B2B Sales Glossary

Every term you need to know, explained without the corporate jargon.

Metrics

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all marketing and sales expenses divided by customers acquired.

Metrics

Conversion Rate

The percentage of prospects who complete a desired action, such as booking a meeting or becoming a customer.

Metrics

Win Rate

The percentage of sales opportunities that result in closed deals, a key indicator of sales effectiveness.

Metrics

Churn Rate

The percentage of customers who stop using your product or service during a given time period.

Metrics

LTV (Lifetime Value)

The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout the business relationship.

Metrics

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

The percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers including expansion and contraction.

Metrics

No-Show Rate

The percentage of scheduled meetings where the prospect fails to attend without canceling.

Metrics

Pipeline Coverage

The ratio of total pipeline value to quota, indicating whether enough opportunities exist to hit targets.

Lead Types

MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)

A lead that marketing has deemed more likely to become a customer based on their engagement and fit criteria.

Lead Types

SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)

A lead vetted by both marketing and sales teams, deemed ready for direct sales engagement with demonstrated buying intent.

Lead Types

ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

A detailed description of the type of company that would get the most value from your product or service.

Lead Types

Buyer Persona

A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about existing customers.

Lead Types

Buyer Intent

Signals that indicate a prospect is actively researching or considering a purchase in your category.

Sales Process

Sales Pipeline

A visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from initial contact to closed deal.

Sales Process

Sales Cycle

The complete process from initial contact to closed deal, including all stages and typical duration.

Sales Process

Sales Forecast

A prediction of future sales revenue based on pipeline data, historical performance, and market conditions.

Sales Process

Sales Cadence

A structured sequence of outreach activities (calls, emails, social touches) designed to engage prospects over time.

Sales Process

Discovery Call

An initial sales conversation focused on understanding the prospect's needs, challenges, and goals.

Sales Process

Demo (Product Demonstration)

A presentation showing how your product or service works and solves the prospect's specific problems.

Sales Process

Quota

A sales target assigned to a rep or team for a specific period, typically measured in revenue or deals closed.

Sales Process

Lead Nurturing

The process of developing relationships with buyers at every stage of the funnel through targeted content and touchpoints.

Sales Process

Lead Scoring

A methodology for ranking leads based on their perceived value to the organization using demographic and behavioral criteria.

Roles

SDR (Sales Development Representative)

A sales team member focused on outbound prospecting and qualifying leads before passing them to account executives.

Roles

Champion

An internal advocate at the prospect company who supports your solution and helps navigate the buying process.

Roles

Buying Committee

The group of stakeholders involved in a B2B purchase decision, each with different priorities and influence.

Roles

Gatekeeper

A person who controls access to decision-makers, such as an executive assistant or office manager.

Methodologies

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)

A sales qualification framework that evaluates prospects based on their budget, authority, need, and timeline.

Methodologies

MEDDIC

A B2B sales methodology focused on Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion.

Methodologies

Objection Handling

The process of addressing prospect concerns and hesitations in a way that moves the sale forward.

Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

A B2B strategy that focuses marketing resources on a specific set of target accounts with personalized campaigns.

Marketing

Demand Generation

Marketing activities focused on creating awareness and interest in your products or services to build pipeline.

Marketing

CTA (Call-to-Action)

A prompt that encourages the audience to take a specific action, such as 'Book a Demo' or 'Download Now'.

Marketing

Outbound Sales

A proactive sales approach where reps initiate contact with prospects through cold calls, emails, and social outreach.

Marketing

Cold Calling

The practice of contacting potential customers who haven't previously expressed interest in your product or service.

Technology

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Software that helps businesses manage interactions with customers and prospects throughout the sales cycle.

Technology

Email Deliverability

The ability to successfully deliver emails to recipients' inboxes rather than spam folders or being blocked.

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