Learn B2B Marketing & Sales Terminology
Your comprehensive guide to understanding the key terms and concepts in B2B marketing, demand generation, and revenue operations.
A
Account Engagement Score
A composite metric measuring overall engagement levels across all contacts and channels for a target account.
Account Intelligence
Comprehensive data and insights about target accounts including firmographics, technographics, and buying signals.
Account Penetration
The depth of relationships and engagement within a target account's buying committee.
Account Tiering
The practice of segmenting target accounts into priority levels based on potential value and strategic importance.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
A focused B2B strategy that concentrates sales and marketing resources on a defined set of target accounts.
B
B2B Advertising
Paid promotional activities designed to reach and engage business decision-makers across digital and traditional channels.
B2B Lead Generation
The process of identifying and attracting potential business customers who have shown interest in your product or service.
BANT
A lead qualification framework assessing Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline.
Battle Card
A quick-reference document helping sales reps compete effectively against specific competitors.
Buyer Persona
A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data.
Buying Committee
The group of stakeholders involved in evaluating and approving a B2B purchase decision.
Buying Group
The collection of stakeholders within an organization who are involved in making a B2B purchase decision.
C
Champion
An internal advocate within a target account who actively promotes your solution to other stakeholders.
Channel Partners
Third-party companies that sell, implement, or support your products alongside their own services.
Churn Rate
The percentage of customers or revenue lost over a given time period.
Cold Outreach
Sales outreach to prospects with no prior relationship or engagement with your company.
Competitive Intelligence
The systematic gathering and analysis of information about competitors to inform strategy.
Content Syndication
The practice of distributing your content through third-party publishers to reach a wider audience and generate leads.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of users who complete a desired action out of the total number of visitors.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
A pricing model where advertisers pay for each qualified lead generated through their marketing campaigns.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout their relationship.
Customer Success
A business function focused on ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes using your product.
D
Dark Funnel
The invisible buyer research and evaluation activities that occur outside of trackable marketing channels.
Demand Generation
Marketing programs focused on driving awareness and interest in a company's products or services.
Discovery Call
An initial sales conversation focused on understanding a prospect's needs, challenges, and buying process.
Display Advertising
Visual ads (banners, rich media) placed on websites, apps, and social media platforms.
E
G
I
L
Land and Expand
A GTM strategy focused on winning initial deals and then growing revenue within accounts over time.
Lead Nurturing
The process of developing relationships with prospects through targeted content and communications.
Lead Scoring
A methodology for ranking leads based on their perceived value and likelihood to convert.
LinkedIn Advertising
Paid advertising on LinkedIn's platform, targeting professionals based on job-related criteria.
M
Marketing Automation
Technology that automates repetitive marketing tasks like email, social media, and campaign management.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
A lead that has been deemed more likely to become a customer based on marketing engagement criteria.
Multi-Touch Attribution
A method of measuring marketing effectiveness by assigning credit to multiple touchpoints in the buyer journey.
O
One-to-Few ABM
An ABM approach targeting clusters of accounts with similar characteristics using semi-customized campaigns.
One-to-Many ABM
A programmatic ABM approach using technology to deliver personalized experiences at scale.
One-to-One ABM
The most personalized ABM approach targeting individual high-value accounts with fully customized campaigns.
P
Pipeline Generation
Activities focused on creating and advancing opportunities through the sales pipeline toward closed revenue.
Product-Led Growth (PLG)
A GTM strategy where the product itself drives customer acquisition, expansion, and retention.
Programmatic Advertising
The automated buying and selling of digital advertising using data and algorithms.
Proof of Concept (POC)
A limited trial or pilot to demonstrate that a solution works in a prospect's specific environment.
R
S
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
A sales team member focused on qualifying leads and setting meetings for account executives.
Sales Enablement
The process of providing sales teams with the resources, tools, and training to effectively engage buyers.
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
A lead that has been vetted by sales and determined to be ready for direct sales engagement.
Sales Velocity
A metric measuring how quickly deals move through the pipeline and generate revenue.
Sales-Led Growth
A traditional GTM approach where sales teams drive customer acquisition through direct outreach and relationships.
Signal-Based Selling
A sales approach that prioritizes outreach based on real-time buying signals and intent data.
T
Target Account List (TAL)
A curated list of high-value accounts that sales and marketing teams prioritize for outreach.
Technographics
Data about the technologies and tools that companies use in their operations.
Time to Value (TTV)
The time it takes for a new customer to realize meaningful value from your product.
Top of Funnel (TOFU)
The awareness stage of the buyer's journey where prospects first discover your brand.
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
The total market demand for a product or service, representing maximum revenue opportunity.
W
Warm Outreach
Sales outreach to prospects who have some prior awareness of or engagement with your brand.
Webinar
An online seminar or presentation used for education, thought leadership, and lead generation.
Win Rate
The percentage of qualified opportunities that result in closed-won deals.
Ready to Put These Concepts Into Action?
See how SalesboxAI helps B2B marketing teams execute demand generation, ABM, and lead generation at scale.