accompaniment visit/accompaniment report
when a manager or supervisor or trainer accompanies a sales person while working on the sales territory, usually while meeting prospects or customers. Typically the manager would complete an accompaniment visit report on the performance of the sales perso
account
a customer, usually a business-to-business organization; a major account is a large organization; a national account is a customer with branches or sites that constitute a nationwide coverage, which typically requires special pricing and senior sales atte
active listening
term used to describe high level of listening capability and method, in which the sales person actively seeks to understand how the speaker feels, and what their issues are, in which the type of listening extends far beyond common inattentive listening. R
added value
the element(s) of service or product that a sales person or selling organization provides, that a customer is prepared to pay for because of the benefit(s) obtained. Added values are real and perceived; tangible and intangible. A good, reliable, honest, e
advantage
the aspect of a product or service that makes it better than another, especially the one in-situ or that of a competitor
advertising/advertising and promotion/A&P
the methods used by a company to publicise and position its products and services to its chosen market sectors, including product launches, image and brand building, press and public relations activities, merchandising (supporting and promoting the produc
appointment
a personal sales visit to a prospect, usually arranged by phone. See the appointment-making process.
benefit
the gain (usually a tangible cost, but can be intangible) that accrues to the customer from the product or service
buyer
most commonly means a professional purchasing person in a business; can also mean a private consumer. Buyers are not usually major decision-makers, that is to say, what they buy, when and how they buy it, and how much they pay are prescribed for them by t
buying facilitation�
also known as facilitative buying, generally attributed (and registered) to sales guru Sharon Drew Morgen. Extremely advanced form of personal selling, in which the central ethos is one of 'helping organizations and buyers to buy', not selling to them. Se
buying signal
a buying signal is a comment from a prospect which indicates that he is visualising to whatever extent buying your product or service. The most common buying signal is the question: "How much is it?" Others are questions or comments like: "What colours do
buying warmth
behavioural, non-verbal and other signs that a prospect likes what he sees; very positive from the sales person's perspective, but not an invitation to jump straight to the close.
call/calling
a personal face-to-face visit or telephone call by a sales person to a prospect or customer. Also referred to a sales call (for any sales visit or phone contact), or cold call (in the case of a first contact without introduction or notice in writing).
call centre
also called a contact centre (US = center) - a department for outgoing and/or incoming (outbound/inbound) telephone calls to/from customers, commonly now extending to email communications also if useful for customer service, but not extending to email mar
canvass/canvassing
cold-calling personally at the prospect's office or more commonly now by telephone, in an attempt to arrange an appointment or present a product, or to gather information
close/closing
the penultimate step of the 'Seven Steps of the Sale' selling process, when essentially the sales-person encourages the prospect to say yes and sign the order. In days gone by a Sales person's expertise was measured almost exclusively by how many closes h
closed question
a question which generally prompts a yes or no answer, or a different short answer of just two possible options, compared to open questions, which typically begin with who, what, where, when, etc., and which tend to invite much longer answers.
cold calling
typically refers to the first telephone call made to a prospective customer. More unusually these days, cold calling can also refer to calling face-to-face for the first time without an appointment at commercial promises or households. Cold calling is als
collaboration selling
also known as collaborative selling and facilitation selling - very modern and sophisticated, in which seller truly collaborates with buyer and buying organization to help the buyer buy. A logical extension to 'strategic' or 'open plan' selling. See colla
commodities/commoditised (products and services)
typically a term applied to describe products which are mature in development, produced and sold in vast scale, involving little or no uniqueness between variations of different suppliers; high volume, low price, low profit margin, de-skilled ('ease of us
concession
used in the context of negotiating, when it refers to an aspect of the sale which has a real or perceived value, that is given away or conceded by seller (more usually) or the buyer. One of the fundamental principles of sales negotiating is never giving a
consultative selling (consultation selling)
developed by various sales gurus through the 1980s by David Sandler among others, and practiced widely today, consultative selling was a move towards more collaboration with, and involvement from, the buyer in the selling process. Strongly based on questi
consumer
in the context of selling a consumer typically refers to a private or personal customer or user, as distinct from a business or organizational, or trade customer. Notably we see this term in the acronym B2C, which means 'business-to-consumer', which descr
customer
usually meaning the purchaser, organization, or consumer after the sale. Prior to the sale is usually referred to as a prospect.
customer relationship management (CRM)
CRM is now a commonly used term to describe the process of managing the entire selling process within a department or organisation. Computerised CRM systems enable management of prospect and customer details, contacts, sales history and account developmen
cycle
see sales cycle
deal
common business parlance for the sale or purchase (agreement or arrangement). It is rather a colloquial term so avoid using it in serious company as it can sound flippant and unprofessional.
decision-maker
a person in the prospect organization who has the power and budgetary authority to agree to a sales proposal. On of the most common mistakes by sales people is to attempt to sell to someone other than a genuine decision-maker. For anything other than a ro
deliverable(s)
an aspect of a proposal that the provider commits to do or supply, usually and preferably clearly measurable.
demonstration/'demo'/'dem'
the physical presentation by the sales person to the prospect of how a product works. Generally free of charge to the prospect, and normally conducted at the prospect's premises, but can be at another suitable venue, eg., an exhibition, or at the supplier
demographics
the study of, or information about, people's lifestyles, habits, population movements, spending, age, social grade, employment, etc., in terms of the consuming and buying public; anyone selling to the consumer sector will do better through understanding r
discipline
within the context of an organization this is similar to function, i.e., job role, although a discipline can refer more generally to a capability or responsibility, for example 'financial disciplines', or 'customer service disciplines', or 'technical supp
distribution/sales distribution
the methods or routes by which products and services are taken to market. Sales distribution models are many and various, and are constantly changing and new ones developing. Understanding and establishing best sales distribution methods - routes to marke
FABs
features advantages benefits - the links between a product description, its advantage over others, and the gain derived by the customer from using it. One of the central, if now rather predictable, techniques used in the presentation stage of the selling
feature
an aspect of a product or service, eg., colour, speed, size, weight, type of technology, buttons and knobs, gizmos and gadgets, bells and whistles, technical support, delivery, etc.
feel-felt-found
old-style persuasive push/pressure technique for objection handling, dating back to the 1980s and probably earlier, based on the sales-person using a response built around the three 'feel felt found' elements: "I understand how you feel/why you feel that.
field
means anywhere out of the sales office. Field sales people or managers are those who travel around meeting people personally in the course of managing a sales territory. To be field-based is to work on the sales territory, as opposed to being office-based
forecast/sales forecast
a prediction of what sales will be achieved over a given period, anything from a week to a year. Sales managers require sales people to forecast, in order to provide data to production, purchasing, and other functions whose activities need to be planned t
function
in the context of an organization, this means the job role or discipline, eg., sales, marketing, production, accounting, customer service, delivery, installation, technical service, general management, etc. Understanding the functions of people within org
gestation period
sale gestation period typically refers to the the time from enquiry to sale, the Sales Cycle in other words, (see Sales Cycle). Awareness and monitoring of Sale Gestation Period/Sales Cycle times are crucial in sales planning, forecasting and management,
influencer
a person in the prospect organization who has the power to influence and persuade a decision-maker. Influencers will be generally be decision-makers for relatively low value sales. There is usually more than one influencer in any prospect organization rel
intangible
in a selling context this describes, or is, an aspect of the product or service offering that has a value but is difficult to see or quantify (for instance, peace-of-mind, reliability, consistency). See tangible.
introduction
the word introduction has two different main meanings in selling: Introduction refers either to first stage of the face-to-face or telephone sales call (see the Opening stage in the Seven Steps of the Sale), or the term means a personal introduction - als
introductory letter
a very effective way to improve appointment-making success, and to open initial dialogue, especially for selling to large organisations. See the introductory letters structure and template examples.
LAMP�
Large Account Management Process - sales acronym and methodology for major accounts management developed by Robert Miller, Stephen Heiman and Tad Tuleja in their 1991 book Successful Large Account Management (see the books at the foot of this page). Note
lead-time
time between order and delivery, installation or commencement of a product or service.
listening
a key selling skill, in that without good listening skills the process of questioning is rendered totally pointless. See the Levels of Listening on the Empathy page.
major account
a large and complex prospect or customer, often having several branches or sites, and generally requiring contacts and relationships between various functions in the supplier and customer organization. Often major accounts are the responsibility of design
marketing
perceived by lots of business people to mean simply promotion and advertising, the term marketing actually covers everything from company culture and positioning, through market research, new business/product development, advertising and promotion, PR (pu
margin/profit margin
the difference between cost (including or excluding operating overheads) and selling price of a product or service. Percentage margin is generally deemed to be the difference between cost and selling price, divided by the selling price ex tax (eg somethin
mark-up
this is the money that a selling company adds to the cost of a product or service in order to produce a required level of profit. Strictly speaking, percentage mark-up refers to the difference between cost and selling price as a factor of the cost, not of
needs-creation selling
a selling style popularised in the 1970s and 80s which asserted that sales people could create needs in a prospect for their products or services even if no needs were apparent, obvious or even existed. The method was for the sales person to question the
negotiation/negotiating
the trading of concessions including price reductions, between supplier and customer, in an attempt to shape a supply contract (sale in other words) so that it is acceptable to both supplier and customer. Negotiations can last a few minutes or even a few
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
A very accessible branch of psychology developed by Bandler and Grinder in the 1960s. NLP involves language, thinking and communications, and is therefore immensely useful and often featuires in sales training. See the NLP page.
networking
an increasingly popular method of developing sales opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions - either face-to-face at meetings and gatherings, or by other contact methods such as phone, email, social and business networking websites
objection/overcoming objections
an objection is a point of resistance raised by a prospect, usually price ("It's too expensive.."), but can be anything at any stage of the selling process. Overcoming objections is a revered and much-trained skill in the traditional selling process, but
open/opening
the first stage of the actual sales call (typically after preparation in the Seven Steps of the Sale). Also called the introduction.
opening benefit statement/OBS
traditionally an initial impact statement for sales people to use at first contact with prospect, in writing, on the phone or face-to-face - the OBS generally encapsulates the likely strongest organizational benefit typically (or supposedly) derived by cu
open plan selling
a modern form of selling, heavily dependent on the sales person understanding and interpreting the prospect's organizational and personal needs, issues, processes, constraints and strategic aims, which generally extends the selling discussion far beyond t
open question
a question that gains information, usually beginning with who, what, why, where, when, how, or more subtly 'tell me about..' - as distinct from a closed question, for example beginning with 'Is it...?' or 'Do you...?' etc., which tend to glean only a yes
package
in a selling context this is another term for the product offer; it's the whole product and service offering at a given price, upon given terms.
partnership selling
very modern approach to organizational selling for business-to-business sales - see collaboration and partnership selling.
perceived
how something is seen or regarded by someone, usually by the prospect or customer, irrespective of what is believed or presented by the seller, ie what it really means to the customer.
pipeline
see sales pipeline.
positioning
more a marketing than sales term, although relevant to experienced and sophisticated sellers, and related to targeting - positioning refers to how a product/service/proposition is presented or described or marketed in relation to the market place - with r
preparation
in the context of the selling process this is the work done by the sales person to research and plan the sales approach and/or sales call to a particular prospect or customer. Almost entirely without exception in the global history of selling, no call is
presentation/sales presentation
the process by which a sales person explains the product or service to the prospect (to a single contact or a group), ideally including the product's features, advantages and benefits, especially those which are relevant to the prospect. Presentations can
product
generally a physical item being supplied, but can also mean or include services and intangibles, in which case product is used to mean the whole package being supplied.
product offer
how the product and/or service is positioned and presented to the prospect or market, which would normally include features and/or advantages and also imply at least one benefit for the prospect (hence a single product can be represented by a number of di
proposal/sales proposal
usually a written offer with specification, prices, outline terms and conditions, and warranty arrangements, from a sales person or selling organization to a prospect. Generally an immensely challenging part of the process to get right, in that it must be
proposition
usually means product offer, can mean sales proposal. The initial proposition means the basis of the first approach.
professional selling skills
see PSS
PSS
'Professional Selling Skills' - highly structured selling process pioneered by the US Xerox (and UK Rank Xerox) photocopier sales organization during the 1960s, and adopted by countless business-to-business sales organizations, normally as the 'Seven Step
prospect
a customer (person, organization, buyer) before the sale is made, ie a prospective customer.
puppy dog sale/puppy dog close
a method of selling or closing a deal whereby you let the customer try the product or service for free without commitment, for a limited period, in the confidence that once they live with it they won't want to give it up - just like giving someone have a
questioning
the second stage of the sales call, typically after the opening or introduction in the Seven Steps of the Sale, but also vital to modern selling methods too, notably collaborative/facilitative selling. A crucial selling skill, and rarely well demonstrated
referral
a recommendation or personal introduction or permission/suggestion made by someone, commonly but not necessarily a buyer, which enables the seller to approach or begin dialogue with a new perspective buyer or decision-maker/influencer. Seeking referrals i
rem
ommon slang for remainder or remnant in any business which deals with end-of-line, left-over, or otherwise non-standard-stock items which typically are handled and disposed at attractive terms to minimise waste and write-offs.
research/research call
the act of gathering information about a market or customer, that will help progress or enable a sales approach. Often seen as a job for telemarketing personnel, but actually more usefully carried out by sales people, especially where large prospects are
retention/customer retention
means simply keeping customers and not losing them to competitors. Modern companies realise that it's far more expensive to find new customers than keep existing ones, and so put sufficient investment into looking after and growing existing accounts. Less
sales cycle
the Sales Cycle term generally describes the time and/or process between first contact with the customer to when the sale is made. Sales Cycle times and processes vary enormously depending on the company, type of business (product/service), the effectiven
sales forecasts
also called sales projections, these are the predictions that sales people and sales managers are required to make about future business levels, necessary for their own organisation to plan and budget everything from stock levels, production, staffing lev
sales funnel
describes the pattern, plan or actual achievement of conversion of prospects into sales, pre-enquiry and then through the sales cycle. So-called because it includes the conversion ratio at each stage of the sales cycle, which has a funneling effect. Prosp
sales report
a business report of sales results, activities, trends, etc., traditionally completed by a sales manager, but increasingly now the responsibility of sales people too. See the sample monthly sales report template (MSExcel format), or as a PDF version of th
sales pipeline
a linear equivalent of the Sales Funnel principle. Prospects need to be fed into the pipeline in order to drop out of the other end as sales. The length of the pipeline is the sales cycle time, which depends on business type, market situation, and the eff
sector/market sector
a part of the market that can be described, categorised and then targeted according to its own criteria and characteristics; sectors are often described as 'vertical', meaning an industry type, or 'horizontal', meaning some other grouping that spans a num
segment/market segment
a sub-sector or market niche; basically a grouping that's more narrowly defined and smaller than a sector; a segment can be a horizontal sub-sector across one or more vertical sectors. See the marketing page.
service contract
a formal document usually drawn up by the supplier by which the trading arrangement is agreed with the customer. Also known as trading agreements, supply agreements, and other variations. See the section on service contracts and trading agreements.
solutions selling
a common but loosely-used description for a more customer-orientated selling method than the Seven Steps; dependent on identifying needs to which appropriate benefits are matched in a package or 'solution'. The term is based on the premise that customers
SPIN� and SPIN� Selling
A popular selling method developed by Neil Rackham in the 1970-80s: SPIN� is an acronym derived from the basic selling process designed and defined by Rackham: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need, or Need Payoff. More detail about SPIN� and SPIN� Sellin
steps of the sale
describes the structure of the selling process, particularly the sales call, and what immediately precedes and follows it. Usually represented as the Seven Steps of the Sale, but can be five, six, eight or more, depending whose training manual you're read
Strategic Selling�
when used in upper case and/or in the context of Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling� methodology (which features in their books of the same name, first published in 1985) the Strategic Selling� term is a registered and protected product name belonging to t
strategic selling
you will also hear people (me included) referring to 'strategic selling' in a generic sense, and not specifically referring to the Miller Heiman methods and materials. In a generic 'lower case' sense, 'strategic selling' describes a broad methodology whic
tangible
in a selling context this describes, or is, an aspect of the product or service offering that can readily be seen and measured in terms of cost and value (eg., any physical feature of the product; spare parts; delivery or installation; a regular service v
target/sales target
in a sales context this is the issued (or ideally agreed) level of sales performance for a sales person or team or department over a given period. Bonus payments, sales commissions, pay reviews, job gradings, life and death, etc., can all be dependent on
targeting
this has a different meaning to the usual noun sense of target (above). Targeting is a marketing term - very relevant and important for sales people and sales managers too - which refers to the customers at which the selling effort is aimed, hence targeti
telemarketing
any pre-sales activity conducted by telephone, usually by specially trained telemarketing personnel - for instance, research, appointment-making, product promotion.
telesales
selling by telephone contact alone, normally a sales function in its own right, ie., utilising specially trained telesales personnel; used typically where low order values prevent the use of expensive field-based sales people, and a recognisable product o
tender
a very structured formal proposal in response to the issue of an invitation to tender for the supply of a product or service to a large organization or government department. Tenders require certain qualifying criteria to be met first by the tendering org
territory
the geographical area of responsibility of a sales person or a team or a sales organization. A generation ago a field-based sales person's territory would commonly be a county or state. Now in this globalized age, where so much selling is done online and
territory planning
the process of planning optimum and most cost-effective coverage (particularly for making appointments or personal calling) of a sales territory by the available sales resources, given prospect numbers, density, buying patterns, etc., even if one territor
trial close
the technique by which a sales person tests the prospect's readiness to buy, traditionally employed in response to a buying signal, eg: prospect says: "Do you have them in stock?", to which the sales person would traditionally reply: "Would you want one i
unique/uniqueness
a feature that is peculiar to a product or service or supplier - no competitor can offer it. See the marketing section for more detail about developing unique selling propositions. Uniqueness is a much overlooked aspect of selling. The vast majority of sa
UPB
unique perceived benefit - now one of the central strongest mechanisms in the modern selling process, an extension and refinement of the product offer, based on detailed understanding of the prospect's personal and organizational needs. A UPB is your USP
USP
unique selling point or proposition - this is what makes the product offer competitively strong and without direct comparison; generally the most valuable unique advantage of a product or service, for the market or prospect in question; now superseded by
variable
an aspect of the sale or deal that can be changed in order to better meet the needs of the seller and/or the buyer. Typical variables are price, quantity, lead-time, payment terms, technical factors, styling factors, spare parts, back-up and breakdown ser