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📒 Sales Glossary
Sales can be confusing; there are a lot of terms and acronyms to keep track of and they can seem like a completely foreign language to those outside the industry or those of you new into your sales roles. They can also vary depending on who you are selling to.
Whether you’re a seasoned sales professional looking to brush up on your knowledge or someone new to the field seeking to decode the mysteries of sales jargon, you’ve come to the right place.
Below is a list of terms commonly used in sales conversations, presentations, and literature. Think something is missing? Let me know!
A
- A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of a call script or email to see which performs better.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM): A strategic approach to business marketing in which an organization communicates with individual prospects or customer accounts as markets of one.
- ACV (Average Contract Value): The average annual contract value of a customer contract.
- AE (Account Executive): A salesperson responsible for closing deals.
- ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue): The amount of money that a company expects to receive from its customers annually for a subscription service.
B
- BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing): A qualification framework to determine a prospect’s potential to become a customer based on their budget, buying authority, needs, and purchase timeline.
- BDR (Business Development Representative): The salesperson responsible for prospecting and booking meetings.
- Buyer Persona: A semi-fictional representation of an ideal customer based on market research and real data.
C
- CAD (Call Activity Dashboard): A dashboard that tracks call activities.
- Call Reluctance: The hesitation to make cold calls to prospects.
- Churn Rate: The rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions.
- CLV (Customer Lifetime Value): The total worth to a business of a customer over the whole period of their relationship.
- Cold Calling: The process of contacting potential customers who have not previously expressed interest in the offered products or services.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management): A technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers.
D
- Decision Maker: The person in an organization who has the authority to make purchasing decisions.
- Discovery Call: An initial call to learn about the prospect’s challenges and needs.
- Disqualification: The process of excluding a prospect as a potential buyer because they do not fulfill the minimum criteria.
- Double Tapping: The process of calling a prospect two times in a row to increase the chances of a pick-up.
E
- Elevator Pitch: A short, persuasive speech to spark interest in what your organization does.
F
- Follow-Up: Contacting a prospect or customer after an initial meeting or sales call.
G
- Gatekeeper: A person who controls access to decision-makers, often a receptionist or assistant.
I
- ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): A detailed description of a company or individual that would benefit the most from your product or service.
L
- Lead: A person or organization that has an interest in what you are selling.
- Lead Generation: The process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has indicated interest in your company’s product or service.
- Lead Nurturing: The process of developing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.
M
- MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): A lead judged more likely to become a customer compared to other leads based on lead intelligence.
N
- No-Go Decision: A decision to stop pursuing a particular prospect.
O
- Objection Handling: The process of addressing and overcoming potential customer objections.
P
- Pattern Interrupt: refers to phrases used to stand out by breaking the typical pattern.
- Pipeline: A visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process.
- Prospecting: The process of searching for potential customers, clients, or buyers in order to develop new business.
- PQL (Product Qualified Lead): A lead who has experienced your product and taken actions that indicate interest in becoming a paying customer.
Q
- Qualification: The process of determining whether a lead has the potential to become a customer based on certain criteria.
R
- Rapport: Building a friendly, harmonious relationship with your prospect or customer.
S
- Sales Cadence: The sequence of activities to increase contact and engagement with prospects.
- Sales Cycle: The complete process of selling a product or service, from initial contact to closing the deal.
- SDR (Sales Development Representative): The salesperson responsible for prospecting and booking meetings.
- SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): A prospective customer that has been researched and vetted by both marketing and sales teams and is deemed ready for the next stage in the sales process.
T
- Touchpoint: Any interaction or communication with a prospect or customer.
V
- Value Proposition: A statement that explains how a product solves a pain point, delivers specific benefits, and why the customer should buy from you instead of the competition.
W
- Warm Calling: Contacting a potential customer who has had some previous interaction with the company or shows some interest in the product or service.
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