-A-

ACC: See "Association of Corporate Counsel " Top

ADR: See "Alternative Dispute Resolution" Top

Advertising: A public notice communicated through the various media designed to attract public attention and/or influence the purchasing behavior of a particular audience. Top

ALA: See "Association of Legal Administrators" Top

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Refers to any means of settling disputes outside of the courtroom. ADR typically includes arbitration, mediation, early neutral evaluation, and conciliation. The two most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation. Top

Alternative Fee Arrangements: Client demand, value and economics have resulted in a rise in billing arrangements other than the straight billable hour. Alternative fee arrangements include: incentive fee arrangements; task-based fees; flat fee billing; and value billing. Top

Applet: An applet is a small program that rides on top of other applications like your web browser and magically produces everything from real time stock tickers to animation. Top

Application Service Provider (ASP): A company that lets you rent software. And, rather than load it on your own computer, the ASPs keep the software and give you access to it through the Internet. You pay a nice low monthly fee and they fix the kinks and make sure you always have the latest and greatest versions. Top

Arbitration: Arbitration is a simplified version of a trial involving no discovery and simplified rules of evidence. Either both sides agree on one arbitrator, or each side selects one arbitrator and the two arbitrators elect the third to comprise a panel. Arbitration hearings usually last only a few hours and the opinions are not public record. Arbitration has long been used in labor, construction, and securities regulation, but is now gaining popularity in other business disputes. Top

ASP: See "Application Service Provider" Top

Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC): An organization that represents over 21,000 in-house lawyers and over 9,200 companies worldwide. It is one of the primary sources for information about the corporate legal profession.Top

Association of Legal Administrators (ALA): A professional association of law firm and corporate law department administrators and managers. Top

Assumptive Close: A closing technique in which a seller assumes the prospect wants to make a purchase. Examples of an assumptive close include: "we'll begin work on Friday"-or, "where would you like the product delivered?" Assumptive closes work best when the seller has spent considerable time asking questions and learning about the prospect's business. If the seller successfully identifies and clarifies the prospect's objectives, the assumptive close becomes the only logical way to end the conversation. Top

-B-

Bandwidth: The amount of information that can move across an electronic communications system. Anyone who's tried to download a picture or complex graphic from the Internet, and waited several minutes for the download, has experienced low bandwidth. Top

Banner Ad: Banner ads are one of the most widely used, albeit largely unproven, forms of online advertising. Sizes and styles vary dramatically, but the average banner ad is about 1 ½ inches high and 4 inches long and can contain anything from plain text to detailed images, complicated animation and special effects. Like traditional forms of advertising, banner ads are part of the branding process and they help develop name recognition. Unlike traditional advertising, they also allow interested viewers to take immediate action by clicking on the banner ad ("clicking through") and linking directly to the advertiser's Web site. Unfortunately, only about .3% to .5% of the people who view banner ads actually click through. Even most direct mail campaigns manage to eke out a 2% response rate. Top

Beauty Contest: See "Road Show" Top

Benchmarking: A performance measurement tool used in conjunction with improvement initiatives to measure comparative operating performance and identify Best Practices. Top

Best Practice: A way of functioning at any level of operation, internal or external, that produces superior performance and results. A best practice could range from answering a phone to running a company. Top

Bookmark: Saving the addresses of a web site on your browser for easy, one click access. Top

Branding: Branding is the process by which an organization develops and communicates its identity. This includes everything from creating a name, a logo and a slogan to reorganizing internal operations and external communications such that they comport with the organization's desired position in the marketplace. Branding is often described as an evolving story as successful brands take years to develop and require periodic adjustments to the changing demands of the marketplace. Top

Bricks-and-Mortar: Businesses that only service customers in the physical world-not online. Top

Broadband: A communications network on which a frequency range is divided into multiple independent channels so that we can talk, send documents and watch each other-all at the same time. Top

Browser: A computer program that you use to surf and interact with the World Wide Web. Common browsers include Internet Explorer, Netscape and Firefox. Top

Business-to-Business (B2B) E-Commerce: When businesses buy products and/or services on the Internet from each other. The best example is Cisco Systems (CSCO)--the biggest supplier of "plumbing" to businesses on the Internet. Cisco is a multibillion-dollar business that makes over 75% of its sales over the Internet. Top

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce: When individual consumers buy products and/or services on the Internet from online businesses. The most obvious example is Amazon.com (AMZN) which sells everything from books and music to toys and electronics. Top

-C-

Call to Action: Order Now! Click Here! A call to action is the part of an advertisement that implores the person receiving the message to act. Top

Chat Room: Like a message board in real time, chat rooms are places where you can engage in live on-line conversation. In most chat rooms, people communicate by typing messages. However, some sites are beginning to offer voice capabilities. Top

Churn: The rate at which clients leave or stop using a service. Top

Classified Advertising: A relatively inexpensive form of advertising that is arranged according to categories or interests and found in various media such as newspapers, magazines, trade publications and Web sites. Top

Clicks-and-Mortar: Businesses that service customers both online and in the physical world. Top

Click-Stream: The path visitors take as they navigate through a Web site. Good Web site analysis tools document this activity. Top

Click-Through: Also called ad clicks or requests, this is the process of linking to an advertiser's Web site by clicking an ad on the current Web site. Advertisers like to keep tabs on the "click rate" which tracks the volume of ad clicks versus the time each ad is viewed. Top

Client: An individual or an organization that is using or has agreed to use the products and/or services of another. Some companies do not call a prospect a client until the prospect pays its first bill. Top

Client Interview: The process of meeting with a client to gather information. Client interviews can have many purposes such as gaining an understanding of the client's business; discussing and addressing any client concerns or service related issues; and identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to generate additional business from the client. Top

Client Survey: The process of assessing a client's satisfaction with the service they receive. The service provider, another member of the service provider's organization, or an outside consultant can conduct a client survey in writing, by telephone or in person. Regardless of who conducts the survey, in-person surveys are preferred. Top

Close: The process of consummating a sale or an agreement-or, of getting to the next step in the sales process. In either instance, through a series of targeted questions and clarifications, the salesperson persuades the prospect to take action. Top

Cold Call: Initial contact (usually by telephone), with an unknown individual to schedule an appointment or to solicit business. While the cold call is one of the most dreaded sales activities, it is also one of the most efficient ways to determine whether or not the individual in question is qualified and willing to move through the sale cycle. Top

Contact Management System or Contact Manager: A method for quickly recording, managing, retrieving and analyzing prospect and client information. Often used to describe software applications that allow sales professionals to automate these important activities. Top

Convergence: In recent years, there has been a movement by many corporations toward retaining fewer law firms. This approach is sometimes called "convergence". The theory behind convergence is that a corporation will enjoy more productive relationships with law firms if a smaller number of firms learn the corporation's business and develop the ability to provide proactive assistance to the corporation. Such relationships can provide other benefits, such as volume discounts on legal bills and lessened managerial and administrative burdens on the corporation from working with fewer firms. Top

Cookie: A file stored by some browsers on the user's local PC. It can be used by the server that generates it to identify the user, track his/her activities on the server, and allow instant customization of the user's experience. Top

Cost-per-click (CPC): A fee structure for Web-based advertising in which advertisers are only charged when viewers click on their ad. CPC fee arrangements are popular with advertisers because they do not have to pay for the brand awareness and familiarity that their ads generate in the minds of viewers who do not click-through. For the same reasons, CPCs are not popular with those who sell the advertising. Top

Cost-per-thousand Impressions (CPM): This is the measurement tool that advertisers use to determine the relative value of different media buys. CPM equals the cost of an ad (e.g., $10,000) divided by the total estimated viewership/subscriber base or, on the Web, the number of actual ads served (e.g., 100,000) multiplied by 1000. In this example, CPM equals ($10,000/100,000) x 1,000, or $100. In arriving at the CPM calculation, it is important to note that advertisers can only estimate the number of times an ad is seen offline. On the Web they know precisely because they can use the number of actual ads served. Top

CPC: See "Cost-per-click" Top

CPM: See "Cost-per-thousand Impressions" Top

CRM: See "Customer Relationship Management" Top

Cross-Selling: To increase the value or quantity of a sale by recommending complimentary products or services. For professional service firms, cross-selling is also used interchangeably with "cross-servicing" to describe the process of providing existing clients with additional services from new practice areas. Top

Cross-Servicing: Increasing the value of a relationship by providing existing clients with additional services from new practice areas. Top

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A business strategy built around the customer that is designed to enhance revenue and improve service. CRM involves more than the implementation of new technology. It is a complex interplay of strategy, tactics, processes, skill sets and technology. Top

Cyberspace: Coined by author William Gibson in his sci-fi novel Neuromancer (1984), cyberspace is a metaphor used to describe the areas of the non-physical world created by computers and the Internet. Top

-D-

Data Mining: A technique to analyze data in very large databases. Analysis can reveal trends and patterns and can be used to improve vital business processes. Top

Depth of Sale: The degree to which a sales professional and his or her primary client contact have developed additional relationships with members of their respective organizations. Also, the degree to which an organization capitalizes on the opportunities available within its client's business. Top

Differentiation: A situation where a particular company or brand is perceived as unique or better than its competitors. Top

Direct Marketing: A promotion delivered directly and individually to a prospective client. Examples of direct marketing include mail order, door-to-door selling and telemarketing. Top

Dog and Pony Show: See "Road Show." Top

Domain Name: A name that identifies an Internet address. The domain name for Sugarcrest is Sugarcrest.com. See "URL." Top

Download: Commonly used to describe the process of copying an online file or a network file to your own computer. Top

-E-

EBITA: Earnings before interest, taxation and amortization. Top

80/20 Rule: The principle that 80 percent of sales volume for a product or service is generated by 20 percent of the customers. Top

Electronic Commerce (e-commerce): Conducting business online. Top

E-tailor: A business that sells retail goods online. Top

E-service: Online customer service. Top

eXtensible Markup Language (XML): See "XML" Top

-F-

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): Pronounced as separate letters or as fak. A list of questions and answers about a particular topic. A FAQ is often found on Web sites and in software application manuals to help users get answers to their questions without live client support. Top

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The federal agency that has the primary responsibility for protecting consumers and business from anticompetitive behavior and unfair and deceptive practices. Top

Flat Fee Billing or Fixed Fee Billing: An alternative fee arrangement where an attorney and his or her client agree in advance on the fee that will be charged for handling a matter from the beginning to end. Sometimes, flat fee billing is used for only part of a matter, such as agreeing to a fixed fee for conducting a certain number of depositions. This option works well where there is a high volume of similar matters with approximately the same time and costs involved. Top

Focus Groups: A qualitative research method whereby a group of 10-12 people are led through a discussion regarding a particular topic such as a product, service, or advertising campaign. Top

FTC: See "Federal Trade Commission" Top

-G-

Gatekeeper: An individual within an organization who controls access to decision-makers and/or who serves as the point person for group purchasing decisions. Whether or not the gatekeeper's status is formally recognized within his or her organization, a professional must often win the confidence and trust of the gatekeeper before he or she can meet with high-level decision-makers and other members of the gatekeeper's organization. Top

-H-

Hard Sell: Using aggressive tactics to convince someone to make a purchasing decision. Also used to describe situations in which it is difficult to convince others to act favorably (e.g., "The partisan bill was a hard sell for the President"). Top

Hits: The number of times any of the elements in a Web page have been accessed. Top

Home Page: A Web site's main or central page, or, alternatively, the page that appears on your browser when you log on. Top

HTML: See "Hyper Text Markup Language" Top

Hyperlink: When you're viewing a Web page and you see an underlined or colored word--or when your cursor turns from an arrow into a finger--you're probably looking at a hyperlink (also known as a "link"). This is the wave that propels you as you surf the World Wide Web. You trigger the wave by clicking on it. It can take you anywhere from the another part of the Web Page you're currently viewing to an entirely different corner of the World Wide Web. Top

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML): The nuts and bolts used to build most Web pages. Top

-I-

Impression: The appearance of an ad on an accessed Web page. If you visit a Web page that shows two ads, you have just accounted for two impressions. Often, advertisers equate impressions with the number of times their ads are actually viewed by Web surfers and they buy ad space based on the cost per thousand impressions. Top

Incentive Fee Arrangement: An alternative fee arrangement where the attorney is given an incentive to resolve the lawsuit for the lowest possible cost to the client. The client benefits either from low fees and/or settlement costs due to a favorable resolution of the case or from reduced fees if the settlement or judgment is not favorable. Top

Incubator: A resource for entrepreneurs who need to infuse their start-ups with the talent, technology and capital necessary for success. In return for an ownership interest, Incubators may provide venture capital and networking opportunities. They also may provide office space, network infrastructure, technology development, graphic design, business strategy, human resources consulting, branding, marketing services and competitive research. Top

International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA): Formerly known as the Legal Assistant Management Association (LAMA), IPMA promotes the development, professional standing and visibility of paralegal management professionals.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): See "ISP." Top

ISP (Internet Service Provider): Examples: AOL and Earthlink. Most of them charge monthly fees for allowing you the privilege of connecting to the Internet. Top

-J-

Java: A general purpose, simplified programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Java is well suited for use on the Web because it is designed to avoid common programming errors and its code can run on most computers. Top

-K-

Key Account: One of a small group of current client relationships that deserves focused attention and resources because it represents one of the best opportunities for a sales professional and his or her organization. Top

Knowledge Base: An organized structure of information, which facilitates the storage and retrieval of organizational intelligence. Top

Knowledge Management: The systematic process of finding, selecting, organizing, distilling and presenting information in a way that improves an employee's comprehension in a specific area of interest. Knowledge management helps an organization to gain insight and understanding from its own experience. Specific knowledge management activities help focus the organization on acquiring, storing and utilizing knowledge for such things as problem solving, dynamic learning, strategic planning and decision making. It also protects intellectual assets from decay, adds to firm intelligence and provides increased flexibility. Top

-L-

LAMA: See "International Paralegal Management Association" Top

Lead: An unqualified prospect. For example, a lead could include an individual who has been referred to a sales professional or who has responded to a direct marketing campaign conducted by the sales professional's organization. Top

Legal Marketing Association (LMA): A professional association dedicated to serving the needs and maintaining the professional standards of those involved in marketing for the legal profession. Top

Lessons Learned Meeting: A post-engagement/project meeting between professional service providers and their client to assess performance, identify areas for improvement and determine next steps. Lessons learned meetings are excellent opportunities for forward thinking professionals to demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement and to lay the foundation for long-term client partnerships. Top

LMA: See "Legal Marketing Association" Top

-M-

Marketing: The process of supporting and driving sales. The classic components of marketing are the Four Ps: product, price, place and promotion-developing a product or service, establishing the price, determining the channels of distribution (place), and generating demand (promotion). Top

Marketing Plan: A written document that describes the overall marketing strategy and programs developed for an organization, a particular product line, a brand, or an individual. Top

Market Segments: Identifiable groups of customers sharing similar needs, wants, or other characteristics that make them likely to respond in a similar fashion to a marketing program. Top

Market Share: The portion of an industry's sales captured by a particular company, product or brand. Top

MDP: See "Multidisciplinary Practice" Top

Media plan: A document consisting of objectives, strategies, and tactics for reaching a target audience through various media vehicles. Top

Media Planning: The series of decisions involved in the delivery of an advertising message to prospective purchasers and/or users of a product or service. Top

Mediation: An alternative to litigation, mediation is a dispute resolution technique conducted by mediators that is less formal than arbitration. Mediators are individuals trained in negotiations who bring opposing parties together and attempt to work out a settlement or agreement that both parties accept or reject. Mediation is used for a wide gamut of case-types: ranging from juvenile felonies to Federal government negotiations with Native American Indian tribes. Top

M-commerce: Mobile e-commerce. A hot term--especially in Europe--where mobile phones and other handheld devices are the preferred way for people to find information, make transactions and organize their the lives Top

Message Board: Places where you can post, read and respond to messages written by others. Top

Moment of Truth: Any time someone comes into contact with another person, company or organization and, thus, has an opportunity to form an impression. Top

Multidisciplinary Practice (MDP): An organization owned wholly or partly by non-lawyers that provides legal services directly to the public through owner or employee lawyers. Top

-N-

National Account: A key account that requires service at several client locations throughout the country. Top

Netiquette: Rules governing socially acceptable behavior (etiquette) online. Top

Networking: Cultivating mutually beneficial professional relationships with clients, prospective clients and potential sources of referrals. One of the primary goals of professional networking is to develop a referral network and, thus, a strong and steady source of new business. Top

Non-price Competition: A strategy of using factors other than price, such as advertising or product differentiation, as a basis for competition. Top

-O- Top

Objection: An unfavorable response by an individual to a sales professional's request. Sample objections during a cold call could include: "we're not interested;" "we're already working with one of your competitors;" "I'm not the right person;" "we don't have the budget for that;" and "I don't have the time." See "Overcoming Objections." Top

Open-ended Questions: Questions that elicit expanded and information-rich responses-not "yes" or "no" answers. Open-ended questions often begin with "who," "what," "why," "where," "when," "how," "tell me" or "please describe." Sales professionals ask open-ended questions so that they can learn as much as possible about the prospect and/or client and his or her organization. If the responses are over broad, sales professionals can always clarify and focus with follow-up questions. Top

Overcoming Objections: The process by which a sales professional turns an unfavorable response into an agreement to act. Top

-P-

Page Views: The number of times a single Web page has been accessed. Investors and advertisers use page views to track and compare Internet traffic among competing Internet companies. Top

Partnership: The point in a client relationship at which the seller of goods or services is seen by his or her client as a trusted advisor rather than as a vendor or supplier. This is the most lucrative point in a client relationship because the number of competitors declines, clients become less sensitive to price, and the seller is able to contribute in a meaningful way to the client organization's overall success. Top

Peerage: When a client or prospect sees a sales professional as his or her equal. Establishing peerage is an important step in moving from a vendor-based relationship to a partnership. Top

Pipeline: Also "Sales Pipeline." A tool or means of analysis used by organizations and sales professionals to track progress with potential clients in the context of their sales cycle. By monitoring their sales pipeline and making any necessary adjustments, sales professionals and their organizations create more predictable and consistent revenue streams. For example, if an organization has a six-month sales cycle and its current pipeline of potential clients is not full, it can expect a revenue shortfall in six months unless it jumpstarts its sales efforts today. Top

Portal: A Web site that tries to be everything to everybody. Examples include AOL, Yahoo! and MSN. Top

Preferred Provider: A name given by a client to one of its service and/or product providing organizations to in some way recognize and distinguish that organization as an important and valued resource-but not as an exclusive resource. In practice, client organizations have different ways of handling the preferred provider relationship. For example, one client might call the preferred provider first for all or some aspects of its needs. Another client might limit its purchasing to a small number of competing preferred providers. A third client might recommend the preferred provider to its employees but allow its employees to make their purchases elsewhere. Top

Press Kit: A set of marketing materials such as press releases, brochures, articles and reports given to the press for general dissemination. Top

Press Release: An announcement of a newsworthy event that is prepared by an organization (often by the public relations or press department), and issued to the press. Top

Prospect: A potential client. A lead becomes a prospect when the sales professional contacts him or her and, based on the conversation, determines that the lead is capable of moving through the necessary steps to become a client. Top

Prospecting: The process of identifying potential new clients. Top

Public Relations (PR): The process of establishing and promoting a brand identity and a favorable public image. Public relations efforts are often focused on issues of public interest that can appear as objective news items rather than as advertisements for products or services. Sample public relations activities include:

• Media relations (press releases, opinion pieces, ghostwritten articles, press conferences and pitch letters);
• Community relations (event planning, speaking engagements, public education campaigns and sponsorships); and
• Corporate relations (newsletters, employee incentive programs and corporate sponsorships).

-Q-

Qualify: The act of determining whether an individual or an organization has the potential of becoming a client. Top

Qualified Lead: An individual or an organization that has responded to another organization's sales and marketing efforts and that has the potential of becoming a client as determined by the careful analysis and/or direct contact of a sales professional. Top

Quota: The production required or expected by an organization of its sales professionals. Quotas are often time-based and tied to a total dollar amount, a percentage increase over sales from a previous time, or the quantity of products or services sold. Top

-R-

Rapport: A foundation of mutual respect, trust and liking that exists between two or more individuals. Sales professionals who are skilled at developing rapport find it easier to speak candidly, ask difficult questions and make successful closes during sales calls. Top

Referral: A recommendation made by an individual and/or an organization to contact or use a certain professional, organization, service or product. Top

Referral Network: A group of individuals and/or organizations that make regular referrals to a particular professional, organization, service or product. One of the primary goals of professional networking is to develop a referral network and, thus, a strong and steady source of new business. Top

Request for Proposal (RFP): A document and/or organized process used by a buyer of a product or service to solicit and evaluate bids and information from sellers. Requests for proposals often require sellers to respond in a consistent and structured way so that the buyer can make an apples-to-apples comparison. Top

Return on Investment (ROI): The financial benefit (e.g., profit and/or cost savings) expressed as a percentage, that results from each dollar spent on a particular activity. Businesses often estimate the ROI for various alternatives before they determine a particular course of action. Sales professionals might also help their clients document ROI after the client purchases and begins using the sales professional's products or services. Top

RFP: See "Request for Proposal" Top

Road Show: Also called a "Dog and Pony Show". A series of important, rehearsed sales presentations during which one or more sales people make their best case for their products, services or ideas. Top

ROI: See "Return on Investment" Top

Role Playing: Realistic simulations in which participants adopt and act out roles in order to learn how to perform in specific situations. Top

-S-

Sales: Revenue generated from the exchange of goods or services for money. The process, undertaken by sales professionals, of convincing other individuals and/or organizations to purchase goods or services from them and/or their organizations. Top

Sales Call: A face-to-face meeting between a sales professional and a prospect during which the sales professional attempts to convince the prospect either to make a purchasing decision or to take the next step in the sales cycle. Top

Sales Cycle: The average time it takes a sales professional to move from making the first contact with a prospect to closing the sale. The length of a sales cycle depends on many factors such as the quality of the sales professional, the industry and the price and complexity of the product or service. Top

Sales Force Automation (SFA): Combining process with software applications to streamline the capture, analysis and management of sales and marketing information. Top

Sales Professional: One who is paid to convince others to make purchasing decisions and/or move to the next step in the sales cycle. Also, "Salesperson," "Salesman," "Saleswoman." Top

SFA: See "Sales Force Automation" Top

Server: A computer or other device that performs predetermined tasks and manages network resources. Servers that power Web sites often become overwhelmed during times of heavy traffic. Top

Snail Mail: Regular mail delivered by the Postal Service in the physical world. Top

Soft Sell: Using non-aggressive, low-pressure tactics to convince someone to make a purchasing decision. Top

Spam: Internet junk mail. Top

Streaming: A method for transferring data, especially large multimedia files, that allows the recipient to start displaying the data before the transfer is completed. Top

-T-

Target: A potential prospect. These are individuals about whom a sales professional and their organization knows very little or nothing about. Top

Target Market: A group of individuals and/or organizations for which a particular ad, product or service is specifically designed and delivered. Top

Task-based Billing: Task-based billing can operate in a number of ways. For example, fixed fees for specific tasks might be negotiated, creating an incentive for the attorney to perform efficiently. Another approach is to use task-based estimates to create a working budget. This type of billing system is particularly useful to clients because it allows them to compare attorney rates for identical tasks. Top

Telemarketing: Using the telephone to convince another individual to make a purchasing decision or to take the next step in the sales cycle. Top

Testimonial: An experienced-based statement from a respected source that helps certify the value and/or credibility of a specific product, service, individual or organization. Top

Top Down Selling: A philosophy of sales that it is always better to sell to the highest level of an organization and work your way down than to sell to lower levels and try to work your way up. Top

Trade Show: A type of exhibition or forum where product and service providers can display their products or services to current and prospective clients. Top

-U-

Unbundling: The "unbundling" of legal services refers to an increasingly popular means for corporations to purchase legal services. Instead of a using a law firm providing all services required by an engagement, a corporation may use several different vendors to supply particular services. For example, a corporation may use a legal research service to supply legal research, a staffing company to provide document review services, and a jury consultant to assist in trial preparation. Often this approach results in significant savings and efficiencies for the corporate client. Top

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): The Internet equivalent to 123 Main Street, Anywhere USA 12345. It is simply the Internet address you type into your browser window. Most begin with "http://www." and end with ".com" (commercial business), ".org" (organizations / non-profit), ".gov" (government agencies) or ".edu" (educational institutions). Top

Unique Visitors: A term used to describe the number of unique individuals that visit a Web site within a given time period. While Web site traffic is often measured in terms of unique visitors, the use of proprietary tracking tools and the need to protect personal privacy have made it very difficult to identify unique visitors with complete accuracy. Top

Upload: The process of copying a file from your own computer to another computer. Top

Upselling: To increase the value or quantity of a sale by recommending additional options or upgrades. For example, a law firm would be upselling if, in the process of bidding on a particular block of work from a prospective client, it proposed to handle a different but related matter. Top

URL: See "Uniform Resource Locator" Top

-V-

Value Billing: An alternative fee arrangement where the attorneys' fees are determined retrospectively based either upon agreed criteria or the lawyer's subjective judgment. Theoretically, it is based upon the value of the benefits conferred upon the client by the lawyer. Top

Vendor: The seller of a product or service. The term vendor is often used pejoratively by professional service providers to describe sellers of commodities in competitive, price sensitive environments. This implies that vendors have limited abilities to contribute in a meaningful way to their clients' business and organizational objectives which, in turn, means that they have very little leverage for developing lucrative long-term client relationships. Top

Vertical: A very focused and comprehensive Web site. Rather than appeal to a broad audience, a vertical Web site targets a specific group or industry. Its goal is to foster community activities and provide in-depth information such as news, research, auctions, products and services specific to that group or industry. Top

Viral Marketing: Word of mouth on the internet. Powerful and inexpensive. People e-mail their friends about services and products they like. Often it goes like this: you tell two friends about a hot new Internet site. Then they tell two friends. Then these two friends tell two friends. And so on. Top

Virus: A program that secretly loads into your computer, often when you download files attached to e-mails, and begins infecting your computer by altering or deleting files. Top

Visitor: An individual who visits a Web site. This individual is considered one visitor regardless of how many pages he or she views. Top

Vortal: A vortal (derived from the combination of "vertical" and "portal"), is a master site that holds several very focused and comprehensive sub-sites called verticals. Each of the sub-sites foster community activities and provide in-depth information such as news, research, auctions, products and services, on a specific topic or for a specific industry. Top

-W-

WAP: See "Wireless Application Protocol" Top

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): A standard specification for sending applications over wireless networks. The uniform acceptance of WAP by companies in Europe and Japan is the reason why the Europeans and the Japanese are ahead of the United States when it comes to the use of wireless technology. WAP is an initiative started by a consortium of communications companies including Unwired Planet, Motorola, Nokia, and Ericsson. Top

Wireless: Any communications, monitoring, or control system that does not require a wire to carry a signal from one point to the next. The most common examples of wireless devices include satellite TV, the Global Positioning System (GPS), cellular phones and pagers. Top

World Wide Web ("www" or "The Web"): A network of Internet servers that supports documents formatted in a way that allows users to easily link to other documents and view graphics, audio and video files. Top

WWW: See "World Wide Web" Top

-X-

XML (eXtensible Markup Language): A markup language for Web documents that gives designers more freedom and functionality and that allows users to access, use and interact with richly structured documents over the web. Also, it enables intelligent agents to search for information and then act on it once that information is found. Very hot in the business-to-business sector. Top

-Y-

-Z-

Zero-Sum Game: A game in which the winning party's gains equal the losing party's losses. Sales professionals who treat sales calls as zero-sum games have no chance of developing long-term client relationships.