Resources
Outbound sales glossary
The language behind modern outbound sales. Prospecting, sequencing, reply handling, pipeline and attribution overlap, but the same words are often used differently. This glossary defines the terms as Fraser uses them.
Core outbound terms
The work and the result.
Fraser
An AI-driven sales development function that prospects, writes, sequences and follows up on outbound outreach on a company's behalf, working within the approval rules the company sets.
Outbound
Sales activity initiated by the seller - prospecting, messaging and following up with people who have not already raised their hand - rather than inbound leads who came to you first.
ICP (ideal customer profile)
A defined description of the accounts and buyers most likely to get value from a product, used to focus prospecting and messaging.
Sequence
A scheduled series of outreach touches - such as an initial email, follow-ups and a LinkedIn message - sent to a prospect over time until they reply, book or opt out.
Reply rate
The share of sent messages that receive any response, positive or negative, used alongside other metrics rather than as the only measure of a campaign.
Buying signal
An observable event - such as a funding round, hiring surge, leadership change or public statement - that suggests a prospect may be ready to consider a purchase.
RFP
A request for proposal: a formal, time-bound call from a prospect or procurement team inviting vendors to submit a bid for a defined piece of work.
Prospecting and targeting terms
How brands find and qualify prospects.
Prospecting
The work of identifying and researching people and accounts that fit a company's ideal customer profile, before any outreach is sent.
Account
A target company being pursued for a sale, which may contain several individual contacts or buying-committee members.
Lead list
A structured set of prospect contacts, built from imported data or researched to match defined criteria.
Segment
A group of prospects sharing traits such as industry, size, role or location, used to target a coherent campaign.
Opportunity score
A prioritisation signal showing how well a prospect or RFP fits a company's criteria, accompanied by reasoning.
Opportunity gap
A relevant account or contact that fits the ideal customer profile but has not yet been contacted or added to a campaign.
Firmographic data
Company-level attributes such as industry, size, location and revenue used to qualify a prospect account.
Sending and deliverability terms
How outreach reaches the inbox.
Deliverability
The likelihood that a sent email reaches the recipient's inbox rather than being filtered, blocked or marked as spam.
Warm-up
A gradual, low-volume sending schedule run on a new domain or sender before full campaign volume begins, intended to protect deliverability.
Sending domain
A dedicated domain used for outbound email, kept separate from a company's main domain to protect its reputation.
Connection request
An initial invitation to connect on LinkedIn, often the first touch in a LinkedIn outreach sequence.
Hard bounce
A permanent delivery failure indicating that an email address should not receive further sends.
Out-of-office hold
A temporary pause applied until a recipient's stated return date.
Opt-out scope
The campaign, client, sender or broader platform activity covered by a recipient's request to stop hearing from a sender.
Workflow and reporting terms
How Fraser organises the work.
Campaign
A defined outreach programme built around one approved goal, audience, offer and messaging angle.
Follow-up
A scheduled subsequent message to a prospect who has not yet replied, sent as part of the same sequence.
Approval rule
A boundary defining the audiences, claims, senders and limits within which Fraser may act without individual review.
Activity metric
A count of work completed, such as prospects researched, messages sent or forms submitted.
Outcome metric
A result such as a reply, meeting booked or piece of pipeline created.
Pipeline
The set of active opportunities and conversations a sales team is working, from first reply through to a decision.
Attribution
The degree to which an outcome can reasonably be connected with an action, recognising other possible causes.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Fraser actually do day to day?
- It researches and qualifies prospects, drafts and sequences outreach, chases follow-ups and routes replies - within the approval rules a company sets.
- Is a reply rate the same as a meeting booked?
- No. A reply can be positive, negative or a simple acknowledgement. Meetings booked and pipeline created are separate, more direct outcome metrics.
- Is an opportunity score a guarantee a deal will close?
- No. It helps prioritise fit but does not predict whether a prospect will reply, take a meeting or buy.
- Why does warm-up matter before a campaign starts?
- Sending high volume from a brand-new domain or sender can damage deliverability. A gradual warm-up schedule is intended to protect the sender's reputation.
- Does responding to an RFP guarantee a contract?
- No. Submitting a response is one step in a buyer's independent evaluation and decision process.
- Why separate activity and outcome metrics?
- It prevents a high volume of outreach from being presented as evidence of meaningful sales results.
Use clearer language to make better sales decisions
Explore Fraser's features and see how these concepts work together in one client workflow.