The Ultimate Sales and Prospecting Slang Glossary

We gathered all the best sales and marketing slang terms in one place so you can breeze through the lingo like a pro. Let’s dive into the full glossary and level up your pipeline talk.

Lead & Prospecting Slang

Bottom of funnel (BOFU)
Leads close to converting or signing.

BANT – Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
A classic lead qualification framework.

Bluebird
An unexpected, effortless sale that just falls into your lap.

Buy–in
The prospect’s verbal or behavioral signal that they agree or want to move forward.

CHAMP – Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization
A more modern qualification framework focused on challenges first.

Cold call
Calling a prospect with no prior contact or relationship.

Elevator pitch
A short, compelling summary of your product or offer.

Farming
Growing, nurturing, and expanding existing customer accounts.

Gatekeeper
Someone who controls access to the decision–maker.

Handle objections
Responding to concerns that block a deal.

Hunting
Actively seeking new leads and opportunities.

Lead magnet
A free resource or offer that attracts new leads.

MQL – Marketing Qualified Lead
A lead vetted by marketing and considered ready for sales outreach.

Pain points
Customer problems or frustrations your product solves.

SQL – Sales Qualified Lead
A lead qualified by sales and ready to enter the deal cycle.

Talk track
A semi–scripted outline for sales conversations.

Top of funnel (TOFU)
Leads at the earliest awareness stage of the pipeline.

Value prop – Value Proposition
A concise explanation of why your product is valuable.

Warm lead
A prospect who has shown interest or engaged before.

Whale
A massive, high–value prospect or account.

Pipeline & Process Talk

Close rate
Percentage of closed deals compared to total opportunities.

Conversion
Turning a lead into a paying customer.

CRM – Customer Relationship Management system
The central hub for storing customer and deal information.

Forecast
Projected revenue based on current pipeline.

Pipeline
All active deals or prospects you’re working.

Quota
The sales target reps must reach.

Stage jump
Moving a deal to the next step in the pipeline.

Win rate
A more formal metric of deals won vs. deals worked.

Deal-Specific Jargon

Cross-sell
Selling additional products to an existing customer.

Demo
A product demonstration for a prospect.

Land and expand
Winning a small initial deal and growing it over time.

Procurement
The department that approves purchases.

Proof of concept (POC)
A limited trial that proves value before signing.

Redline
Edits made by legal during contract review.

Upsell
Encouraging the customer to buy a higher-tier option.

Success & Money Talk

Commission check
Bonus pay earned from sales performance.

Crushing quota
Exceeding sales targets by a large margin.

Killer month
An exceptionally strong sales month.

Overachiever
A rep who consistently outperforms goals.

President’s Club
Elite recognition program for top-performing sellers.

Culture & Inside Talk

ABC – Always Be Closing
A classic sales motto popularized by Glengarry Glen Ross.

Boiler room
A high-pressure, fast-paced sales environment.

Call blitz
A dedicated session of high-volume calling.

Dial for dollars
Aggressive cold-calling to generate leads.

Grind
The daily effort and hustle of sales work.

Pitch slap
Pushing a pitch aggressively with no personalization.

Sales floor
Where the sales team works and the action happens.

Spray and pray
Mass outreach with minimal targeting.

Psychology & Buyer Behavior

Buying signals
Behaviors or comments that show a prospect is interested.

Champ
An internal advocate who pushes your deal from the inside.

FOMO – Fear of missing out
A psychological trigger often used to create urgency.

Rubber stamp
A stakeholder who approves things with little scrutiny.

Tire-kicker
Someone who shows interest but never buys.

Follow-Up & Funnel Flow Terms

Cadence
The rhythm or schedule of outreach attempts.

Drip campaign
Automated outreach sent over time.

No-show
When a lead misses a scheduled meeting or demo.

Nurture
Engaging a lead who isn’t ready to buy yet.

Re-engage
Reaching out to a cold or inactive lead.

Sequence
Preset outreach steps used in sales tools.

Touchpoint
Any interaction with a prospect.

Deal Dynamics & Pressure Slang

Backchannel
Unofficial, behind-the-scenes communication to gain deal insights.

Blocker
Someone who slows down or obstructs the deal.

Champ
Your internal supporter inside the prospect’s org.

Fire drill
A last-minute urgent task from leadership or a client.

Ghosted
When a prospect stops replying without explanation.

Sandbagging
Holding deals to close later, often for next-quarter gains.

Stalled pipeline
Multiple deals not moving forward.

Stuck deal
A deal that isn’t progressing.

🔧 Sales Tech & Tools Slang

Intent data
Behavioral signals showing buying readiness.

Lead scoring
Ranking leads by likelihood to convert.

RevOps – Revenue Operations
The team that ensures sales systems and processes run smoothly.

Slack deal
A deal pushed forward using internal chat.

Zoom it
Run a discovery call or demo via Zoom.

Persona & Buyer Insight Talk

Budget holder
The one who controls spending.

Committee deal
A deal requiring approval from multiple stakeholders.

Econ buyer
The financial decision-maker.

Influencer
Someone who shapes the decision but doesn’t sign.

Multi-threaded
Engaging several people across the target account.

Tech buyer
The technical evaluator or IT decision-maker.

User buyer
The person who will actually use the product.

Aggressive Tactics & Old-School Slang

ABC player
A rep who lives by “Always Be Closing.”

Coin-operated
A rep motivated purely by commissions.

Hard close
Pressure the prospect to make a decision immediately.

One-call close
Closing the deal during the very first call.

Pitch hard
Push the product aggressively.

Shark
A super-aggressive, high-performing closer.

Soft close
Gently checking interest without pushing.

Revenue & Metrics Jargon

ACV – Average Contract Value
Average size of customer contracts.

ARR – Annual Recurring Revenue
Yearly subscription revenue.

Bookings
Total deal value of closed contracts.

Cash in
Revenue actually received, not just signed.

Churn
When customers cancel or leave.

Dollar churn
Losing recurring revenue (not necessarily the whole customer).

Expansion revenue
Upsell or cross-sell revenue from existing customers.

Logo churn
Losing a customer account.

LTV – Lifetime Value
Total revenue expected from a customer over their lifecycle.

MRR – Monthly Recurring Revenue
Monthly subscription revenue.

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