B2B prospecting glossary

Definitions for targeting, contact data and responsible outbound. Ideal customer profile (ICP); Buyer persona; Sales intelligence; Data enrichment; Email verification; Direct dial and mobile; SPF; DKIM; DMARC; Email deliverability; Outbound prospecting; Opt-out and objection

Before using this concept in a campaign, decide which question it actually answers. Identify the company, person, domain or message concerned; these are different objects and should not be merged into one unexplained score. Record the source of the information and the date you reviewed it. Separate a verified observation from an assumption about the recipient. Agree on the decision the team will make from the result, including what happens when a field is missing or two sources disagree. A label in a tool is useful only when its meaning is understood by the people who act on it.

For contact workflows, distinguish professional relevance, data quality and permission to use a channel. None automatically establishes the others. A guessed email is not a verified mailbox, and a direct mobile does not guarantee the intended person is available or willing to talk. Use only the information required for the task, avoid unnecessary sensitive details and preserve objections across the relevant outreach process. Review country and channel rules before applying a generic playbook. For technical workflows, inspect the actual sending services and message results rather than copying a DNS example into production without understanding the domain’s existing setup.

Create a repeatable review process with an owner, a clear input and a documented result. When data is uncertain, mark it as uncertain instead of silently replacing it with a plausible guess. When the audience is wrong, change targeting rather than increasing message volume. When a sending check fails, coordinate with the person managing the domain and test legitimate traffic before tightening a policy. Measure qualified conversations or reliable technical observations, not an unexplained aggregate number. This reference page explains a concept; it does not retrieve real contacts, send messages or certify legal compliance. Application links open the separate SoContact application.

Revisit the definition when your workflow, supplier or audience changes. Retain only the evidence needed to explain an active decision and follow the applicable retention and objection process. Consult the linked official material for technical or legal requirements, because a summary cannot cover every implementation or jurisdiction. Do not interpret a checklist as a guarantee of a reply, inbox delivery, purchase intent or revenue. The safest next step is a limited, observable action with a clear stopping condition and a person responsible for reviewing it. Discuss unresolved exceptions before turning a one-off experiment into a wider campaign.