Sales glossary
The terms sales teams actually use, defined in plain language with the mistake people make with each.
Booking rate is the percentage of pipeline opportunities that close and sign in a given period.
Signals showing a prospect is actively researching, evaluating, or buying a solution in your category right now.
The person who has to act on a purchase is not the same as the person who wants to buy it—and that's where deals stall.
Giving away margin across the deal—not in one negotiation, but in small pieces that add up over months.
Getting agreement from each stakeholder before the buying committee votes, instead of hoping they align at the end.
A limited, time-bound trial of your solution with the buyer's real users to test adoption and fit before scaling across their organization.
The formal buying process a company runs to approve, evaluate, and finalize contracts—controlled by rules, not the people you've been talking to.
A limited test where the buyer validates your solution works for their specific use case before committing to a full deal.
How fast a prospect is moving through the sales cycle and whether that pace aligns with what you forecast.
The process of uncovering the real concern behind a prospect's stated reason for hesitation or refusal.
The stages a prospect moves through from awareness of a problem to making a purchase decision with your company.
Replacing an incumbent vendor whose software or service the customer already uses and depends on.
All the people who must agree before your deal closes, including those who influence but don't sign.
Whether the customer's cost of doing nothing exceeds the price of your solution and implementation.
Signs during a deal that suggest the buyer may not be serious or the deal is at risk.
The specific date you and the buyer expect the contract to be executed and the deal to be won.
Written agreement on the specific steps both you and the buyer will take to move the deal forward.
The person who controls the budget or has final approval authority to spend money on your solution — not always the person you initially speak to.
The average number of days from first contact to a closed deal, measured to forecast when pipeline will convert and predict revenue timing.
Identifying and documenting all decision-makers, influencers, and users involved in a deal to plan where to focus your selling effort.
The internal person at the prospect company who believes in your solution and will advocate for you to decision-makers.
The process of determining whether a prospect has a real problem, budget, and authority to actually buy from you.
First conversation with a prospect where you ask questions to understand their problem before pitching a solution.
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