Here are some personal definitions to ensure we’re on the same page:
| Churn/Churn rate | The rate at which customers/employees leave. |
| Customer (Cx) | Distinguishable from a prospect/lead, a customer is someone who has already purchased your solution. |
| Demo | Demonstration. |
| E-commerce | Buying/selling goods and/or services online. |
| Freemium | Free with basic features, paid upgrade to unlock premium features. |
| Funnel | Similar to a physical funnel, the customer’s journey or your process is often depicted as a sales or marketing funnel. More individuals enter at the top (leads), but fewer proceed to the next stage, and even fewer make a final purchase. |
| Lead Magnet | An incentive provided in exchange for contact information from a prospect. |
| Pivot | Any change (both big or small) you decide to make with your business. E.g. pursuing a different target customer, adjusting your offerings, or even tweaking pricing. |
| Prospect/Lead | Someone who is either interested, or you’ve identified as a potential buyer, but has yet to purchase. |
| Solution/Offerings | Since some of you sell products, while others sell services, I’ll use solutions/offerings interchangeably as replacement terms instead of saying “products and services” or “products or services”. |
| Strategy/Plan | High-level path to achieving your end goal. Includes everything you’ll put into place (assets), how you’ll structure the organization, campaigns you’ll run, channels you’ll use, activities you’ll do, etc. |
| Process | Specific workflows, actions, or funnels. Processes are like a sequence of events or steps you take. Your strategy/plan is made up of multiple independent or interrelated processes. |
| Methods/Methodology | Cultivated through training, they help improve efficiency/skills. Methodologies are your frameworks, they inform HOW you sell/your selling style: SPIN, Challenger Sales, etc. To understand how Strategy, Process, and Methodology are different yet related, here’s an example: To clean 500 dishes, you could employ dishwashers or ship them to a commercial cleaning facility (strategy). They can be cleaned by hand (method): Rinse, Scrub with soap, Rinse, Dry on the rack (process), and/or by dishwasher (method): Load, Insert dishwashing liquid/tablet, Run (process). |
| Techniques | Specific ways to accomplish something. E.g. closing techniques or overcoming objections. Techniques are like different tools that help you get the job done. |
| Value(s) | The perceived benefit(s) of your solution. Not to be confused with the “price” of your offerings. |
| Values | If I’m using the plural term (and I’ll try to be clear when I do), I’m usually referring to the underlying personal or organizational values that define our decision-making process (e.g. integrity, freedom, authenticity, etc.). |
Common acronyms:
| ACDC | Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Close framework by HubSpot: For describing the stages of the customer journey. |
| Ad | Advertisement. |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence. |
| AKA/a.k.a. | Also known as. |
| BANT | Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline. A framework for qualifying prospects. |
| B2B | Business-to-Business. Businesses that sell directly to other businesses. |
| B2C | Business-to-Consumer. Businesses that sell directly to general consumers. |
| B2B2C | Business-to-Business-to-Consumer. Businesses that sell indirectly to consumers through another business. E.g. selling a product through a distributor or retailer. |
| B2G | Business-to-Government. |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management. A tool (usually software these days) to help you keep track of and manage the relationships between all your prospects and customers. |
| CTA | Call to Action. The specific action you’d like your prospect to take and your invitation for them to do so. E.g. “Download the template” or “Book a consultation”. |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions. |
| HR | Human Resource. The division of business responsible for all things related to employees. |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator. Metrics that track against an organization’s and/or individual’s performance goals. |
| ROI | Return on investment. What do prospects get in exchange for their time/money invested into your solution? Return should exceed Investment for them to feel it’s worth their while. |
| SaaS | Software as a Service. |
| SDR | Sales Development Representative/Salesperson. |
| SEO | Search Engine Optimization. |
| SQL | Sales Qualified Lead |
| MQL | Marketing Qualified Lead |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding. A non-legally binding agreement that precedes a formal contract. |
| UBP | Usage-based Pricing |
| WoM | Word of Mouth. |
| CAC | Customer Acquisition Cost / Cost of Acquiring a Customer. How much it takes to market to a prospect and convert them into a customer. |
| LTV | Lifetime Value. How much you make from them over their lifetime as your customer. |