SALES TERMS
DICTIONARY.

A sales professional responsible for closing deals, from demo to contract.

A strategic approach where marketing and sales collaborate to target specific high-value accounts with personalized campaigns.

AI tools that automatically generate personalized sales emails based on prospect data and context.

AI software that automates Sales Development Rep tasks, from prospecting to initial outreach and follow-up.

The annual recurring revenue from subscriptions and fixed contracts. ARR is simply MRR × 12, but based on annual contracts.

The average contract value of closed deals over a specific period.

The average revenue you generate per customer, per year. ARPA shows how much an average customer is worth and helps you determine how much you can invest in sales.

A qualification framework that determines whether a prospect has Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline to make a purchase.

Measurable actions or behaviors that indicate a prospect is actively looking for a solution and possibly ready to buy.

A semi-fictional profile of your ideal individual buyer, based on market research and real customer data.

The group of people who collectively decide whether your product or service is purchased.

A sales methodology where you challenge prospects with new insights and reframe their thinking.

The person within the customer organization who sells your solution internally.

AI chatbots that automatically qualify website visitors by asking questions and booking meetings.

The percentage of customers who stop using your product or service within a specific period.

Specific tactics and methods to help a prospect make a buying decision.

Reaching out to potential customers by phone without prior contact or relationship.

Software that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales calls to provide insights and improve performance.

The percentage of prospects that move from one stage to the next stage in your sales funnel.

The total costs you incur to acquire a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.

Software for managing all interactions with prospects and customers throughout the entire customer lifecycle.

A professional who ensures customers get value from your product and achieve their goals.

All buying activities of your prospect that you don't see in your marketing metrics.

The speed at which deals move through your pipeline from first contact to closed won.

The list of requirements and wishes on which a customer compares vendors.

Demo-to-close rate is the percentage of prospects who proceed to purchase after a product demo.

An exploratory conversation where you thoroughly investigate a prospect's situation, needs, pain points, and goals.

The person who has the budget and ultimately says yes or no to the investment.

The chance that your email actually reaches your recipient's inbox instead of landing in the spam folder or being blocked.

Additional revenue from existing customers through upsells, cross-sells, or usage expansion.

A pricing strategy where you offer a free basic version and make money by having users upgrade to premium features.

A methodology that focuses on the "gap" between where a prospect is now and where they want to be.

The percentage of revenue you retain from existing customers, without counting upsell or cross-sell. GRR purely shows how many customers stay at their current level.

A detailed description of the type of company that gets the most value from your product or service, and from which you get the most value.

Signals indicating that a company or person is actively looking for a solution in your category.

A sales strategy where you start small within an account and then expand to other departments or use cases.

The process of attracting and identifying potential customers who have interest in your product or service.

Lead response time is the time between when a lead comes in and when your salesperson makes contact.

The total revenue you expect to generate from a customer throughout their entire relationship with your company.

A prospect who has shown interest in your marketing but is not yet ready for a sales conversation.

A rigorous qualification framework for enterprise sales: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion.

The predictable, recurring revenue you collect every month through subscriptions or fixed contracts. MRR is the foundation of every successful SaaS company.

Building relationships with multiple stakeholders within an account to reduce deal risk.

A mutual action plan (MAP) is a joint step-by-step plan where seller and customer record what steps are needed to reach a deal, including responsibilities and deadlines.

The percentage of revenue you retain from existing customers, including upsell and cross-sell. NRR shows whether you earn more from your current customers, even if some customers stop.

An automated series of emails and content that keeps leads warm until they are sales-ready.

The skill of effectively addressing objections and doubts from prospects during the sales process.

A proactive sales strategy where you approach potential customers, instead of waiting for them to come to you.

A pilot program is a limited test phase where your customer tries your product or service with a small team or part of their organization.

The ratio of your total pipeline value compared to your sales target for a given period.

All activities that add new qualified opportunities to your sales pipeline.

AI-driven analyses that predict which leads, deals, or actions have the highest chance of success.

AI models that automatically score leads based on conversion probability, trained on your historical data.

A go-to-market strategy where your product itself is the primary driver for acquisition, conversion, and expansion - with minimal sales intervention.

A short practical test to prove that your solution truly solves the promised problem.

A quarterly strategic conversation with your customer where you evaluate results, discuss challenges, and determine future goals.

The percentage of your sales team that hits their target (quota) in a given period.

A sales strategy where you ask existing customers or network to refer you to potential new customers.

Assigning credit to the marketing and sales touchpoints that contribute to closed deals.

A holistic approach that aligns sales, marketing, and customer success to maximize revenue growth.

Collecting, analyzing and visualizing sales data to make better decisions and improve performance.

The use of software and tools to automate repetitive sales tasks and increase sales efficiency.

A structured follow-up schedule that determines how often and through which channels you approach a prospect over a specific period.

The compensation plan for your sales team: how much do they earn fixed, how much variable, and based on which metrics do they get bonus? A good plan motivates and guides behavior.

AI assistants that help sales reps in real-time during calls with suggestions, battle cards, and next best actions.

The average time from first contact with a prospect to closed won deal.

A sales professional focused on generating and qualifying new sales opportunities.

Strategically equipping your sales team with the right content, tools, training, and processes to sell more effectively.

Software that automates your outbound cadences and orchestrates every touchpoint with prospects.

The process of predicting how much revenue you will generate in a specific period based on your pipeline.

Data and insights about prospects and accounts that help you better target, personalize, and sell.

An annual sales event where the entire sales team gathers to discuss goals, strategy, and new initiatives for the coming year.

A visual overview of all active deals in different stages of your sales process.

A documented overview of your sales process, best practices, and proven plays your team uses to consistently close deals.

Software that lets you quickly create professional, interactive sales proposals that you can track and optimize.

A prospect who has been qualified by sales and is ready for an active sales process.

An SQL that has been further qualified and officially converted into an active opportunity in your pipeline.

Dividing your market into areas or segments and assigning salespeople to those areas. This creates focus, prevents overlap and makes sales measurable.

Sales velocity measures how quickly your sales team generates revenue: the result of number of deals, average deal value, your conversion percentage and sales cycle length.

A no-pressure sales methodology based on mutual qualification and up-front agreements.

Using social media, especially LinkedIn, to build relationships with prospects and create sales opportunities.

Een sales methodology die focust op het identificeren van klant-behoeften en het positioneren van je product als oplossing.

A questioning methodology for complex B2B sales: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff questions.

The percentage of Sales Qualified Leads that convert into an active opportunity in your pipeline.

A sales process where customers convert themselves from prospect to paying customer without direct contact with a sales representative.

A clear statement that explains what problem you solve, for whom, and why you're better than alternatives.

Using short, personalized videos in your outreach to grab prospects' attention and make your message more human.

AI software that can conduct autonomous phone conversations for prospecting, qualification, or appointment setting.

Calling prospects who have already had some form of interaction with your company, such as a website visit, content download or LinkedIn connection.

The percentage of opportunities you win out of all closed deals (won + lost).