Free resource · 55 terms
GTM glossary, mapped.
55 GTM engineering terms we use to build signal based outbound, each defined in one line and linked to the terms it depends on.
What is GTM engineering? Building the data, automation and AI systems that run go-to-market. Read the entry
All 55 terms
Grouped in the order we build: signals and data, the infrastructure that gets email delivered, channels, plays, the systems that join them, and the metrics that prove it works.
Signals and data 12
What tells you an account is worth writing to, and the data that turns it into a reachable person.
- Buying signalA buying signal is an observable event suggesting an account has a reason to buy now, such as a new leader, funding or a stack change.
- Data creditsData credits are the usage units enrichment platforms charge for each lookup, so every email, phone or company search draws down a prepaid balance.
- EnrichmentEnrichment is adding missing data to a record, such as a work email, phone number, job title or company size, by looking it up in external sources.
- FirmographicsFirmographics are company level attributes such as industry, headcount, revenue, location and funding stage, used to decide whether an account fits your ICP.
- ICPAn ICP, ideal customer profile, describes the type of company that gets the most value from your product and is most likely to buy and stay.
- Intent dataIntent data is evidence that people at an account are researching a topic, usually inferred from content consumption across websites or review platforms.
- Job change signalA job change signal fires when a relevant person starts a new role: a new buyer at a target account, or a past champion at a new company.
- Lookalike accountsLookalike accounts are companies that resemble your best existing customers on firmographic, technographic or behavioural traits, found to expand a target list.
- Signal half-lifeSignal half-life is how long a buying signal stays useful before the reason to reach out has faded, been acted on, or been answered by a competitor.
- TAMTAM, total addressable market, is every account that could ever buy what you sell. In outbound it is a countable list, not a revenue figure.
- TechnographicsTechnographics describe the software a company uses, detected from website code, job posts, DNS records or vendor data, to qualify accounts and personalise outreach.
- Waterfall enrichmentWaterfall enrichment queries several data providers in sequence and stops at the first one that returns a valid result, raising coverage without paying every provider.
Deliverability and infrastructure 13
The DNS records, domains and habits that decide whether your email reaches an inbox at all.
- Bounce rateBounce rate is the share of sent emails that could not be delivered, from hard bounces such as invalid addresses or soft bounces such as full mailboxes.
- DeliverabilityDeliverability is the ability of your email to reach the recipient's inbox rather than spam or a rejection, shaped by authentication, reputation and content.
- DKIMDKIM, DomainKeys Identified Mail, adds a cryptographic signature to each email so receivers can verify it came from your domain and was not altered.
- DMARCDMARC is a DNS policy telling receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF and DKIM alignment for your domain: nothing, quarantine, or reject.
- Domain reputationDomain reputation is how trustworthy mailbox providers judge your sending domain, built from authentication, complaint rates, bounces and recipient engagement.
- Email verificationEmail verification checks whether an address exists and can receive mail, without sending to it, so invalid addresses are removed before a campaign.
- Inbox placementInbox placement is the share of your delivered emails that land in the primary inbox rather than spam or a promotions tab, usually estimated with seed tests.
- MX recordAn MX record is a DNS entry naming the mail servers that accept incoming email for a domain, which is where replies to your outreach are delivered.
- One-click unsubscribeOne-click unsubscribe lets recipients opt out from the inbox interface in one step, using the List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers from RFC 8058.
- Sending domainA sending domain is the domain your outbound email is sent from, often a separate lookalike of your main domain to protect its reputation.
- Spam complaint rateSpam complaint rate is the share of recipients who mark your email as spam. Google asks senders to stay under 0.1% and never reach 0.3%.
- SPFSPF, Sender Policy Framework, is a DNS TXT record listing which servers may send email for your domain, so receivers can reject unauthorised senders.
- WarmupWarmup is gradually raising the daily send volume of a new mailbox or domain so mailbox providers see a normal history before it sends at full volume.
Channels 4
The places a touch actually lands: inbox, LinkedIn, phone, and the sequence that orders them.
- Cold callingCold calling is phoning a prospect without a prior relationship. It works best on a verified direct dial, after an email has already given context.
- Cold emailCold email is a one-to-one message to someone you have no prior relationship with, sent because there is a specific reason they might care.
- LinkedIn outreachLinkedIn outreach is prospecting on LinkedIn through connection requests, messages, InMail and engagement with a buyer's posts, usually alongside email.
- Multichannel sequenceA multichannel sequence is a planned series of touches across email, LinkedIn and phone, in a set order and timing, aimed at one person or account.
Plays and motions 7
Repeatable ways of going to market, each with its own trigger and its own target list.
- Account-based marketingAccount-based marketing, ABM, treats each high value target account as a market of one, coordinating sales and marketing touches around a named account list.
- Champion trackingChampion tracking follows people who previously bought or championed your product, so you can reach them when they move to a new company.
- Closed-lost reactivationClosed-lost reactivation is a play that re-engages deals you previously lost, triggered when something changes at the account that removes the original blocker.
- PersonalizationPersonalization in outbound means a message that could only have been sent to this person, because it references something true and specific to them.
- Product-led growthProduct-led growth, PLG, uses the product itself as the main way to acquire, convert and expand customers, typically through a free plan or trial.
- Signal-based outboundSignal-based outbound reaches out only when a buying signal fires at a target account, so every message has a timely, specific reason behind it.
- Warm outboundWarm outbound targets people with an existing connection to you, such as website visitors, past users, event attendees or contacts who engaged with content.
Systems and ops 8
The machinery behind outbound: tables, scores, routing rules and the CRM that records it all.
- AI SDRAn AI SDR is software that automates SDR tasks such as research, writing and sending outreach and handling replies, with or without human review.
- Clay tableA Clay table is a spreadsheet-like workspace in Clay where each column runs an enrichment, AI or integration step on every row, automating list building.
- CRM writebackCRM writeback is automatically logging every outbound touch and outcome back to the account in your CRM, so the record shows what happened without manual entry.
- GTM engineeringGTM engineering is building the data, automation and AI systems that run go-to-market, so outbound and pipeline come from a machine rather than manual effort.
- Lead routingLead routing is the set of rules that decides which rep, sequence or channel an account or lead goes to, based on score, territory and ownership.
- Lead scoringLead scoring gives each lead or account a number based on fit and signals, so you can rank who to contact first and how to route them.
- Reply handlingReply handling is classifying and acting on responses to outreach, such as interested, not now, wrong person, opt out or out of office, quickly and consistently.
- SuppressionSuppression is the shared do-not-contact state that stops an account or person from being sequenced, after a reply, opt out, bounce or open deal.
Metrics 7
The numbers that tell you whether the system works, and the ones that only look like they do.
- Cost per meetingCost per meeting is the total outbound spend, including data, tools, infrastructure and people, divided by the number of qualified meetings it produced.
- Cost per verified contactCost per verified contact is the total data and enrichment spend divided by the number of contacts with a verified, deliverable email or phone number.
- Open rateOpen rate is the share of emails recorded as opened via a tracking pixel. Privacy features now inflate it, so it is unreliable for outbound.
- Pipeline velocityPipeline velocity measures how fast pipeline turns into revenue: opportunities times win rate times average deal size, divided by sales cycle length.
- Positive reply ratePositive reply rate is the share of contacted prospects who reply with interest, such as agreeing to a call or asking for more information.
- Reply rateReply rate is the share of contacted prospects who reply to an outbound sequence. Depending on the tool, it can include auto replies and opt outs.
- Speed to leadSpeed to lead is the time between a lead or signal appearing and your first meaningful contact with that person or account.
Roles 4
Who builds the system, who runs it, and who closes what it produces.
- Account executiveAn account executive, AE, owns qualified opportunities through to a closed deal: running discovery, demos, proposals and negotiation.
- GTM engineerA GTM engineer builds and maintains the technical systems behind go-to-market: data pipelines, enrichment, scoring, automations and CRM integrations.
- RevOpsRevOps, revenue operations, aligns the processes, data and tools of sales, marketing and customer success so the whole revenue engine runs on one system.
- SDRAn SDR, sales development representative, prospects and qualifies new accounts and books meetings for account executives, rather than closing deals.
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Free 30 minute signal audit
Turn the glossary into a working system.
Book the free 30 minute signal audit. We map the buying signals for your ICP live on the call and tell you which two to start with.
Pick a time in the calendar below to schedule a 30 minute call with me.
- 01You talk. Who you sell to and what you send today.
- 02We map. The signals that fire for your ICP and the two to start with.
- 03You keep it. The signal map and a budget range, whether or not you build with us.
Ishan Vats, founder of IV Consulting. We run our own outbound on the same system.
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