Sales Glossary and Guide: Essential Terms for Sales Professionals
The world of Business Development and Sales is full of abbreviations, acronyms and jargon.
Here are a few of the most common terms and their meaning.
AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
A classic marketing and sales model used to create persuasive copy that guides potential customers through stages of attention, interest, desire, and action, ultimately motivating them to make a purchase.
Account Executive (AE)
A sales professional responsible for managing relationships with clients, often focusing on closing deals and driving revenue for the company.
Cadence
A structured sequence of outreach attempts (calls, emails, etc.) over a set period, designed to engage prospects effectively without overwhelming them.
Client
An individual or organisation that has purchased a product or service and with whom a business has an ongoing relationship.
Closing
The final stage in the sales process, where the salesperson secures a commitment to buy from the prospect.
COI (Cost of Inaction)
The potential negative impact on revenue, productivity, or competitiveness when a company decides not to pursue an opportunity. COI helps quantify what is lost by remaining with the status quo.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A system for managing interactions with current and potential customers, often involving tracking leads, contacts, and sales activities. Popular CRM systems include Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, Workbooks, and Zoho, each offering unique features to help sales teams organise and optimise client relationships.
C-Suite
The top executives within a company, such as CEO, CFO, and COO, responsible for high-level strategic decision-making.
Demos
Product demonstrations given to prospects, showcasing features and benefits to address specific needs.
Discovery
An early stage in the sales process where a salesperson asks questions to understand the prospect’s needs, pain points, and goals.
Field Sales
Sales that take place in person, usually involving travel to meet with prospects or clients at their location.
GAP Selling
A sales approach focused on identifying the gap between where a prospect is currently and where they want to be, then offering a solution to close that gap.
Inside Sales
Sales conducted remotely, typically by phone, email, or video, without face-to-face interaction with customers.
Key Account Management
A strategy focused on nurturing relationships with high-value clients to drive long-term growth and retention.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable value that shows how effectively a salesperson or team is achieving business objectives, such as the number of calls made or revenue generated.
Lead Scoring
A method of ranking prospects based on their likelihood to convert into a sale, often using factors like engagement and buying signals.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
A premium LinkedIn tool that helps sales professionals find, understand, and reach out to prospects using advanced search filters and insights.
MEDDIC
A qualification framework used in complex sales, standing for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion. Variants like MEDDPIC add Paper Process and Competition.
Opportunity Cost
The potential revenue lost when choosing one opportunity over another, an important consideration in prioritising leads and clients.
Prospect
A potential customer or client who has shown interest in a product or service but has not yet made a purchase.
Qualifying
The process of assessing if a prospect meets key criteria to move forward in the sales process. This involves determining their needs, urgency, decision-making process, and overall suitability as a potential client.
Ride-Alongs
When a sales manager or coach accompanies a salesperson on client visits to provide feedback and guidance.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A measure of the profitability of an investment, calculated by dividing the net profit from the investment by its cost, often expressed as a percentage. ROI helps sales teams and clients understand the financial value of a proposed solution.
Sales Cadence
A defined sequence of outreach activities, such as calls, emails, and social messages, used by sales teams to engage leads at the right frequency and time.
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
A sales role focused on prospecting and generating leads by identifying and qualifying potential customers, often working closely with Account Executives.
Sales Enablement
The process of equipping sales teams with the resources, training, and tools needed to effectively engage buyers and close deals. It includes content, technology, and strategic training that align sales and marketing efforts to drive higher conversion rates.
Sales Funnel
A model describing the journey prospects take from becoming aware of a product to making a purchase, with stages narrowing down the pool of potential buyers.
Sales Pipeline
A visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from initial contact to closing.
Sales Territory
A defined area or group of accounts assigned to a salesperson, often based on geography, industry, or market segment.
Sales Velocity
A measure of how quickly deals move through the pipeline, calculated by multiplying the number of opportunities, average deal size, and win rate, then dividing by the sales cycle length.
SPIN Selling
A sales methodology based on asking Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff questions to understand a prospect’s needs deeply.
Weighted Probability
A method of forecasting where each deal in the pipeline is assigned a likelihood of closing, giving a more accurate revenue prediction.
Win-Loss Surveys
Post-sale surveys conducted with clients and prospects to understand why a deal was won or lost, helping refine sales strategies and identify improvement areas.
Win Rate
The percentage of deals closed successfully, used as a key metric for sales team performance.