INDEX
Glossary
This glossary gives plain definitions of the words I use on this site about leads, handoffs and systems, written for owners. Each term opens with a one-sentence definition, then says why it matters to a service business, walks through an example, and describes how a system handles it, in the words you'd use yourself.
The same few words come up every time I talk with an owner about a lead that went cold or a contact that turned up twice. When we both mean the same thing by speed to lead or a bottleneck, it's quicker to see where your own business is stuck and what would move it.
- BottleneckA bottleneck is the one stage that limits how much your whole business can move. The Theory of Constraints in plain words, with an example and the fix.
- Closed-won to kickoffClosed-won to kickoff is the gap between a client signing and the project starting. What has to happen in it, where it breaks, and how a system runs it.
- CRM hygieneCRM hygiene is keeping CRM records accurate, complete and free of duplicates. Why it decays, what it breaks, and how a system keeps it as a routine.
- Dedupe keyA dedupe key is the field a system uses to decide two records are the same person or company. Which key to pick, an example, and what goes wrong without one.
- HandoffA handoff is the moment work passes from one person, team or tool to the next. Why work waits and details get lost there, and how a system carries them.
- Human-in-the-loop approvalWhat human-in-the-loop approval means in an automation, which steps should wait for a person, and how an approval card makes sure an email sends once.
- Lead reactivationLead reactivation means going back to leads and past clients that went cold, with a reason to talk now. Why it matters and how a system keeps it running.
- Pipeline stallA pipeline stall is a deal that has stopped moving but still counts in the forecast. How to spot a stalled deal and how a system flags it in time.
- Retainer re-setupRetainer re-setup is rebuilding the same project every month for each retainer client. Why it costs margin and how a system sets up each month from a template.
- Scope creepScope creep is work a client gets that was never agreed, added one small request at a time. How the invisible kind eats agency margin and how to see it.
- Send-onceSend-once means one approval sends one email, however many times the button gets pressed. Why duplicates happen and how a system keeps the rule.
- Source of truthThe one system whose copy of a record wins when two tools disagree. Why it matters for opt-outs and phone numbers, and how a one-way sync keeps it that way.
- Speed to leadSpeed to lead is the time between a lead reaching you and a real reply going back. Why it matters, an example, and how a system shortens it.
- Stock and flowStock and flow sees a pipeline as a pile of open deals and the rates at which deals enter and leave. Why the rates matter more than the pile.
- WebhookA webhook is a message one app sends another the moment something happens. What that means in plain English, how it fails, and how a system catches it.
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Mashrur Rahman · Founder, SignalNinePUBLISHED