| C - Level Executive |
| An executive in the organization whose title often is preceded by the word "Chief", e.g. CEO, COO, CIO, CFO, etc. |
 |
| Call |
| A visit or meeting with a customer or prospect. |
|
| Canvas |
| Another word for the activity of prospecting. |
|
| Capabilities Folder |
| A summary of your organization's products and services, organized to be used as a leave behind during the initial (or an early) sales call. The objective of having a capabilities folder is to provide a handy reference tool to the customer about your organization. Ideally, capabilities folders should be customized to the customer being called on. |
|
| Capitalize |
| An action a salesperson may take when a situation is favorable to a decision, even though the salesperson does not have direct control over the situation. For example, the economy's weakness (not in a salesperson's direct control) may be something a salesperson could capitalize on if the product or service alleviates a condition caused by the economy's weakness. |
|
| Cash Cow |
| A marketing term referring to a product or service that is highly profitable, and / or generates significant cash for the selling organization. |
|
| Cash Flow |
| The cash or collected revenues being generated by a firm during a given period. Also considered the level of money projected to be available for other transactions after deducting expenses from income sources. |
|
| Catalyst |
| In sales organizations, term refers to a salesperson or sales manager who stimulates positive and creative change, and who causes a process or event to happen through both direct and indirect efforts. |
|
| Champion / Sponsor |
| Typically refers to someone in the organization who is your internal coach, supporting your solution. This may also refer to the customer executive who is the primary advocate for the project or solution you are attempting to sell, e.g. Executive Sponsor. |
|
| Channel |
| The means by which an organization uses to sell their products. A company who uses their own sales force is said to have a "direct channel." Other channels include distributors, wholesalers, retailers, agencies, etc. |
|
| Close / Closing The Sale |
| The point at which the salesperson asks for a commitment to purchase the product or service being evaluated. |
|
| Closed Questions |
| Questions that provide the customer with a choice among alternatives. Often these are brief answer, Yes-No questions. |
|
| Coach |
| A person who guides, helps, and teaches in order to enable a salesperson's success. In sales organizations, the practice of coaching is considered the most important characteristic of effective management. It is the coach's responsibility to create the necessary environment for results to flourish, and to tap the energy of each individual contributor to maximize talent and performance. |
|
| Coachee |
| The person being coached. |
|
| Coaching Call / Observation Call |
| A customer call involving both the salesperson and the sales manager where the manager's role is minimal, and the manager's primary objective is to observe the skills of the salesperson and the reaction of the customer in order to provide quality feedback during the post-call debrief session. |
|
| Cold Call |
| A visit made to an organization without having the benefit of an appointment. |
|
| Comfort Zone |
| Term used to refer to that area which a sales professional is competent and capable in. Sometimes it is hard for sales professionals to veer from their comfort zones, due to the level of past success they have had there. |
|
| Commission |
| In sales compensation, this refers to a type of payment or revenue sharing resulting from achieving a sale or attaining a given sales level. Commissions are typically expressed as a percentage of the selling price for the product sold. |
|
| Commodity |
| A product or service that is not differentiated. In other words, all competing products bear the same or similar characteristics. Today, many products have become commodity-like, requiring differentiation in other areas, such as financing, service, or personal relationships. In these and many other commodity-like situations, purchase decisions are often made primarily on the basis of price. |
|
| Communications Styles |
| The varying styles that a customer might project during a sales call. Aligning to each communications style can help bring commonality to the sales conversation. |
|
| Compensation Administration |
| The methodology used by a sales organization to ensure proper payout of a salesperson's commissions, including the process followed for arbitrating conflicts that may rise, as a company's rules of engagement for revenue recognition are applied. |
|
| Compensation Principles |
| The principles used by a selling organization to drive the design of a specific compensation strategy for the salesforce. |
|
| Competitive Advantage |
| Those areas deemed to have preferential value to a customer versus a similar competitive product. |
|
| Complex Sale |
| A sale where there are multiple decision makers and influencers, who often have different requirements and agendas. Complex sales typically take much longer than average to achieve and orchestrate. In some circles, this is also referred to as a strategic sale. |
|
| Concerns |
| The issues a customer brings up when a salesperson recommends ideas or options for a customer to purchase. |
|
| Conditions of Satisfaction |
| Conditions of Satisfaction represent those criteria the customer will use to determine whether or not to do business with your organization. Criteria might include quality, reliability, service support, delivery, price, timing, risk, financing, warranties, and limitations, to name a few. |
|
| Confidentiality Agreements |
| Agreements between two parties affirming that the information exchanged during a relationship is maintained within the confines of the agreement, and not shared beyond the agreement. |
|
| Consequences |
| Those things that happen if an action or condition continues, or is not alleviated. Superior salespeople focus on asking consequence questions as an integral part of their sales process. These questions are powerful because they help the salesperson and the customer explore the long and short-term effects of addressing or not addressing their business issues, or of capitalizing on opportunities. |
|
| Consultative Selling |
| A selling methodology where the customer is seeking advice from the selling organization on a path forward. |
|
| Contact Management System |
| The use of technology to track customer contact information, activity, and history. |
|
| Continuous Improvement |
| A term made popular as part of quality initiatives, this refers to the process of constantly looking for incremental improvements in work efforts, processes, and results. It is said that sales professionals who are continuously improving add significant value to their customers and their selling organizations. |
|
| Conversion |
| The methodology used to convert a customer's use of one product or supplier to another. |
|
| Conversion Ratio |
| Used in sales organizations where gaining sales is a function of taking away business from competition, this ratio is usually a measure of the number of targeted opportunities secured vs. the number of opportunities pursued. |
|
| Cost - Benefit Analysis |
| The method a customer (or sales organization) follows to assess the viability of a recommendation, by examining the total amount of money, time, and resources used relative to the value being received. |
|
| Cost of Goods Sold |
| On an income statement, the cost of purchasing raw materials and manufacturing the finished goods. |
|
| Cost of Sales |
| For sales compensation purposes, this refers to the calculation of total sales generated by the salesforce divided by the total compensation costs of the sales force. Most of the time, this is expressed as a percentage. |
|
| Coverage |
| Refers to the percentage of customers, people, or markets reached by a sales channel. In complex selling situations, coverage typically alludes to determining who will be responsible for calling on the primary targets or key players in the organization. |
|
| Creativity |
| The ability to "think out of the box" in order to resolve a customer issue, or to arrive at unique ideas to address a customer condition or problem. Creative salespeople are original and imaginative in arriving at solutions.. |
|
| Credibility |
| A critical quality in building commitment in a sale |
|
| Critical Success Factor |
| Refers to the characteristics that figure in or are most essential to accomplishing something. |
|
| CRM - Customer Relationship Management |
| Acronym - Customer Relationship Management. - The term used to describe the process used internally to manage customer relationships. Often used to refer to the use of technology to track and maintain essential information about the customer and the activities initiated with a customer across the functional areas of the selling organization. |
|
| Cross-Selling |
| A methodology in selling where a customer need lends itself to a possible need for another product or service. |
|
| Cue |
| A signal, often given by a customer via a word or action that suggests an opportunity for a product or service. |
|
| Customer Centric |
| A description for an organization that is especially attentive to customer input and customer involvement in planning and executing their strategies. |
|
| Customer Profile |
| A document that outlines the critical information about a particular customer. These may include key contacts, roles, organization charts, etc. that describe the customer in detail. Salespeople maintain detailed profiles of their customers and contacts, often via a contact or customer relationship management technology application. |
|
| Customer Relationship Management |
| See CRM. |
|
| Customer Spend |
| The level of expenditure a customer is making in a given area. |
|
