Decoding Tech Sales Acronyms

Imagine settling foot into a new country. Everyone speaks the same language, except you. Enter the world of tech sales and it seems like every word has an acronym. Well, you’re not wrong, they do. And sometimes, one acronym can even mean two completely different things! Here is a guide to the world of tech sales, where acronyms run rampant and lines are blurred between efficiency and complexity:

• ABC: Always be closing.

  • Always looking for new prospects and ways to bring in more business.

• ABS: Account based selling.

  • Building connections throughout a singular organization to increase buy-in and likelihood of purchase/retention.

• ACV: Annual Contract Value.

  • The average annual value of a customer’s subscription.

• AE: Account Executive.

  • A sales representative who will take deals through the entire sales cycle.

• AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

  • The stages a consumer moves through when making a purchasing decision.

• AM: Account Manager.

  • Commonly a sales role managing and selling to existing accounts.

• ARR: Annual Recurring Revenue.

  • Subscription revenue earned by a SaaS company annually.

• B2B: Business to Business.

  • Selling goods or services to other businesses.

• B2C: Business to Consumer.

  • Selling goods or services directly to individual consumers.

• BANT: Budget Authority Need Timeline.

  • A sales qualification methodology for quick qualification.

• BD: Business Development.

  • Sales and sales planning.

• BDM: Business Development Manager.

  • Reps that specialize in an industry or vertical and are responsible for generating revenue. 

• BDR: Business Development Representative.

  • This can be interchanged with an SDR role, but may also handle inbound leads in addition to outbound.

• CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost.

  • The cost or spend to acquire another customer.

• CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate.

  • Measures the growth rate of sales over time.

• CAM: Channel Account Manager or Customer Acquisition Manager.

  • A sales representative in a channel-model organization building relationships and partnerships with channel partners. Or a sales representative who is handling warmer leads to bring them further down the funnel to an account executive.

• CCR: Customer Churn Rate.

  • The rate at which customers cancel or do not renew their subscription over a given period of time.

• CHAMP: Challenges, Authority, Money, and Priority.

  • Outlines the questions a sales representative should ask to qualify a prospect.

• CL: Closed Lost.

  • Signifies a deal won’t be made or the deal has been lost.

• CLTV: Customer Lifetime Value.

  • The total amount of revenue expected from a customer over the lifetime of their relationship with the business.

• COB: Close of business.

  • Typically refers to the end of the day relative to the time financial markets close (5pm EST).

• CRM: Customer Relationship Management.

  • The process of managing and analyzing customer relationships. Typically the first sales technology adopted focuses on CRM.

• CSAT: Customer Satisfaction.

  • Typically used as a score to represent how satisfied a customer is with your solution, their experience, or the organization as a whole.

• CSE: Channel Sales Executive.

  • Will work with the channel partners similar to a channel account manager and drive revenue from them.

• CSM: Customer Success Manager.

  • Focused on customer satisfaction and renewal post initial sale. 

• CTA: Call to Action.

  • A request to perform a specific action, such as clicking a button, filling out a form, scheduling a meeting, or making a purchase. 

• CW: Closed Won.

  • A sales cycle that has been completed and results in won business.

• CX: Customer Experience.

  • The experience a customer has with an organization. Typically a team exists to map out and optimize the touch points a customer has with a company.

• EOD: End of Day.

  • Typically refers to the end of the day relative to the time zone of the person involved.

• EOM: End of Month.

  • The end of the calendar or fiscal month. 

• EOQ: End of Quarter.

  • The end of the calendar or fiscal quarter.

• ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning.

  • Software used by companies to manage day-to-day operations like procurement, accounting, and risk management. 

• FAB: Features, Advantages, Benefits.

  • A sales methodology that focuses on explaining features, speaking through the advantages of them, and the benefits the customer will receive.

• FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.

  • A strategy used by some sales professionals to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt for the prospect in other solutions. 

• ICP: Ideal Customer Profile.

  • A detailed description of the perfect customer for a company. Can be as little as company size, revenue, and industry, but can go deeper into the personal characteristics of the ideal buyer. 

• ISR: Inside Sales Representative (or less commonly Inbound Sales Representative).

  • A person who sells solutions remotely for a company. Can also be a sales representative who manages inbound marketing qualified leads to turn them into sales qualified leads.

• KPI: Key Performance Indicator.

  • A measurable value to track performance that demonstrates how well a company is doing at meeting its business objectives.

• LDR: Lead development representative.

  • A sales representative focused on bringing leads further down the funnel, typically from marketing reps, who will then qualify and connect them with a closing sales rep.

• MEDDIC: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion.

  • A sales qualification framework used to ensure the customer is the correct individual, is properly suited for the solution being offered, and is shown the value of the solution.

• MEDDPICC: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition, Paper Process.

  • An updated version of MEDDIC, adding competition and paper (legal) process.

• MQL: Marketing Qualified Lead.

  • A lead provided by marketing that is more likely to produce a sale based on actions taken.

• MRR: Monthly Recurring Revenue. (May also be called RMR).

  • The monthly revenue received from customers.

• MTD: Month to Date.

  • The time from the start of the month to the current date.

• NPS: Net Promoter Score.

  • Used to determine how likely a customer is to recommend a company to others.

• OOO: Out of Office.

  • Used to represent that an employee is not working during a specified time period.

• QTD: Quarter to Date.

  • The time from the start of the quarter to the current date.

• RFI: Request for Information.

  • A proposal from a company to request information from suppliers to inform purchase decisions.

• RFP: Request for Proposal.

  • A document that requests a proposal from specific companies and outlines the requirements for the project.

• RFQ: Request for Quotation.

  • A document requesting a quote for specific parts or services from a company.

• ROI: Return on Investment.

  • Net profit divided by investment cost. Shows how profitable an investment or a role is.

• SAAS: Software as a Service.

  • Cloud software that is sold online and typically has a service fee associated with it.

• SDR: Sales Development Representative.

  • A sales representative focused on outbound prospecting and selling, typically through cold outreach.

• SE: Sales Engineer.

  • A blend between engineer and sales representative. Typically a more technical person who supports the sales team in complex projects.

• SFDC: Salesforce Dot Com.

  • A popular CRM solution.

• SLA: Service Level Agreement.

  • A contract between company and customer outlining the expected level of service and expectations. Typically includes response time and uptime, among others.

• SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound.

  • A structure for setting attainable goals

• SMB: Small- and Medium-Sized Business.

  • Typically companies at a lower overall revenue than what would be considered an enterprise.

• SPIFF: Sales Performance Incentive Fund.

  • A bonus or commission paid out to sales people for hitting a specific target or selling a specific solution. Typically used for competitions to incentivize sales representatives.

• SPIN: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff.

  • A sales process used by asking questions to uncover the prospect's situation, identifying problems and pain points, understanding the implications, and establishing the need for a solution.

• SQL: Sales Qualified Lead.

  • A lead that has been qualified by marketing and sales and is ready for someone to take in a closing role.  

• YOY: Year over Year.

  • Refers to a comparison of data from one year to the next.

• YTD: Year to Date.

  • Sales from the start of the year until today.

There you have it, 62 acronyms to get you started in the world of sales!