--- title: "Cold Calling Glossary: 60+ Terms Explained | Skipcall" description: "SDR, connect rate, power dialer, ICP, cadence, gatekeeper, OTE, MEDDIC: the terms of phone prospecting defined plainly, with an example and the matching lesson." url: https://skipcall.io/en/academy/cold-calling-glossary language: en --- # The cold calling glossary The words of phone prospecting, from the list to the booked meeting, defined in two sentences, with an example heard on a call and the lesson or tool that goes with it. So you never nod along in a meeting again ## A ### Account Executive (AE) The salesperson who takes the meeting booked by the SDR, runs the full discovery, builds the proposal and closes. In most teams the AE and the SDR write together what a qualified meeting is. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ### AI call summary An automatic summary of a recorded call: context, points covered, objections, next step. It fills the CRM and lets the SDR move on instead of writing. [Go further : Recording and transcription](https://skipcall.io/en/features/enregistrement-transcription) ## B ### BANT Budget, Authority, Need, Timing: an old and simple qualification frame to check that an opportunity deserves a meeting. It is asked as questions, never as an interrogation. [Go further : BANT vs MEDDIC](https://skipcall.io/en/blog/bant-vs-meddic) ### BDR (Business Development Representative) The cold prospector: goes after accounts that have never heard of you. In the most common split the SDR qualifies inbound demand and the BDR hunts cold. In small companies one person does both. [Go further : SDR vs BDR](https://skipcall.io/en/blog/sdr-vs-bdr) ### Buying signal An event that makes a call relevant now: an open job posting, a funding round, a new tool, a new hire, an office move. The opener starts from the signal; without one, it starts from the persona’s typical problem. [Go further : Prepare a cold call in three minutes](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/prepare-a-cold-call) ## C ### CAC (customer acquisition cost) Everything spent to sign a new customer, SDR and AE salaries included, divided by the customers signed in the period. Read it with LTV. [Go further : LTV to CAC Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/ltv-cac-calculator) ### Cadence The rhythm of a prospecting sequence: how many touches, through which channels, at what intervals, over how many days. A good cadence alternates call, email and LinkedIn and stops cleanly. [Go further : Build your cadence](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/build-your-cadence) ### Call coaching Reviewing a real call with a manager or a peer against a scorecard: opener, listening, objections, next step. One session a week on one call changes more than one training a year. [Go further : Sales Call Scorecard](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/sales-call-scorecard) ### Call script The written outline of a call: opener, questions, objection answers, next step. A good script is a safety net, not a text to read; you know it well enough to leave it. [Go further : Twenty call scripts](https://skipcall.io/en/scripts) ### Call transcription The text of a recorded call, produced automatically. With the AI summary, it serves coaching, CRM updates and replaying your own questions. [Go further : Recording and transcription](https://skipcall.io/en/features/enregistrement-transcription) ### Churn The share of customers who leave over a period. On subscription, 2% monthly churn means a customer stays about fifty months on average. It drives lifetime value and therefore what you can spend to acquire one. [Go further : LTV to CAC Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/ltv-cac-calculator) ### Click to call Starting a call by clicking a number in an interface instead of dialing it. In Skipcall you call from the app and the CRM record is updated afterwards. [Go further : Click to Call](https://skipcall.io/en/features/click-to-call) ### Cold call A call to someone who is not expecting you and has never been in touch with you. The whole outbound SDR job lives in the first thirty seconds of that call. [Go further : Simulator: your first cold call](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/cold-call-simulator) ### Cold email The written twin of the cold call: a short, personalised email to someone who does not know you. In a cadence it prepares or extends the call rather than replacing it. [Go further : Call, email, LinkedIn: who does what](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/multichannel-prospecting) ### Connect rate The share of dials that end in a conversation with the right person. It is the KPI that links call volume to meetings, and it is measured per list and per time slot. [Go further : How many calls does your target take?](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/prospecting-calculator) ### Connected call A dial where a person, right or wrong, picked up and spoke. Ring-outs, voicemails and dead numbers do not count. It is the denominator of the meeting rate. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ### Conversation A connected call with the right person where an exchange happened beyond “no thanks”. It is the most honest unit to measure an SDR: you do not control who picks up, you control what you do with the conversation. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ### CRM The software where contacts, opportunities and the history of exchanges live (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Attio). The SDR fills it as they go, thirty seconds per conversation, never on Friday evening. [Go further : Build your typical day](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-daily-schedule) ## D ### Discovery The part of the exchange where you get the prospect talking about their situation, their problems and what those cost, before proposing anything. On a cold call it is two questions; in a meeting it is half the time. [Go further : Questions that get people talking](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/discovery-questions) ### Do Not Call (DNC) A register of people who have opted out of marketing calls. In the United States the national DNC list applies to consumers under the TCPA; many countries have an equivalent. Business numbers are usually outside it, but internal opt-out lists still apply. [Go further : Cold Calling Compliance Checker](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/cold-calling-compliance-checker) ## E ### E.164 The international phone number format: country code, then the number without the leading zero, no spaces, with a leading +. “+14155552671”. A list in E.164 avoids duplicates and dials to fake numbers. [Go further : Phone Number Validator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/phone-number-validator) ### Enrichment Completing a contact with the missing data: direct phone number, email, title, company size. Waterfall enrichment queries several providers one after the other until one finds it. [Go further : Best waterfall enrichment tools](https://skipcall.io/en/blog/best-waterfall-enrichment-tools) ## F ### Follow-up Any touch that follows a first exchange or a non-answer: the call back after “send me an email”, the email after a voicemail. A follow-up gives the reason for coming back, never “just checking in”. [Go further : Simulator: the call back after "send me an email"](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/follow-up-call-simulator) ### Funnel The volumes at every stage, from attempted contact to signed customer, and the rates between them. Reading your funnel means spotting the stage that leaks before chasing more volume at the top. [Go further : Sales Funnel Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/sales-funnel-calculator) ## G ### Gatekeeper The person who screens calls before a decision maker: front desk, assistant, office manager. You do not “get past” them by force: you introduce yourself clearly, ask for help, and never lie about an existing relationship. On the phone : “Hi Nadia, Tom Berger from Nexalis, I’m trying to reach Dana Whitfield. Would you know when she’s easiest to catch?” [Go further : Get past the gatekeeper without lying](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/get-past-the-gatekeeper) ## I ### ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) The portrait of the company most likely to buy and stay: industry, size, tools in place, buying signals. It fits in five criteria and is used to sort the list before dialing. [Go further : ICP and persona: who you talk to](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/icp-and-persona) ### Inbound Demand that comes to the salesperson: a form, a free trial, downloaded content. The inbound SDR qualifies it fast and well; speed to call back matters more than the script. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ## K ### KPI A steering indicator. For an SDR, activity KPIs (dials, conversations), outcome KPIs (meetings booked and held) and quality KPIs (no-show rate, meetings accepted by the AE) are kept apart. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ## L ### Local presence dialing Showing a number from the prospect’s area so they pick up more readily. Common in the United States, regulated in Europe: the number must be yours and reachable in return. [Go further : Local presence dialing in B2B](https://skipcall.io/en/blog/local-presence-dialing-b2b) ### LTV (lifetime value) What a customer brings in gross margin over the whole relationship. Compared with acquisition cost, it says whether each customer makes the company richer and how much you can spend to find one. [Go further : LTV to CAC Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/ltv-cac-calculator) ## M ### MEDDIC Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion: a qualification frame for complex sales. On a cold call you touch two letters; the rest happens in the meeting. [Go further : SPIN and MEDDIC in practice](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/spin-and-meddic) ### Meeting rate The share of conversations that end in a booked meeting. It is the KPI the SDR controls most directly: it depends on the opener, the discovery and the next step. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ### MQL and SQL Marketing Qualified Lead: a contact marketing finds interesting from its behaviour. Sales Qualified Lead: a contact sales has qualified through an exchange. The SDR turns the first into the second, or rules it out. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ### Multichannel Prospecting the same person through several coordinated channels: call, email, LinkedIn, sometimes SMS. Each channel has a role; the call remains the one that creates the conversation. [Go further : Call, email, LinkedIn: who does what](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/multichannel-prospecting) ## N ### Next step What you get at the end of a call: a dated meeting, an agreed call back, an introduction to a colleague. A call without a next step is a pleasant conversation that leads nowhere. [Go further : Simulator: your first cold call](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/cold-call-simulator) ### No-show A booked meeting the prospect does not attend. A high no-show rate signals meetings booked too fast or poorly confirmed: a reminder the day before and a calendar invite sent during the call bring it down. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ## O ### Objection What the prospect sets against the next step: “no time”, “send me an email”, “we already have one”. An objection is information, not a refusal: you acknowledge it, dig into it, propose a next step. [Go further : The objection wall](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/objection-wall) ### Opener The first sentences of a cold call: who you are, why you are calling this person specifically, and a question that hands them the floor. It plays out in thirty seconds. On the phone : “Hi Dana, Tom Berger from Nexalis. I’m calling because you’re hiring three inside sales reps. Got two minutes?” [Go further : The opener: the first thirty seconds](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/cold-call-opener) ### Opt-in A person’s prior consent to be contacted. Required to call consumers in France since 11 August 2026 and in several other countries; between businesses, legitimate interest is usually enough under conditions. [Go further : Cold Calling Compliance Checker](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/cold-calling-compliance-checker) ### OTE (On-Target Earnings) A salesperson’s total pay at 100% of target: base plus target variable. An OTE is read with its base/variable split and the shape of the plan (threshold, accelerator). [Go further : SDR Variable Pay Simulator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/sdr-variable-pay-simulator) ### Outbound Prospecting that starts from the salesperson towards people who are not expecting it. It is the home of the cold call, the cadence and the list prepared the day before. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ## P ### Parallel dialer A dialer that dials several numbers at once, up to four with Skipcall, and connects you to the first person who picks up. It multiplies conversations per hour when the list is clean and the pickup rate is low. [Go further : The Skipcall parallel dialer](https://skipcall.io/en/parallel-dialer) ### Permission-based opener Stating the length of the call or asking “got two minutes?” at the start. It hands control back to the prospect, who almost always grants it, and turns an intrusion into an accepted exchange. [Go further : The opener: the first thirty seconds](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/cold-call-opener) ### Persona The portrait of the person to call inside the target company: title, goals, what wastes their time, the words they use. The ICP says where to call, the persona says whom and with which words. [Go further : ICP and persona: who you talk to](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/icp-and-persona) ### Pickup rate The share of dials where someone answers, whoever they are. It depends on the list, the hour and the number displayed more than on the SDR. Not to be confused with the connect rate. [Go further : The KPIs that actually matter](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-kpis) ### Pipeline All open opportunities, sorted by stage, with their value. Pipeline coverage compares that value to the period’s target: three times the target is a commonly quoted reference, not a rule. [Go further : Sales Funnel Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/sales-funnel-calculator) ### Power dialer A dialer that automatically dials the next number as soon as a call ends, one at a time, with the contact record in front of you. It removes manual dialing without ever putting anyone on hold. [Go further : The Skipcall power dialer](https://skipcall.io/en/power-dialer) ### Pre-CRM The space where contacts to prospect live before they become opportunities in the CRM: import, enrichment, sequences, call statuses. In Skipcall, it is the Contacts screen. [Go further : The Skipcall pre-CRM](https://skipcall.io/en/features/pre-crm) ### Predictive dialer A call-centre dialer that launches calls before an agent is free, based on a statistical forecast. Efficient at scale, it produces the silence on pickup that B2B prospects hate: for very large volumes only. [Go further : Predictive dialer](https://skipcall.io/en/predictive-dialer) ## Q ### Qualification Checking that a contact is worth a meeting: right company, right person, a problem you solve, a moment to talk about it. It starts on the list, before dialing, and ends in conversation. [Go further : Qualify ten contacts](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/qualify-your-list) ### Qualified meeting A held meeting with the right person, about a real topic, against criteria written with the AE. It is the outcome an SDR is judged on, not the number of meetings booked. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ### Quota The numeric target given to an SDR for a period: meetings held per month, most often. A quota is built from the team target, seasonality and the ramp-up of new hires. [Go further : Sales Quota Calculator](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/sales-quota-calculator) ## R ### Ramp-up The time a new SDR takes to reach full productivity, usually counted in months. A 30-60-90 day onboarding plan shortens it. [Go further : 30-60-90 Day Sales Onboarding Plan](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/30-60-90-day-sales-onboarding-plan) ## S ### SDR (Sales Development Representative) The person who opens conversations with prospects, qualifies them and books meetings for an account executive. Judged on qualified meetings, not on closed revenue. [Go further : What is an SDR for?](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/what-an-sdr-does) ### Sequence The ordered set of touches planned with a prospect over several days, with its channels and delays. In Skipcall a sequence chains calls, call-backs and tasks and moves contacts forward automatically. [Go further : Skipcall sequences](https://skipcall.io/en/features/sequences) ### SPIN Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff: a way to order discovery questions so the prospect measures for themselves what their problem costs. [Go further : SPIN and MEDDIC in practice](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/spin-and-meddic) ## T ### TCPA The US law that regulates automated calls and texts to consumers: consent, hours, the national Do Not Call registry. In B2B its constraints are lighter but not zero. [Go further : Cold Calling Compliance Checker](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/cold-calling-compliance-checker) ### Touch Each contact attempt in a sequence, whatever the channel: a call, an email, a LinkedIn invitation. A cadence is described as a number of touches over a number of days. [Go further : Build your cadence](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/build-your-cadence) ## V ### Voicemail The prospect’s answering machine. You leave a twenty-second message with your name, the reason for the call and the announcement of an email or a call back, or you leave nothing and move on: both are decided in advance. [Go further : The twenty-second voicemail](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/twenty-second-voicemail) ### VoIP Telephony that runs over the internet instead of the traditional phone network. It is what lets you call from an app, record, transcribe and measure. [Go further : VoIP Speed Test](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/voip-speed-test) ## W ### Warm call A call that follows a signal or a first contact: downloaded content, a referral, a LinkedIn exchange. The opener starts again from that signal; the rest of the call looks like a well-prepared cold call. [Go further : Prepare a cold call in three minutes](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/prepare-a-cold-call) ### Wrap-up The seconds after a call: outcome logged, next step scheduled, CRM record updated. Thirty seconds at most, while it is fresh, then the next call. [Go further : Build your typical day](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/sdr-daily-schedule) ## A calendar full of meetings starts with a call. [Get started now](https://app.skipcall.io/signup) [Book a demo](https://skipcall.io/en/demo) **No commitment** · Number live in 2 minutes ## Frequently asked questions **What is the difference between a cold call and a warm call?** A cold call goes to someone who has never been in touch with you. A warm call follows a signal: downloaded content, a referral, a LinkedIn exchange, a visit to your site. Both need preparation, but the warm call opener starts from that signal. **Are SDR and BDR the same job?** Often, in practice: someone who prospects and books meetings for an account executive. The most common split gives inbound leads to SDRs and cold outbound to BDRs, but titles vary from one company to the next. **What is a normal connect rate in cold calling?** It depends on the list, the country, the time of day and the dialing mode. Rather than a market average, measure yours over a week, then compare list to list. The KPI lesson and the “How many calls does your target take?” tool help you read it. **Is cold calling legal?** Business to business, yes in most countries, within data protection rules and the right to object. Consumers are protected by stricter rules: prior consent in France since 11 August 2026, the TCPA and do-not-call registries in the United States. The site’s compliance checker details the rules country by country.