Glossary

The words behind territory intelligence.

Plain definitions of the records, programs and sales terms that come up when you look for the accounts worth your time. Each one links to a guide where there is more to say.

Agenda packet: The staff reports, memos and attachments behind each item on a public meeting agenda. It usually names the presenter, the cost and the recommended action, so it says more than the agenda line. See how to read a city council agenda for sales leads.
Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ): The office or official responsible for enforcing a code in a given place, such as a fire marshal or a building department. The AHJ decides which edition of a code applies and how it is enforced. See fire protection sales on inspection clocks.
Bid board: A website where a government or institution posts open solicitations, such as requests for proposals and invitations to bid, with their due dates.
Bond referendum: A public vote on whether a government, often a school district, may borrow money for capital projects. A passed referendum usually funds construction and equipment over the following years. See spotting construction projects early and how vendors track school bond projects.
Capital improvement plan (CIP): A multiyear schedule of a government's planned construction and equipment projects, with estimated costs and years. Projects often appear here long before they reach a bid board.
Certificate of occupancy: A document from the building department confirming that a building or space is approved for use. It usually comes near the end of construction, just before new occupants move in.
Consent agenda: A group of routine items, often contract renewals, bid awards and standard purchases, approved together in one vote without separate discussion. Any member can usually pull an item for discussion.
Contact database: A purchased list of companies and people with contact details. It tells you who exists, not what just changed or why an account matters now. See territory intelligence vs. a contact database.
E-Rate and FCC Form 470: E-Rate is the federal program that discounts telecommunications and internet services for schools and libraries. An applicant posts a Form 470 to open competitive bidding and generally must wait at least 28 days before choosing a vendor. See how MSPs find public-sector IT work before the RFP and how to search Form 470 postings.
EFAST2: The Department of Labor's system for filing and searching Form 5500 returns.
Foreign qualification: A filing a company makes to register to do business in a state other than the one where it was formed. A new filing can signal expansion into that state. See PEO prospecting with public filings.
Form 5500: The annual return many employee benefit plans file with the Department of Labor. It shows the plan type, participant counts and service providers. Participant counts describe the plan, not a company's total headcount. See federal data for sales teams.
MCS-150 and USDOT number: The USDOT number identifies a motor carrier registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The MCS-150 is the registration form carriers must update every two years, so a carrier's public snapshot shows its fleet size and when it last updated. See commercial insurance prospecting.
NFPA 25, NFPA 72 and NFPA 10: National Fire Protection Association standards for inspecting, testing and maintaining water-based fire protection systems (25), fire alarm and signaling systems (72) and portable fire extinguishers (10). They apply where the local fire code adopts them, often with amendments.
Official statement: The disclosure document a government issues when it sells bonds, describing the issuer, the security and the purpose of the borrowing. Official statements are posted on the MSRB's EMMA site. See how vendors track school bond projects.
Permit: Approval from a local government to build, alter or install something. Permit records usually show the address, the type of work, its value and the contractor, with a date. See building permits as sales signals.
PILOT agreement: A payment in lieu of taxes: negotiated payments that replace standard property taxes for a set period, often as an economic development incentive. Structures vary by state. See tax abatements and incentive agreements.
Public record: Information a government publishes or makes available to anyone, such as permits, licenses, business filings, meeting agendas and contract awards. Availability and format vary by state and county. See public records for B2B prospecting.
Public records request: A written request to a government agency for copies of its records under a public records law. Federal agencies fall under FOIA; state and local agencies follow each state's own law, with its own deadlines, fees and exemptions. See how to get fire inspection records.
Receipt: The source behind a recommendation's reason: the record it came from, where to find it, and when it was retrieved. See why every sales recommendation needs a receipt.
Registered agent: The person or company an LLC or corporation names to receive legal papers in a state. It is not the owner, and commercial agent services act for many companies at one address. See who is behind the LLC.
Request for proposals (RFP): A formal solicitation asking vendors to propose how they would meet a need, with a deadline. While an RFP is open, contact usually goes through the procurement contact named in it, and talking to other officials can put a bid at risk.
SAM.gov and the Unique Entity ID (UEI): SAM.gov is the federal System for Award Management, where businesses register to work with the federal government. Each registered entity has a Unique Entity ID, which replaced the DUNS number in April 2022.
Schedule A (Form 5500): The Form 5500 schedule that reports insurance contracts held by an employee benefit plan, including the insurer, the contract year and fees or commissions paid to brokers and agents. See commercial insurance prospecting.
State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP): A federal grant program created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and administered by FEMA with CISA. States receive the funds and pass most of them through to local governments. Its authorization has come in short extensions, so check its current status with your state.
Tax abatement: An agreement in which a local government exempts part of a property's taxes for a set number of years in return for investment or jobs. Names, limits and approval steps vary by state, and approvals usually appear on a public agenda. See tax abatements and incentive agreements.
Tax increment financing (TIF): A tool that sets aside the growth in property tax revenue inside a defined district to repay public improvements or reimburse a developer. Rules vary by state. See tax abatements and incentive agreements.
Tenant improvement permit: A permit for interior work in an existing building, such as a build-out for a new tenant. It often signals new occupants and near-term work on fire, electrical, mechanical and IT systems.
Territory design: Deciding which accounts or areas each rep covers. It usually changes at planning time or after a reorganization, not week to week.
Territory intelligence: Knowing which accounts in a sales territory deserve attention now, and why, from dated evidence with a source behind each reason. See territory intelligence, defined.
Territory mapping: Software that shows where accounts sit on a map. It answers where your accounts are, not which ones matter this week. See territory intelligence vs. territory mapping software.
Trigger event: A dated change at an organization, such as a permit, a new owner or a posted bid, that makes a conversation timely. See trigger events in B2B sales.
UCC-1 financing statement: A public filing a lender makes to record a security interest in a borrower's assets. It is usually filed with the secretary of state where the business is organized, and it generally lapses after five years unless continued. See commercial banker business development.
USAspending.gov: The federal government's public site for contract, grant and loan award data. Most award data posts within weeks; Department of Defense contract data is generally delayed about 90 days.
WARN notice: A notice the federal WARN Act generally requires employers with 100 or more employees to give 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff. States publish the notices, and several states have their own, stricter rules. See WARN notices by state.
Why-now reason: The plain-English statement of what changed at an account and why it makes the account worth attention this week, with the source behind it.

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