B2B
Business to Business
B2B describes commercial activity in which one business sells to another. Decisions often involve several stakeholders, a defined operational need and a more structured buying process than consumer sales.
RESOURCE · M/GLOSSARY
B2B sales glossary
Explore the main terms used in B2B sales prospecting and see how Melloria applies them in practice.
INDEX
Find a definition quickly
Terms are grouped by when they matter: understanding the market, targeting accounts, running outreach and qualifying meetings.
Commercial foundations
Roles, accounts and targeting
Channels and tools
Meetings, quality and follow-up
01
Commercial foundations
A clear starting point for markets, inbound demand and proactive sales development.
B2B sales prospecting
B2B sales prospecting is the disciplined work of identifying relevant companies, reaching the right decision-makers and establishing whether there is a credible reason to continue. It connects targeting, data, messaging, channels and qualification.
Explore Melloria’s B2B prospecting methodOutbound
Outbound is proactive: a business selects the accounts it wants to approach and initiates contact through email, LinkedIn, calls or another relevant channel.
Inbound
Inbound attracts prospects who express interest first, for example by finding content, submitting a form or requesting a demo. It can complement outbound, but the starting point and operating model are different.
02
Roles, accounts and targeting
The language used to decide who should be approached, why they fit and how to prioritise them.
SDR
Sales Development Representative
An SDR opens conversations and qualifies potential opportunities before handing them to the person responsible for the sale. The role covers account selection, sequences, responses and appointment setting.
Compare an internal SDR with an outsourced SDRBusiness Developer
A Business Developer creates new commercial opportunities. Depending on the organisation, the role may include prospecting, partnerships, qualification and part of the sales process.
Account Executive
An Account Executive usually takes over after qualification. They explore the need, shape the proposal, manage stakeholders and guide the opportunity towards a decision.
ICP
Ideal Customer Profile
An ICP describes the kind of company most likely to gain value from an offer. It may cover industry, size, geography, operating context, buying signals and reasons to exclude an account.
ICP Blueprint
An ICP Blueprint turns a broad commercial target into criteria that can be used to select accounts and guide a campaign.
At Melloria
See how Melloria structures an ICPAt Melloria, the ICP Blueprint connects company criteria, personas, signals, messaging hypotheses and exclusions. It provides one shared frame for list building, outreach and qualification.
Targeted List
A Targeted List is a verified and segmented set of accounts and contacts built from agreed criteria before outreach begins.
At Melloria
At Melloria, the Targeted List is derived from the ICP Blueprint. It documents selected accounts, relevant decision-makers and exclusions so the targeting can be reviewed.
Lead
A lead is a person or company identified as a potential commercial contact. Their fit, interest and ability to influence a decision have not necessarily been confirmed yet.
Qualified lead
A qualified lead meets criteria agreed in advance, such as target fit, a relevant role, credible context and enough interest to justify the next commercial step.
Prospect
A prospect is a lead considered relevant enough to enter an active sales process. The word can refer to the target company or to the person involved in the conversation.
Decision-maker
A decision-maker has meaningful influence over selection, budget or approval. The right contact is not always the sole signer: users, sponsors and internal influencers can also shape the outcome.
03
Channels and tools
The practical means used to start conversations and keep commercial activity coherent.
Outreach
Outreach means proactive contact with selected prospects. Effective outreach gives the recipient a clear reason for the contact and a request that fits the situation.
Multi-channel outreach
Multi-channel outreach coordinates several channels, such as email, LinkedIn and calls, without mechanically repeating the same message. Each interaction should add context or a useful signal.
Cold email
A cold email is a professional email sent to someone with whom no commercial relationship exists yet. It should be relevant, clear, targeted and compliant with the applicable rules.
Cold calling
Cold calling is a phone conversation initiated with a prospect who did not request the call. Its useful role is to test relevance and open a conversation, not force an immediate decision.
Social selling
Social selling uses professional networks to understand an account, observe signals, build familiarity and begin a commercially relevant conversation in context.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management
A CRM centralises information about accounts, contacts, opportunities and commercial interactions. It helps a team share context and follow progress through the pipeline.
04
Meetings, quality and follow-up
The terms that separate a calendar booking from a genuinely useful commercial opportunity.
B2B meeting
A B2B meeting is a commercial conversation between people representing two businesses. A calendar booking alone does not prove that the account, contact or need is relevant.
Qualified meeting
A qualified meeting ideally combines a company that fits the ICP, a relevant contact, identified commercial context, validated interest or need and useful information for the conversation.
At Melloria
Understand qualified B2B appointment settingMelloria also follows confirmation, whether the meeting was actually held and how its quality was assessed. Exact qualification criteria are agreed before the campaign.
Meeting held
Meeting held means the conversation actually took place. The status distinguishes a completed meeting from one that was merely scheduled, confirmed, missed or rescheduled.
No-show
A no-show occurs when an expected participant does not attend the meeting. It should be tracked separately from a cancellation, rejection or rescheduling.
Show rate
Show rate is the proportion of scheduled meetings that actually take place. It helps assess confirmation and follow-up quality, but does not by itself measure the commercial quality of those meetings.
Meeting Brief
A Meeting Brief gathers the useful context before a meeting: company, contact, role, situation, identified need, expressed interest and possible discussion angles.
At Melloria
At Melloria, the Meeting Brief gives the client the qualified context available before the conversation. It should not expose internal notes that are not intended for the client.
Melloria Meeting Quality Score
Meeting Quality Score
The Melloria Meeting Quality Score is Melloria’s system for evaluating meeting quality beyond the booking itself.
At Melloria
It may consider ICP fit, contact relevance, commercial context, identified interest or need, the information transferred and whether the meeting was held. No public numerical weighting is claimed here.
Sales pipeline
A sales pipeline represents active opportunities by stage, from first contact to a decision. It helps a team see progress, bottlenecks and the next action required.
Qualification
Qualification uses consistent criteria to decide whether an account, contact or meeting deserves the next commercial step. It should keep observed facts separate from assumptions.
Review the criteria for choosing a prospecting agencyPILOT · ONE-OFF
Turn shared definitions into a structured campaign
The Melloria Pilot tests one ICP, one angle and one campaign with 3 qualified meetings in a one-off engagement.