100 Terms Every Salesperson Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	A/B testing	Comparing two versions to improve results.
2.	Active listening	Fully focusing to understand customer needs.
3.	Add-on sale	Extra item suggested to complement purchase.
4.	Affiliate marketing	Partners earn commission for referred sales.
5.	After-sales service	Support provided after purchase completion.
6.	Anchoring	First number influences perceived value.
7.	Annual sales plan	Yearly targets, tactics, and forecasts.
8.	Assortment	Range of products offered in-store.
9.	Average order value (AOV)	Average revenue per transaction.
10.	Backorder	Item sold but temporarily out of stock.
11.	BANT	Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline criteria.
12.	Basket size	Number of items per transaction.
13.	Behavioral segmentation	Grouping customers by actions and usage.
14.	Benefit statement	How features help the customer.
15.	Brand loyalty	Repeat purchasing preference for a brand.
16.	Break-even point	Sales level where profit equals costs.
17.	Bundling	Selling multiple items as one package.
18.	Buyer persona	Profile of an ideal customer type.
19.	Call to action (CTA)	Prompt that asks for a next step.
20.	Cancellation rate	Percent of orders canceled before fulfillment.
21.	Cash wrap	Checkout counter area for transactions.
22.	Channel conflict	Competition between sales channels for customers.
23.	Churn	Customers who stop buying over time.
24.	Clienteling	Building relationships using customer data.
25.	Closing	Asking for and securing the sale.
26.	Cold approach	Starting conversation with an unknown shopper.
27.	Competitive set	Key rival brands or stores.
28.	Consultative selling	Selling by diagnosing needs and advising solutions.
29.	Conversion rate	Percent of visitors who purchase.
30.	Cost of goods sold (COGS)	Direct cost to produce or buy inventory.
31.	Cross-selling	Suggesting related products to the buyer.
32.	Customer lifetime value (CLV)	Total expected profit from a customer.
33.	Customer satisfaction (CSAT)	Measure of customer happiness after interaction.
34.	Daily sales target	Revenue goal set for each day.
35.	Deal breaker	Issue that prevents purchase decision.
36.	Demonstration	Showing product use to prove value.
37.	Discounting	Reducing price to encourage purchase.
38.	Distribution channel	Path product takes to reach customers.
39.	E-commerce	Selling products online via digital storefront.
40.	Elevator pitch	Brief persuasive product or value summary.
41.	Endcap	Display at aisle end for visibility.
42.	Engagement	Customer interactions indicating interest and attention.
43.	ERP	System managing inventory, orders, and operations.
44.	Escalation	Handing complex issue to higher support.
45.	Ethical selling	Honest selling aligned with customer interests.
46.	Feature-benefit	Linking product features to customer advantages.
47.	FIFO	First inventory received is sold first.
48.	Foot traffic	Number of people entering the store.
49.	Forecasting	Predicting future sales using data.
50.	Freight	Shipping cost for moving inventory.
51.	Fulfillment	Process of picking, packing, and delivering.
52.	Gross margin	Sales minus COGS, as percentage.
53.	Guarantee	Promise of performance or satisfaction.
54.	Hard close	Direct, urgent request to buy now.
55.	Heat map	Visual showing where shoppers spend time.
56.	Impulse buy	Unplanned purchase made spontaneously.
57.	Inbound lead	Prospect who initiates contact or inquiry.
58.	Incentive	Reward motivating sales or customer actions.
59.	Inventory turnover	How often stock sells and is replaced.
60.	Just-in-time (JIT)	Stocking strategy minimizing inventory on hand.
61.	Key performance indicator (KPI)	Metric tracking progress toward goals.
62.	Lead	Potential customer showing some interest.
63.	Lead qualification	Assessing if a lead is worth pursuing.
64.	Limited-time offer (LTO)	Promotion available for a short period.
65.	Loss leader	Low-priced item used to attract shoppers.
66.	Loyalty program	Rewards system encouraging repeat purchases.
67.	MAP pricing	Minimum advertised price set by brand.
68.	Margin	Profit percentage after costs.
69.	Merchandising	Presenting products to maximize sales.
70.	Mystery shopper	Evaluator posing as customer to assess service.
71.	Needs assessment	Questions to uncover customer requirements.
72.	Net promoter score (NPS)	Likelihood customers recommend the store.
73.	Objection handling	Addressing concerns blocking the sale.
74.	Omnichannel	Unified experience across in-store and online.
75.	Open-ended question	Question inviting detailed customer responses.
76.	Out-of-stock (OOS)	Item unavailable for immediate purchase.
77.	Outbound	Proactive contacting of potential customers.
78.	Overcoming objections	Resolving concerns to move forward.
79.	Payment terms	Rules for when and how payment occurs.
80.	Planogram	Diagram specifying product placement on shelves.
81.	Point of sale (POS)	System used to complete transactions.
82.	Post-purchase follow-up	Checking satisfaction after the sale.
83.	Price matching	Matching competitor price to win sale.
84.	Product knowledge	Understanding features, uses, and comparisons.
85.	Prospecting	Finding potential customers to approach.
86.	Qualifying questions	Questions confirming fit, budget, and urgency.
87.	Quota	Assigned sales goal for a period.
88.	Rapport	Trusting connection with a customer.
89.	Reorder point	Stock level triggering replenishment order.
90.	Return rate	Percent of sold items returned.
91.	Sales funnel	Stages from awareness to purchase.
92.	Sales pitch	Structured message persuading purchase decision.
93.	Sales promotion	Short-term incentive to boost sales.
94.	Sell-through rate	Percent of inventory sold in period.
95.	Shrink	Inventory loss from theft, damage, errors.
96.	SKU	Unique code identifying a product item.
97.	Soft close	Low-pressure question to test readiness.
98.	Stock keeping	Managing inventory levels and accuracy.
99.	Suggestive selling	Recommending items based on customer needs.
100.	Trade-up	Guiding customer to higher-value option.