. Warmup typically takes 2-4 weeks before full-volume sending.

Firmographics Descriptive attributes of a business organization, including industry, company size, revenue, location, and employee count. Firmographics are the B2B equivalent of demographics.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) European Union regulation governing data privacy and protection, requiring explicit consent for data processing and providing individuals rights over their personal data. GDPR affects any company marketing to EU residents.

Gatekeeper A person who controls access to decision-makers, such as an executive assistant or office manager. Gatekeeper navigation strategies help SDRs reach target contacts.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) A detailed description of the type of company that would benefit most from a product or service, typically defined by firmographic (size, industry, geography), technographic (tools used), and behavioral characteristics.

Intent Data Information that indicates a prospect's interest in a solution or category, derived from online behavior such as content consumption, search queries, review site visits, or technology research. First-party intent comes from your own properties; third-party intent comes from external sources.

Lead A person or organization that has shown interest in a product or service or matches criteria for potential interest. Definition varies by organization—some use "lead" for any contact, others reserve it for qualified prospects.

Lead Scoring A methodology for ranking prospects based on their perceived value and likelihood to convert, typically using points assigned for demographic fit and behavioral engagement.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator LinkedIn's premium sales tool providing advanced search filters, lead recommendations, and InMail capabilities for B2B prospecting. Sales Navigator is a core tool for B2B outbound.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) A prospect who has shown interest through marketing engagement (content downloads, webinar attendance) and meets basic qualification criteria, but hasn't yet been validated by sales.

Meeting Rate The percentage of prospects contacted who agree to a meeting or demo. Also called "conversion rate" or "booking rate" depending on context.

Multi-Threading The practice of engaging multiple contacts within a target account simultaneously rather than relying on a single point of contact. Multi-threading reduces deal risk and provides multiple paths to decision-makers.

Objection Handling Techniques and responses used to address prospect concerns or resistance during sales conversations. Common objections include price, timing, competition, and status quo.

Open Rate The percentage of delivered emails that are opened by recipients, measured through tracking pixels. Open rates are increasingly unreliable due to privacy features (Apple Mail Privacy Protection).

Outreach Sequence A predefined series of touchpoints (emails, calls, LinkedIn messages) delivered to prospects over time, designed to generate responses and meetings. Also called "cadence" or "flow."

Pipeline The total value of sales opportunities currently being pursued, organized by stage of the sales process. Pipeline coverage (pipeline ÷ quota) is a key planning metric.

Positive Reply Rate The percentage of replies that express interest or willingness to engage, as opposed to negative replies (not interested, unsubscribe) or neutral replies (out of office, wrong person). A key quality indicator for outbound campaigns.

Prospect A potential customer who fits the ideal customer profile but has not yet engaged in a sales conversation. Distinguished from "lead" in some organizations.

Reply Rate The percentage of sent emails that receive a response from the recipient, including both positive and negative replies.

Sales Accepted Lead (SAL) A lead that has been reviewed and accepted by the sales team as meeting qualification criteria and worthy of pursuit.

Sales Development Representative (SDR) A sales role focused on outbound prospecting and initial qualification of leads, typically measured on meetings set or opportunities created rather than closed revenue. SDRs are the "top of funnel" sales resource.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) A prospect who has been validated by sales as having genuine need, authority, budget, and timeline, and is ready to enter the formal sales process.

Sender Reputation A score assigned by email providers based on sending history, complaint rates, and engagement. Poor sender reputation results in emails landing in spam or being blocked entirely.

Spam Complaint Rate The percentage of email recipients who mark a message as spam, measured through feedback loops with email providers. Rates above 0.1% typically trigger deliverability problems.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) An email authentication protocol that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email for a domain. SPF is essential for email deliverability.

TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) United States legislation restricting telemarketing calls and texts, requiring prior express consent for automated calls to mobile phones. Violations can result in $500-$1,500 per call penalties.

Technographics Data about the technology products and services a company uses, used for targeting and personalization in B2B sales. Sources include BuiltWith, SimilarTech, and HG Insights.

Top of Funnel (TOFU) The awareness and initial interest stage of the buyer journey, where prospects are first discovering potential solutions. TOFU activities include content marketing, advertising, and broad outreach.

Total Addressable Market (TAM) The total market demand for a product or service, representing the maximum revenue opportunity if 100% market share were achieved.

Touch A single outreach attempt to a prospect through any channel (email, phone, LinkedIn, direct mail). Sequences typically include 7-12 touches.

Trigger Event An occurrence that creates a buying window for a prospect, such as funding, executive change, or public pain statement. Trigger events are the foundation of signal-based outbound.

Warmth Score A measure of how engaged or receptive a prospect is based on their interaction history (email opens, link clicks, website visits, content downloads).

Revenue Operations (RevOps) Terms

Terminology for revenue operations and sales operations.

Account-Based Everything (ABX) An organizational approach that aligns sales, marketing, and customer success around shared target accounts throughout the entire customer lifecycle.

Attribution Model A framework for assigning credit to marketing and sales touchpoints that contribute to conversions. Common models include first-touch, last-touch, linear, time-decay, and custom weighted models.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) The total cost to acquire a new customer, calculated by dividing total sales and marketing spend by the number of new customers acquired in a period.

CAC Payback Period The time required to recover the cost of acquiring a customer through revenue generated from that customer, calculated as CAC divided by monthly gross margin per customer. Healthy benchmarks: <12 months for SMB, <18 months for mid-market, <24 months for enterprise.

Data Enrichment The process of enhancing existing prospect or customer data with additional information from external sources, such as contact details, firmographics, technographics, or intent data.

Data Hygiene The practice of maintaining accurate, complete, and up-to-date data in CRM and marketing systems. Poor data hygiene leads to bounced emails, wasted effort, and inaccurate reporting.

Funnel Velocity The speed at which opportunities move through the sales pipeline, measured as total pipeline value divided by average sales cycle length.

Go-to-Market (GTM) The plan for bringing a product or service to market, including target customer identification, positioning, pricing, distribution, and sales strategy.

Lead Routing The process of assigning incoming leads to appropriate sales reps based on criteria such as territory, company size, industry, or round-robin distribution.

LTV (Lifetime Value) The total revenue expected from a customer over the entire duration of their relationship with a company. Also called CLV (Customer Lifetime Value).

LTV:CAC Ratio The ratio of customer lifetime value to customer acquisition cost, indicating the efficiency of customer acquisition. Ratios above 3:1 are generally considered healthy for SaaS businesses.

Multi-Touch Attribution An attribution approach that distributes credit across multiple touchpoints in the buyer journey rather than assigning all credit to first or last touch.

NRR (Net Revenue Retention) A measure of revenue retained from existing customers including expansions and contractions, calculated as (Starting MRR + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) ÷ Starting MRR. NRR above 100% indicates growth from existing customers.

Pipeline Coverage The ratio of pipeline value to quota, indicating whether sufficient opportunities exist to achieve targets. Standard benchmark: 3-4x coverage.

Pipeline Velocity A metric measuring pipeline efficiency, calculated as (Number of Opportunities × Win Rate × Average Deal Size) ÷ Sales Cycle Length.

Revenue Operations (RevOps) A business function that aligns sales, marketing, and customer success operations to optimize revenue generation through unified processes, data, and technology.

Sales Operations (Sales Ops) The function responsible for supporting sales teams through process optimization, tool administration, data management, forecasting, and analytics.

SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) The portion of TAM that a company can realistically target based on its business model, geographic reach, and go-to-market approach.

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) The portion of SAM that a company can realistically capture, accounting for competition and market dynamics. Often used for near-term revenue planning.

Territory Management The process of dividing target markets into geographic or account-based territories and assigning them to sales reps to optimize coverage and reduce conflict.

Win Rate The percentage of opportunities that result in closed-won deals. Calculated as Closed Won ÷ (Closed Won + Closed Lost).

Marketing & Demand Generation Terms

Terminology for B2B marketing and demand generation.

ABM (Account-Based Marketing) See "Account-Based Marketing" in Outbound section.

Awareness Stage The first stage of the buyer journey where prospects realize they have a problem or opportunity but haven't yet started evaluating solutions.

B2B (Business-to-Business) Commercial transactions between businesses rather than between a business and individual consumers.

B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Commercial transactions between a business and individual end consumers.

Consideration Stage The middle stage of the buyer journey where prospects are actively researching and evaluating potential solutions to their identified problem.

Content Marketing A marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable content to attract and engage a defined audience, rather than directly promoting a product.

Content Syndication The practice of republishing content on third-party sites to reach new audiences and generate leads.

CPC (Cost Per Click) The amount paid for each click on a digital advertisement.

CPL (Cost Per Lead) The total cost to generate a single lead, calculated by dividing marketing spend by leads generated.

CPM (Cost Per Mille) The cost to display an advertisement 1,000 times. Note: In sales contexts, CPM often means "Cost Per Meeting."

CTA (Call to Action) A prompt encouraging the audience to take a specific action, such as "Schedule a Demo" or "Download the Guide."

Decision Stage The final stage of the buyer journey where prospects are evaluating specific vendors and making purchase decisions.

Demand Capture Marketing activities focused on converting prospects who are already in-market and actively seeking solutions.

Demand Creation Marketing activities focused on generating awareness and interest among prospects who are not yet in-market.

Demand Generation Marketing activities focused on creating awareness and interest in a company's products or services to generate pipeline for sales.

Drip Campaign An automated series of emails sent on a predetermined schedule to nurture prospects over time.

Inbound Marketing A marketing methodology focused on attracting customers through relevant content and interactions rather than outbound interruption.

Lead Magnet A piece of valuable content (guide, template, tool) offered in exchange for contact information.

Marketing Automation Technology that automates repetitive marketing tasks such as email sending, lead scoring, and campaign management.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) See MQL in Outbound section.

Middle of Funnel (MOFU) The consideration stage of the buyer journey where prospects are evaluating options and comparing solutions.

Nurture Campaign A marketing program designed to maintain engagement with prospects who aren't ready to buy, keeping them engaged until they enter an active buying cycle.

Personalization The practice of tailoring marketing messages and experiences based on individual prospect characteristics, behavior, or preferences.

Retargeting A form of online advertising that targets users who have previously visited your website or engaged with your content.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) The revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising, calculated as revenue divided by ad spend.

ROI (Return on Investment) The ratio of net profit to cost of investment, expressed as a percentage.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) Marketing strategies to increase visibility in search engine results, including both paid (PPC) and organic (SEO) approaches.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) The practice of optimizing web content to rank higher in organic search engine results.

Top of Funnel (TOFU) See definition in Outbound section.

White Label A product or service produced by one company that other companies rebrand as their own.

Technology & Tools Terms

Terminology for sales and marketing technology.

API (Application Programming Interface) A set of protocols allowing different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs enable tool integrations and data flows.

Automation Technology that performs tasks without human intervention based on predefined rules or triggers.

Clay A data enrichment and workflow automation platform commonly used for signal detection, lead enrichment, and outbound orchestration.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) See definition in Outbound section.

Data Provider A company that supplies business contact and company data for sales and marketing purposes. Examples: ZoomInfo, Apollo, Clearbit, Lusha.

Email Sequencer Software that automates the sending of multi-step email campaigns. Examples: Outreach, Salesloft, Instantly, Smartlead.

Integration A connection between two or more software applications that allows data to flow between them.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator See definition in Outbound section.

Make.com (formerly Integromat) A workflow automation platform that connects apps and automates tasks without coding.

Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) Software that automates marketing activities across channels. Examples: HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot.

Middleware Software that connects different applications or systems, enabling data flow and process automation.

Sales Engagement Platform Software that helps sales teams manage multi-channel outreach at scale. Examples: Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo.

Sales Intelligence Data and insights about prospects and accounts that help sales teams prioritize and personalize outreach.

Webhook A method for one application to send real-time data to another application when a specific event occurs.

Zapier A workflow automation platform that connects apps and automates tasks without coding.

Business & Finance Terms

Terminology for business operations, particularly in SaaS, PE, and mid-market contexts.

ACV (Annual Contract Value) The average annualized revenue per customer contract, excluding one-time fees.

ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) The annualized value of recurring revenue from subscriptions, a key SaaS metric.

Basis Points A unit of measure equal to 1/100th of 1 percent (0.01%), commonly used in finance to describe interest rates or equity ownership.

Burn Rate The rate at which a company spends cash reserves, typically measured monthly.

Churn The rate at which customers cancel or don't renew their subscriptions, typically measured monthly or annually.

EBITDA Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization—a measure of operating profitability commonly used in PE valuations.

Exit The sale or public offering of a company, allowing investors and founders to realize returns on their equity.

Gross Margin Revenue minus cost of goods sold, expressed as a percentage of revenue. SaaS benchmarks: 70-85%.

Growth Mandate A formal or informal requirement to achieve specific growth targets, often set by investors or boards. Common: 40%+ YoY for venture-backed companies.

LBO (Leveraged Buyout) An acquisition strategy using significant debt to fund the purchase, with the target company's assets often serving as collateral.

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) The monthly value of recurring revenue from subscriptions.

Multiple A valuation metric expressing enterprise value as a multiple of revenue or EBITDA.

Operating Leverage The relationship between fixed costs and variable costs that determines how revenue changes translate to profit changes.

Portfolio Company A company that has received investment from a private equity firm or venture capital fund.

Private Equity (PE) Investment funds that acquire and invest in companies not publicly traded, typically seeking to improve operations and exit at higher valuations.

Runway The amount of time a company can operate before running out of cash, calculated as cash reserves divided by burn rate.

SaaS (Software as a Service) A software distribution model where applications are hosted by a provider and accessed by customers over the internet via subscription.

Series A/B/C/D Sequential rounds of venture capital funding, with each round typically larger and at higher valuations than the previous.

Unit Economics The direct revenues and costs associated with a particular business model expressed on a per-unit basis (per customer, per transaction).

Valuation The process of determining the economic value of a company, typically expressed as a multiple of revenue or EBITDA.

Venture Capital (VC) Investment funds that provide capital to early-stage companies with high growth potential in exchange for equity.

HR & Organization Terms

Terminology for team structure and management.

Attrition The rate at which employees leave an organization, typically measured annually. SDR attrition benchmarks: 35-50% annually.

Comp Plan (Compensation Plan) The structure defining how sales reps are paid, including base salary, variable compensation, accelerators, and bonuses.

Fully Loaded Cost The total cost of an employee including salary, benefits, taxes, tools, and allocated overhead.

Headcount The total number of employees in an organization or team.

OTE (On-Target Earnings) The total compensation an employee earns when hitting 100% of their targets, including base salary and variable pay.

Quota The revenue or activity target assigned to a sales rep, typically measured monthly or quarterly.

Ramp Time The period required for a new hire to reach full productivity. SDR ramp benchmarks: 3-6 months.

Variable Compensation The portion of compensation tied to performance, such as commissions and bonuses.

Metrics & Measurement Terms

Terminology for sales and marketing metrics.

Baseline A starting measurement used for comparison when evaluating improvement or change.

Benchmark A standard or reference point against which performance can be measured or compared.

Cohort Analysis Analyzing performance by grouping customers or prospects by shared characteristics (e.g., signup month, source).

Conversion The completion of a desired action, such as replying to an email, booking a meeting, or signing a contract.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) A measurable value that indicates how effectively a company or team is achieving objectives.

Lag Indicator A metric that measures outcomes (closed revenue, customer count) rather than activities that drive those outcomes.

Lead Indicator A metric that measures activities (calls made, emails sent) that predict future outcomes.

Metric A quantifiable measure used to track and assess performance.

Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) Comparing performance in one quarter to the previous quarter.

Year-over-Year (YoY) Comparing performance in one period to the same period in the previous year.

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Related Resources

• Signal-Based Outbound Guide

• The 95-5 Rule

• Outbound Benchmarks

• Arrow GTM Knowledge Hub

Last Updated: February 2026

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