- Outbound Calling
- Agent-initiated telephone contact with prospects or existing customers, as opposed to inbound calls received from customers.
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
- A measurable target — such as calls per hour, conversion rate, or average handle time — used to evaluate agent performance.
- Do Not Call (DNC) Registry
- A government-maintained list of telephone numbers whose owners have opted out of telemarketing calls; calling a registered number is a regulatory violation.
- TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)
- A US federal law restricting autodialed calls, prerecorded messages, and calls to numbers on the DNC registry, with per-call fines for violations.
- Conversion Rate
- The percentage of outbound calls or contacts that result in a completed sale or desired action, calculated as sales divided by total contacts.
- Average Handle Time (AHT)
- The average total duration of a single call interaction, including talk time and any after-call work such as logging notes.
- Sales Quota
- A defined revenue, unit, or activity target an agent is expected to meet within a set period — typically daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Commission Structure
- The formula determining variable pay earned on completed sales, expressed as a flat rate per sale, a percentage of revenue, or a tiered rate based on quota attainment.
- Call Script
- An approved sequence of talking points, objection-handling responses, and required disclosures an agent must follow during an outbound call.
- Progressive Discipline
- A structured escalation of corrective action — verbal warning, written warning, performance improvement plan, termination — applied when performance or compliance standards are not met.
- At-Will Employment
- Employment that either party may end at any time for any lawful reason without advance notice — the default in most US states.