B2B Definitions Library

The Master Sales Glossary

Every B2B outbound qualification framework, pipeline metric, and revenue operations term—defined simply.

A

Account Executive (AE)

A closing-role sales professional responsible for generating revenue.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

The predictable, recurring revenue generated by subscriptions over a 12-month period.

B

B2B Data Enrichment

The process of appending verified contact info to incomplete company records.

BANT

A classic sales qualification framework focusing on Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of emails that fail to deliver and are rejected by the receiving server.

Buyer Persona

A semi-fictional representation of the specific human decision-maker within your ICP.

C

Champion

An internal advocate within the target account who aggressively sells your solution internally.

Churn Rate

The percentage of customers (or revenue) that cancel their subscription over a given period.

Cold Calling

The act of making unsolicited outbound phone calls to prospective buyers.

Cold Email

Targeted, unsolicited emails sent to a specific persona to generate pipeline.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of users who take a desired action at a specific funnel stage.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

The total total cost required to acquire a new paying customer.

Customer Success (CS)

The department tasked with ensuring clients achieve their desired outcomes using your software.

D

Deliverability

The rate at which sent emails successfully reach the recipient's primary inbox.

Discovery Call

The first detailed meeting with a qualified prospect to uncover pain points.

E

Economic Buyer

The individual with ultimate sign-off authority and budget control.

F

Firmographics

Descriptive attributes used to categorize B2B organizations.

G

Gatekeeper

A person whose role is to screen inbound communications (calls/emails) for decision-makers.

I

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

A detailed description of the perfect company that gets maximum value from your product.

L

Lead Generation

The process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business.

Lifetime Value (LTV)

The total gross revenue a single customer generates before they churn.

M

MEDDPICC

A rigorous B2B enterprise sales qualification methodology.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

The predictable and recurring total of subscription revenue normalized to a monthly total.

Multi-threading

The strategy of building relationships with multiple stakeholders across a target account.

N

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

The percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over a given period.

O

Objection Handling

The skill of responding to a prospect's concerns in a way that alleviates hesitation.

On-Target Earnings (OTE)

The total expected compensation an employee will earn if 100% of quotas are hit.

P

Pipeline Velocity

The speed at which qualified leads move through your sales pipeline.

Prospecting

The proactive act of searching for potential buyers to reach out to.

R

Return on Investment (ROI)

The ratio of net profit to the total cost of an investment.

S

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

An inside sales rep focused purely on outbound prospecting and qualification.

Sales Enablement

The strategic process of providing sales teams with the resources they need to close deals.

Sales Engagement Platform (SEP)

Software used by sales teams to automate, execute, and track outbound sequences.

Sales Funnel

The theoretical journey a prospect takes from first awareness to closed customer.

Sales Pipeline

A visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process.

Sales Quota

The specific revenue target a salesperson is expected to close within a set timeframe.

Sales Sequence

A pre-defined, automated series of multi-channel outreach touchpoints.

Social Selling

Leveraging social media networks (primarily LinkedIn) to find and engage prospects.

T

Technographics

Data regarding the hardware and software technology stack a target company uses.

W

Win Rate

The percentage of qualified opportunities that eventually close as won deals.