AcceleratorA sales accelerator is a higher commission rate that kicks in above a set percentage of quota. It pays you more on the deals beyond plan, so a strong month compounds instead of capping out — and it's one of the best ways to tell a real comp plan from a capped one.Account Executive (AE)An account executive (AE) is the B2B sales role that owns the deal — running discovery through proposal and closing the contract — and carries a revenue quota. They take over from SDRs and BDRs once a qualified meeting is booked.Account ManagementAccount management is growing and retaining the customers you already have — renewals, expansion, relationships and loyalty. It is the revenue engine behind the install base.Activity MetricsActivity metrics are the volume measures of a rep's work — calls, emails, touches, meetings. They track effort and lead the outcomes like opportunities and revenue.AnchoringAnchoring is the negotiation tactic of naming the first number so the rest of the conversation bends around it. Used well it frames value; used badly it frames a fight about price.ARRARR is Annual Recurring Revenue — the yearly value of the recurring revenue a subscription business expects to keep. It is MRR multiplied by twelve, the headline number executives and investors use to size a SaaS company.Assumptive CloseAn assumptive close treats the decision to buy as already made, moving straight to logistics like start dates and paperwork. It projects confidence and makes saying yes the easy path.Average Deal SizeAverage deal size is the mean value of the deals you close in a period — total closed-won revenue divided by the number of won deals. It is an input to sales velocity and decides how much pipeline you need to hit quota.BANTBANT is a qualification framework: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. It structures discovery questions to decide whether a prospect can buy and when.BDRA BDR (business development representative) is a sales role that opens new markets and starts new relationships — often by outbound prospecting into net-new accounts — then hands qualified opportunities to an account executive. The exact split between SDR and BDR varies by company.Behavioral QuestionA behavioral question asks you to describe a past situation to predict future performance — 'Tell me about a time you had to win over a skeptical customer.' The strongest answers follow STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result.BookingsBookings are the value of deals signed in a period, regardless of when cash is received. They measure sales output, while revenue recognizes the money as it is earned.Buying CommitteeA buying committee is the group of stakeholders involved in a purchase decision — economic buyer, champion, technical reviewers and users. Understanding it prevents losing deals to an unknown veto.Buying TimelineA buying timeline is when a prospect actually plans to purchase and what has to happen before then. It separates a real opportunity from a 'someday' lead and drives accurate forecasting.CadenceA sales cadence is the repeatable rhythm of touches a rep runs on a prospect — email, call, email, call — over a set number of days. Cadence is the schedule behind a sequence, and running one consistently is what turns outreach into booked meetings.Challenger SaleThe Challenger Sale is a methodology where the rep leads with insight, teaching the customer something new about their business and their problem rather than just building rapport.ChampionA champion is the person inside your prospect's company who believes in your solution and sells it internally on your behalf. Finding one early in discovery is often the difference between a deal that moves and one that stalls.ChurnChurn is the rate at which existing customers stop paying — canceling a subscription or not renewing. In SaaS it matters more than almost anything else because it eats MRR and ARR faster than new sales can replace it.ClawbackA commission clawback is when a company takes back commission you already earned — usually because the deal was canceled or refunded before the clawback period ends. It's a real, sometimes surprising risk, so you should always read the clawback terms before you accept a comp-heavy role.Closed-WonClosed-won is the pipeline stage that means a deal signed and is now a customer — the outcome every rep chases. It is the real money in sales: the contract executed, the revenue counted toward quota and commission.CloserA closer is the sales role that carries a deal through negotiation to signature — the endpoint of the sales-career path from SDR and AE. The brand name 'Closers' is named for this role.ClosingClosing is the final stage of a sale where the rep asks for commitment and gets the signature. It is a skill of handling last objections and asking directly — not a magic technique.Cold callA cold call is an unsolicited sales call to a prospect with no prior relationship, made to start a conversation and book a meeting. It is the classic outbound BDR activity.Cold EmailA cold email is a first-touch message to someone who hasn't asked to hear from you — the signature tool of outbound prospecting. A good one is short, specific to the recipient, and ends in one clear ask. It's the BDR's bread and butter.Cold LeadA cold lead is a prospect who has had no contact with your company and shown no interest yet. Cold leads are worked through outreach and nurturing, not expecting instant sales.CommissionSales commission is variable pay earned on attainment — a percentage of closed revenue or a flat amount per meeting — on top of base salary. It is the part of OTE that only shows up if you hit your number.ConcessionsConcessions are the compromises each side trades in a negotiation — price, terms, scope. The art is trading concessions for something, not giving them away free.Connect rateConnect rate is the share of dials that actually reach a live person. It is the first funnel metric in cold calling — a low connect rate means more dials are needed to book a meeting.Consultative SellingConsultative selling is a sales approach where the rep acts as a trusted advisor, diagnosing the prospect's problem before recommending a solution instead of pushing a product.Conversion RateConversion rate is the percentage of prospects that move from one stage to the next — lead to meeting, meeting to opportunity, opportunity to closed. It measures how well your process works.CounterofferA counteroffer is the buyer's response to your proposed price or terms. Reading it correctly — and responding without caving — is the heart of negotiation.CRMA CRM (customer relationship management system) is the database where a sales team stores every lead, account, and touch. It is where your pipeline lives, and logging every call and email in it is how you prove the activity behind your quota.Deal RegressionDeal regression is a deal slipping backward through the sales cycle — from late stage to an earlier one. It is a red flag that signals doubt, stalled approval or a lost champion.Deal StructureDeal structure is how a deal is shaped beyond price — contract length, payment terms, scope, phasing, bundles. Creative structure closes deals that a single price could not.Decision-Making UnitA decision-making unit is the set of people who influence, approve or block a purchase — economic buyer, champion, technical reviewer and users. Mapping the DMU is how reps avoid losing to a veto they never met.DemoA demo is a live demonstration of your product to a prospect — usually run by an account executive after an SDR books the meeting. The demo turns a qualified meeting into a buying conversation by showing the product solving the prospect's actual problem.DiscountingDiscounting is lowering the price to win a deal. A little is normal; chronic discounting is a sign of a weak value proposition or weak qualification — and every dollar off comes out of margin, commission, and quota.Discovery callA discovery call is an early sales conversation where the rep asks questions — about the prospect's problem, budget, authority, and timeline — to learn whether the deal is real and how to position it. It happens before any pitch.Discovery FrameworkA discovery framework is a structured set of questions a rep uses to uncover a prospect's situation, pain, budget and timeline instead of winging it. SPIN and similar models keep discovery consistent and repeatable.DrawA draw is an advance of future commission paid out on a schedule — a guaranteed paycheck while you wait for your sales to close. It is recoupable (repaid out of future commission) or non-recoverable (free).Economic BuyerThe economic buyer is the person with the authority and budget to approve a purchase — the one who can sign the check. Identifying them is core to qualification, because a deal can look great and still die if no one in the room has budget authority.Enterprise SalesEnterprise sales is selling to large organizations with formal procurement, long sales cycles, large deal sizes and many stakeholders. It rewards process, champions and patience.Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation criteria are the specific requirements a prospect's buying team uses to judge competing options. Finding them early tells you what the decision actually hinges on.Expansion RevenueExpansion revenue is the money earned from customers you already have — upsells, cross-sells, added seats, or higher tiers. Alongside new business and churn, it is one of the three levers that move MRR and ARR, and it is cheaper to win.Follow-upFollow-up is the persistence a rep applies to a lead or deal after the first touch — the emails, calls, and check-ins that keep a conversation alive. It is the difference between a booked meeting and a lead that went cold, and the most underrated skill in sales.ForecastA sales forecast is a prediction of how much revenue a team will close in a period, built from the pipeline and its likely win rate. It is a rolling number that drives hiring, budget, and quota — and reps who forecast honestly build the most trust.FunnelA sales funnel is the model of how leads are winnowed down from many at the top to a few paying customers at the bottom. SDRs and BDRs own the top — turning leads into qualified meetings — while AEs carry deals down the rest of the funnel to close.GatekeeperA gatekeeper is the person — usually a receptionist or assistant — who controls access to a prospect. Getting past them politely and honestly is a core cold-calling skill.HandoffA handoff is where a lead moves from one rep to another — most commonly from an SDR or BDR to an account executive after a qualified meeting. It is the seam where deals go cold, so a clean handoff is part of the job, not extra work.Honest ScopingHonest scoping is the move of confirming what the buyer asked, stating what you do know, committing to a specific follow-up, and returning to the thread — instead of bluffing. It is a credibility skill, not a gap in your knowledge.Hot LeadA hot lead is a prospect who is actively in a buying process with real urgency and budget now. Hot leads deserve immediate, qualified attention before anyone else sells them.ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)An ICP (ideal customer profile) is the description of the type of company that is the best fit for your product — the accounts most likely to buy and least likely to churn. SDRs use it to decide who to reach out to.Inbound LeadAn inbound lead is a prospect who came to you first — through content, ads, a trial or a referral — and therefore expects a fast, relevant response.Inbound SellingInbound selling is selling to buyers who come to you first — from content, ads or referrals — by matching your process to the buyer's own journey instead of interrupting it.LeadA lead is a person or company that might buy from you — a contact who has shown some sign of interest. Leads get qualified into MQLs and SQLs and eventually become qualified meetings and deals. SDRs and BDRs are the first to work a lead.Lead QualificationLead qualification is the process of deciding whether a prospect is worth your time by checking them against your ideal customer profile, their pain, budget, authority and timeline. It keeps the funnel honest and protects your pipeline from wishful thinking.Lead Response TimeLead response time is how quickly a team follows up with a new lead. Faster response converts more leads, and slow response quietly kills pipeline before it starts.LeverageLeverage is the strength of your position in a negotiation — the alternatives, urgency and value on your side. Understanding leverage tells you when to push and when to concede.Meetings BookedMeetings booked is the count of qualified conversations a rep schedules — the first outcome milestone of prospecting and the bridge between activity and pipeline.Mid-MarketMid-market is the segment between SMB and enterprise — companies with a few hundred to a few thousand employees, multi-stakeholder decisions and larger, slower deals.Mock InterviewA mock interview is a practice run of an interview with feedback. It is the cheapest way to find the gaps in your answers before the real thing costs you a job.MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)An MQL (marketing qualified lead) is a lead that has taken actions — like downloading a guide or requesting a demo — suggesting interest, but has not yet been vetted by sales. SDRs typically contact and qualify them.MRRMRR is Monthly Recurring Revenue — the predictable, repeating revenue a subscription business earns each month. It is the core metric in SaaS, broken into new MRR, expansion MRR, and lost MRR from churn.NegotiationNegotiation is the give-and-take over price, terms, and scope that happens near the end of a deal. It belongs to the closer or account executive, not the SDR. A good negotiation trades concessions for commitments and protects the deal's value.New Business SalesNew business sales is selling to customers who have never bought from you before — winning net-new accounts rather than growing or renewing existing ones.No-showA no-show is a booked sales meeting the prospect does not attend. High no-show rates waste AE time and signal weak qualification or follow-through on the part of the rep who booked it.ObjectionA sales objection is a prospect's stated reason for not buying — budget, timing, authority, fit, or trust. Handling objections is the core skill tested on live calls and the heart of closing.Offer NegotiationOffer negotiation is the process of improving the terms of a job offer before you accept. It is expected, low-risk when done well, and a direct test of sales skills.Opportunities CreatedOpportunities created is the count or value of qualified deals a rep adds to the pipeline in a period. It is the leading output metric of prospecting and the engine of coverage.Opportunity-to-Close RateOpportunity-to-close rate is the percentage of qualified opportunities that become closed-won deals. It measures the back half of the funnel and the quality of your pipeline.OTEOTE, or on-target earnings, is the income a sales rep should make at 100% quota — base salary plus the commission earned at full attainment. It is the headline comp number a recruiter quotes, not a guarantee.Outbound LeadAn outbound lead is a prospect a rep identifies and contacts directly through prospecting, rather than one who came in on their own. It is the core of building net-new pipeline.Pain PointA pain point is the specific problem a prospect is trying to solve that your product can fix. Finding and naming the real pain in discovery is the engine of every good call, demo and proposal.Pilot ProgramA pilot program is a longer, often paid trial of your product with a small subset of a prospect's users before a full rollout. It is a common stepping stone to an enterprise deal.PipelineA sales pipeline is the visible, stage-by-stage path a lead travels from first contact to a closed deal. SDRs and BDRs fill the top of it with qualified meetings; the pipeline is how a team sees what's coming and forecasts revenue.Pipeline CoveragePipeline coverage is the ratio of open pipeline value to quota — a measure of whether a rep has enough active deals in flight to make their number.Price ObjectionA price objection is when a buyer says the cost is too high or outside budget. It is often a proxy for unproven value, not a real ceiling — the fix is to reframe value.ProcurementProcurement is the formal process a company uses to buy goods and services — vendor evaluation, terms, legal review and approval. Selling into it means learning to satisfy process, not just the buyer.Proof of ConceptA proof of concept is a small, time-boxed trial of your product inside a prospect's real environment to prove it solves their specific problem before they buy.ProposalA sales proposal is the written offer you send a prospect laying out the solution, scope, price, and terms, asking for the decision. It is not the finish line — it is the start of negotiation and the final push to close.ProspectingProspecting is finding and reaching out to people or companies that could buy from you but haven't yet — the raw activity that fills the top of the pipeline. It is the core daily work of SDRs and BDRs: research, reach out, qualify, book.Qualified meetingA qualified meeting is a scheduled sales conversation where the prospect has confirmed need, budget, authority, and timeline fit, and is worth the AE's time. It is the SDR's core deliverable and the exact handoff point to an account executive.QuotaA quota is the revenue or activity target a sales rep is expected to hit in a period. Attainment against quota drives commission and bonuses, and is how sales teams measure performance.Quota AttainmentQuota attainment is the percentage of your sales quota you actually hit in a period. It is the most important number on a rep's record — it drives OTE, commission, accelerators, and credibility when you forecast or ask for more territory.RampA sales ramp is the period when a new rep builds pipeline before carrying a full quota — usually 60 to 120 days of reduced targets, steady comp, and training. It exists because pipeline takes time to mature.ReferralA referral is a lead sent to you by an existing customer, contact or partner who vouches for you. Referrals convert highest and cost the least to win.SaaSSaaS (software as a service) is software you rent monthly or yearly instead of buying once. It is the model behind most tech sales — recurring revenue, demo-driven selling, and a strong demand for SDRs who book the demos that feed the funnel.Salary ExpectationsSalary expectations is the interview question about the pay range you want. Answering well means researching the market, giving a range, and deferring specifics until you have shown value.Salary NegotiationSalary negotiation in sales means agreeing on the whole package — base, OTE, commission structure, and any draw or ramp protection. It is less about the base number and more about reading the comp plan, because two 'up to $120k OTE' roles can pay very differently.Sales CycleA sales cycle is the full length of time from first contact with a prospect to a signed deal. Most teams quote it in days or weeks — 30–60 days for SDR-led motion, months for enterprise — and it decides how much pipeline you need to hit quota.Sales EnablementSales enablement is the function that gives sellers the training, content, and tools to actually sell — onboarding, ramp programs, talk tracks, demos, and objection responses. Strong enablement gets you productive in weeks; weak enablement leaves you improvising.Sales ManagerA sales manager leads a team of reps — coaching, forecasting, pipeline, hiring and execution. They are accountable for the team's quota, not just their own.Sales OperationsSales operations is the function that keeps a sales team running — data, process, tools, forecasting, territory and compensation. It is the engine room behind the reps.Sales VelocitySales velocity is a formula that measures how fast revenue moves through your pipeline: opportunities × average deal size × win rate ÷ sales cycle length. It is the number that explains why two teams with the same quota feel so different.SDRAn SDR (sales development representative) is the entry-level B2B sales role that fills the top of the pipeline — finding and qualifying prospects and booking meetings for account executives. They do not close deals; their job ends at the qualified meeting.SequenceA sales sequence is a scheduled, multi-touch outreach plan — calls, emails, and social touches spread over days — used to nurture a prospect from first touch to a booked meeting.SetterA setter, or appointment setter, is the sales role that books qualified calls for a closer. The setter's job ends at the confirmed call — exactly like an SDR books meetings for an AE. Most entry-level sales roles are setter-side.Show rateShow rate is the share of booked meetings that actually happen — qualified meetings attended divided by meetings booked. It is the SDR's follow-through metric and a leading indicator of revenue.SMBSMB stands for small and medium business. SMB sales are high-volume, shorter-cycle deals with fewer stakeholders, faster decisions and more price sensitivity than enterprise.Social SellingSocial selling is building relationships and credibility on platforms like LinkedIn so that prospects come to you already warmed up, instead of receiving a cold pitch.Solution SellingSolution selling is a sales approach that positions your product as the answer to a specific business problem, built on a diagnosis of that problem rather than a feature list.SPIN SellingSPIN selling is a classic methodology built around four question types — situation, problem, implication and need-payoff — used to guide a buyer to see the cost of their problem.SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)An SQL (sales qualified lead) is a lead that has been vetted by sales and meets the qualification bar — real need, budget, authority, and timeline. It is ready for an AE to engage directly.STAR MethodThe STAR method is a framework for answering behavioral interview questions — Situation, Task, Action, Result. It keeps answers concrete, structured and evidence-based.Strengths and WeaknessesThe strengths and weaknesses question is a chance to show self-awareness. Pick strengths tied to the job and weaknesses that are real but manageable, with a plan to improve.Takeaway CloseA takeaway close withdraws or qualifies the offer so the value feels scarcer. It only works when the constraint is real — fake scarcity is manipulation, and it backfires.Tell Me About Yourself'Tell me about yourself' is the opening question of almost every sales interview and it is your first pitch. A strong answer is a two-minute story: who you are, why you are moving into or within sales, and why you fit this role.Term SheetA term sheet is a short, non-binding summary of the key commercial terms of a deal — price, scope, duration, payment terms — agreed before the full contract is drafted.TerritoryA sales territory is the set of accounts or geographic region one rep owns. Your territory decides who you can sell to and what your quota rests on — a good territory is the difference between hitting quota and fighting for scraps.Timing ObjectionA timing objection is when a buyer says now is not the right moment to buy. It is often a polite cover for doubt, a missing trigger, or a stalled approval — and it needs digging, not acceptance.TouchA touch is a single outreach contact — one call, email, or LinkedIn message — in a sales sequence. Volume of touches is the basic input an SDR controls.Trial CloseA trial close is a low-pressure test of the buyer's readiness to commit before you ask for the actual decision. It reveals where the real objection lives.UrgencyUrgency is a buyer's felt reason to act now rather than later. Real urgency comes from pain, cost, deadlines or triggers — and honest sellers build it, never fake it.Value PropositionA value proposition is the clear, specific reason a customer should buy from you — the concrete value they get in exchange for the price. It is built from discovery and is the 'so what' that turns a demo into a decision.Vendor EvaluationA vendor evaluation is the formal comparison a prospect runs across competing suppliers against a scorecard of criteria. Winning means shaping your proposal to the scorecard before it is scored.Walk-Away PriceA walk-away price is the lowest deal you will accept before it stops being worth doing. Knowing yours in advance stops emotion from eroding a deal's value.Warm LeadA warm lead is a prospect who has shown some interest or had some contact — a reply, a download, a referral — and is worth a focused follow-up.Weighted PipelineA weighted pipeline is open deals multiplied by their probability of closing, giving a more honest forecast than raw deal value.Why Sales?The 'why sales' question is the first filter in a sales interview. A strong answer shows genuine, specific motivation — not 'I like people' or 'I heard the money is good.'Win rateA win rate is the percentage of opportunities a rep or team closes — closed-won deals divided by total opportunities. It is the headline efficiency metric for AEs and closers.Win-Loss AnalysisWin-loss analysis is a disciplined review of the deals you won and lost to understand why. It turns every closed deal into feedback that improves your pitch, targeting and pipeline.