Reference
US finance and marketing glossary
Plain-English definitions of the US small business finance, compliance and lead generation terms used across Finance Leads.
Leads sourced through our multi-channel B2B marketing engine
Google Ads
Meta Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Microsoft/Bing Ads
TikTok Ads
YouTube Ads
X Ads
SEO
SEO for AI
Email marketing
SMS & MMS marketing
Telemarketing
Partner referrals
Affiliate marketing
Google Ads
Meta Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Microsoft/Bing Ads
TikTok Ads
YouTube Ads
X Ads
SEO
SEO for AI
Email marketing
SMS & MMS marketing
Telemarketing
Partner referrals
Affiliate marketing
A
- Attribution
- How we identify which marketing channel (email, Google Ads, LinkedIn, etc.) produced a given inquiry.
B
- Broker
- A commercial finance broker who arranges funding for US small businesses. Brokers are the only customer we sell leads to.
C
- CAN-SPAM
- US federal law governing commercial email. Requires clear sender identity, honest subject lines and a working unsubscribe.
- CCPA / CPRA
- California Consumer Privacy Act and its 2020 amendment. Gives California residents rights over their personal information.
- Consent
- Permission given by an enquirer for us to collect their details and pass them to a broker for a finance quote.
- Conversion
- When a visitor to a landing page completes an inquiry form and becomes a lead.
- Credit-box Fit
- How well a lead matches a broker or lender's underwriting criteria (revenue, time in business, industry, funding size, etc.).
- CRM
- Customer Relationship Management system. The tool a broker uses to track leads and clients.
D
- Data Verification
- Automated checks we run on every inquiry to confirm details like EIN, email and phone are valid.
- DNC (National Do Not Call Registry)
- The US registry of numbers that must not receive telemarketing calls. We screen against it before any phone outreach.
E
- EIN
- Employer Identification Number. The IRS-issued tax ID for US businesses, used to confirm a company exists and matches an inquiry.
- Email Marketing
- Reaching business decision-makers through opted-in email campaigns to generate finance inquiries.
- Inquiry
- A completed form from a US business asking about finance. Once verified, an inquiry becomes a lead.
G
- Google Ads
- Paid search and display advertising on Google, used to attract businesses actively looking for finance.
- Growth Lead
- Our mid-tier lead package: shared with a small number of brokers for a balance of value and exclusivity.
I
- ISO (Independent Sales Organization)
- A common term in US small business finance for a firm that sources and packages funding deals. On this site we generally refer to all such firms as brokers.
L
- Landing Page
- A dedicated web page an enquirer arrives on from an ad or email, designed to convert them into a lead.
- Lead
- A verified inquiry from a US business that has asked to be contacted about finance.
- LinkedIn Ads
- Paid campaigns on LinkedIn targeting owners, executives and finance decision-makers at US businesses.
M
- MCA (Merchant Cash Advance)
- A funding product where a business receives a lump sum in exchange for a share of future card or bank receipts.
P
- Priority Lead
- Our top-tier lead package: delivered to a single broker on an exclusive basis.
R
- Real-time Delivery
- Leads are sent to the broker the moment they pass verification, not batched overnight.
- Replacement Guarantee
- If a delivered lead fails our stated quality criteria, we replace it at no extra cost.
S
- SBA
- US Small Business Administration. Backs several loan programs (7(a), 504, microloans) offered through approved lenders.
- Secretary of State Filing
- The state-level record confirming a business is registered and in good standing. We use it as part of business verification.
- Service Provider (CCPA)
- A party that processes personal information for a business under a written contract. Similar in concept to a processor under other privacy laws.
- Shared Lead
- Our entry-level package: the same lead is delivered to a small, capped group of brokers.
- State Privacy Laws
- State-level privacy laws (California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and more) that give residents rights over their personal data.
- Suppression List
- A list of email addresses and phone numbers we must never contact again (unsubscribes, complaints, DNC entries).
T
- TCPA
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act. US federal law regulating calls, texts and prerecorded messages. Requires prior express consent for many contacts.
U
- Unsubscribe
- The mechanism that lets an enquirer opt out of further marketing. Required by CAN-SPAM and state privacy laws.
V
- Verified Lead
- An inquiry that has passed our automated verification stack: business checks, contact validation and consent evidence.
W
- Waiting List
- Broker demand outstrips lead supply, so new brokers join a waiting list and are onboarded when capacity opens.
- Working Capital
- Short-term funding a business uses for day-to-day operations such as payroll, inventory and supplier payments.