The Ultimate Sales Terms Glossary: 100 Essential Sales Terms

Whether you’re just stepping into sales or a seasoned expert who’s come across an unfamiliar acronym, a glossary like this one can be invaluable. Even though most sales teams are friendly and supportive, unfamiliar jargon can sometimes feel intimidating. Mastering these terms will boost your confidence when communicating with sales and marketing colleagues. Enjoy exploring!

A

Account Executive (AE)
Responsible for managing client relationships and closing deals. For example, an AE might nurture a retail partner and negotiate contracts.

Account-Based Selling
A tailored sales strategy focusing on engaging key decision-makers at high-value accounts, such as a marketing firm customizing a pitch for a large corporation.

Account Development Representative (ADR)
A role that identifies and nurtures potential accounts. An ADR at a tech company might target mid-sized firms to promote software solutions.

Account
A company or customer with ongoing interactions and records within a sales organization. For instance, a hospital could be a healthcare software provider’s account.

Ad Hoc Reporting
Custom reports created on-demand to answer specific questions, like a manager requesting last quarter’s sales data for a region.

Adoption Process
The stages a user or company undergoes when implementing a new product, such as trial, evaluation, and full adoption.

AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
A sales model illustrating stages before purchase: catching attention, building interest and desire, then prompting action.

Annual Contract Value (ACV)
The average yearly revenue per customer contract, excluding one-time fees—like $10,000 per year for a subscription.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Total yearly revenue from active subscriptions, e.g., a cloud provider reporting $5 million ARR.

B

Bad Leads
Prospects unlikely to convert due to poor fit or interest, such as a young teen with no income for a luxury car brand.

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing)
A qualification framework checking if a prospect has budget, decision power, a clear need, and appropriate timing.

Benefits
Positive outcomes a product provides, such as a smartphone’s camera for capturing great photos.

Bluebird Sales
Unexpected sales opportunities with minimal effort, like a surprise large order from an existing client.

Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)
The final decision-making stage, where a prospect is ready to request quotes or sign contracts.

Business Development Representative (BDR)
Focuses on generating new business opportunities, often through cold outreach or partnership building.

Business Intelligence (BI)
Using data analytics to inform business decisions, such as identifying top-performing sales territories.

Business to Business (B2B)
Companies selling to other businesses, for example, a software firm licensing products to enterprises.

Business to Consumer (B2C)
Companies selling directly to individual consumers, such as an online apparel store.

Buyer Behavior
How buyers act and decide, e.g., most customers in a niche preferring to shop late at night online.

Buyer Persona
A detailed ideal customer profile based on research, like a luxury car brand targeting affluent professionals aged 30–50.

Buying Criteria
The must-have features or requirements buyers seek, such as price and speed for a new printer.

Buying Intent / Buying Signal
Actions indicating a prospect’s likelihood to buy, like downloading pricing information.

Buying Process
Steps buyers take from recognizing a need to final purchase decision, often including evaluation and comparison.

C

Cases / Tickets
Customer support requests or problems needing resolution, such as billing issues at a telecom provider.

Churn Rate
The rate at which customers cancel or stop using a service over time, e.g., 5% monthly churn means losing 5% of users each month.

Closed Opportunities
Deals that have concluded, whether successfully won or lost.

Closed-Lost
Sales opportunities that ended without a sale, such as when a prospect chooses a competitor’s product.

Closed-Won
Deals successfully closed with a sale.

Closing Ratio
The percentage of deals won out of all opportunities, like a 25% ratio indicating winning 1 in 4 deals.

Cloud-Based CRM
Customer Relationship Management software hosted online, accessible via the internet. Streak’s Gmail CRM is one example.

Cold Calling
Contacting potential customers without prior interest, a common way to generate leads.

Commission
Payment to salespeople based on sales, often a percentage of the sale price.

Contract Management
The process of creating and managing contracts and renewals.

Conversion
The moment a prospect becomes a customer or advances stages in the sales process.

Conversion Path
The sequence leading a prospect to convert, like clicking an ad, signing up for a webinar, then purchasing.

Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, e.g., 5% if 5 of 100 visitors buy.

CPQ Software
Tools that help sales reps quickly create accurate Configure-Price-Quote documents.

Cross-Selling
Selling related products to existing customers, such as suggesting AirPods with a new iPhone.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The cost to acquire a new customer, e.g., $100 CAC if $1,000 marketing spend yields 10 customers.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Total revenue expected from a customer over their relationship, like $500 over 10 years.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
Software for tracking leads and customer interactions.

Customer Success Manager (CSM)
A role focused on ensuring customers achieve their goals and stay satisfied.

Data Entry / Processing
Recording and managing data, often automated to improve efficiency.

Decision Maker
The individual authorized to approve purchases, such as a CTO.

Demand Generation Techniques
Marketing tactics to build interest, like webinars and social media ads.

Direct Sales
Selling directly to customers without intermediaries.

Discovery Call
An initial conversation to understand a prospect’s needs and qualify interest.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Software integrating core business processes, including sales and inventory.

Escalations
Referring issues to higher support levels for resolution.

Feature
A product attribute, e.g., water resistance on a watch.

Field Sales Rep
Salesperson who meets clients in person, such as medical device reps visiting hospitals.

Flywheel
A model emphasizing customer experience to drive repeat business and referrals.

Forecasting
Predicting future sales based on current data.

Gatekeeper
A person who controls access to decision-makers, like an executive assistant.

GPCTBA/C&I Frameworks
Sales frameworks focusing on Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, and consequences.

H

Hard Sell
An aggressive sales tactic pushing for immediate decisions.

Inside Sales Rep
Sales professionals who close deals remotely via phone or web demos.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Metrics to evaluate success, such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).

Knowledge Base
A centralized information repository, like an online customer help center.

L

Lead
A potential customer showing interest.

Lead Generation
Processes to attract and convert prospects into leads.

Lead Management
Tracking and nurturing leads toward conversion.

Lead Qualification
Assessing if a lead fits criteria like budget and authority.

Lead Scoring
Ranking leads by value to prioritize outreach.

Loss Leader
A product sold below cost to drive sales of related items.

LTV:CAC
Ratio of customer lifetime value to acquisition cost, indicating profitability.

M

Margin
The difference between sales price and cost.

Marketing-Qualified Lead (MQL)
Leads deemed more likely to convert based on engagement.

Markup
Amount added to cost to set a selling price.

Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)
Stage where prospects consider options but have not decided.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
Predictable monthly income from subscriptions.

N

Net Promoter Score (NPS)
A metric measuring customer willingness to recommend.

O

Objection
Concerns raised by prospects that could block sales.

On-Premise CRM
CRM software installed locally on company servers.

Onboarding
Integrating and training new customers or employees.

Opportunity
A qualified lead with high chance to close.

Opportunity Management
Tracking and nurturing opportunities for closure.

P

Pain Point
A specific problem a customer wants solved.

Pipeline
A visual overview of prospects in sales stages.

Pipeline Management
Managing sales progress to advance deals.

Positioning Statement
A statement conveying unique product value.

Profit Margin
Revenue minus costs indicating profit.

Prospect
A potential customer researched but not yet qualified.

Prospecting
Searching for potential customers to convert.

Q

Quota
Sales targets for individuals or teams.

S

Sales Coach
Mentor who improves sales skills and effectiveness.

Sales Dashboard
Visual summary of key sales metrics.

Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Specialists in outreach and lead qualification.

Sales Enablement
Providing tools and training to enhance sales.

Sales Funnel
Model showing stages from awareness to purchase.

Sales Methodology
Structured approaches guiding sales processes.

Sales Pipeline Coverage
Ratio of pipeline value to sales goals.

Sales Script
Prewritten guides for sales conversations.

Sales Wordsmith
A person skilled at crafting persuasive sales messages.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Contract defining expected service standards.

Social Selling
Using social media to engage prospects.

Soft Sell
A gentle, relationship-focused sales technique.

Sound Bite
A memorable phrase used in messaging.

Stage
A step in the sales process.

T

Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
Initial awareness stage in the sales funnel.

U

Upselling
Selling higher-value products to existing customers.

V

Value Chain
Activities a company performs to deliver value.

Value Proposition
Statement explaining why customers should buy.

W

Weighted Pipeline
Sales forecasting that factors deal probabilities.

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