Business English Dictionary
Free MP3 Downloads & Business English Dialogues
Sales English / Marketing English Vocabulary Words and Phrases
| Audio | Word / Phrase | Career English™ Definition |
|---|---|---|
| "It's a numbers' game." | expression that means the more you try, the better your results will be | |
| "It's opportunity calling." | expression that means you have a good opportunity | |
| "Let's get it done." | expression of motivation, like "Let's do it." | |
| "May the best man win." | expression that means "Let the game be fair" | |
| "The game is on." | expression that means "The contest is beginning." | |
| address concerns | (verb) to offer solutions for any issues a potential client may have | |
| be hired | (verb) to be offered employment at a company | |
| be in the (software) business | (verb) to be employed in the field | |
| be on the spot | (verb) to be under pressure | |
| be on someone's back | (verb) to give pressure to someone | |
| be short-handed | (verb) to not have enough employees to get the job done efficiently | |
| be thrown a curve ball | (verb) to meet a difficulty. This expression comes from baseball | |
| beat/exceed quota | (verb) to sell more than a quota | |
| best in class | (noun/adj) a product or service that is the best in its category | |
| brand | (noun) image of a product. The brand is made up of the name, logo, and message. | |
| budget | (noun) a defined amount of resources - usually money - set aside in advance | |
| budget cycle | (noun) a fixed period of time defined by a company in which resources are spent | |
| build rapport with someone | (verb) to build a relationship with someone through a connection | |
| Business-to-Business (B2B) sales | (noun) a business selling a product/service to another business | |
| Business-to-Consumer (B2C) sales | (noun) a business selling a product/service to individuals | |
| clarify something | (verb) to explain something completely | |
| client | (noun) a client is a person or company that purchases a service. A customer is a person or company that buys a product. | |
| close a sale | (verb) when the customer/client makes the purchase (at a company, this usually means when the company signs the purchase order) | |
| close the books | (verb) to complete the accounting at the end of each quarter | |
| closed sale | (noun) a sale which is completed | |
| cold call | (noun) a telephone call a sales rep makes to someone they don't know and hasn't shown an interest in the product/service | |
| cold call | (verb) to phone a person who doesn't expect your call to generate interest in your product or service. See also "to make a cold call" | |
| compete | (verb) when two or more people or companies try to get the same thing | |
| competitor | (noun) a person or company who sells a similar product/service and wants the same customers/clients | |
| consensus | (noun) an agreement made when at least a majority of the members of a group agree | |
| contract | (noun) a legal agreement between two people or companies | |
| conversion rate | (noun) the rate at which a sales representative closes sales | |
| cross-sell | (verb) to sell the same product/service to multiple channels | |
| customer | (noun) a person or company that buys a product. A client is a person or company that purchases a service. | |
| Customer Relationship Management | (noun) a method to manage customers as valuable assets | |
| dangle something in front of someone | (verb) an expression meaning to offer something to someone in order to get them to do something for you | |
| deal | (noun) an agreement between two people/companies to do some business together | |
| decision-maker | (noun) person responsible for making the final purchasing decision | |
| do sales | (verb) to sell something, either a product or a service | |
| earn a commission | (verb) to make a % of each sale | |
| (elevator) pitch | (noun) the very short summary of what a sales representative sells and how it can benefit the listener. (So short it can be told in an elevator ride!) | |
| exceed a quota/goal | (verb) to sell more than a goal/quota | |
| expense report | (noun) list showing the amounts of money a sales rep spent while doing his job (for travel, meals, ...) | |
| fight (someone) tooth and nail | (verb) an expression meaning to fight really hard | |
| figure something out | (verb) to analyze a problem and find a solution | |
| fiscal year | (noun) a year in a company as defined for accounting purposes (often not January to December). | |
| follow up | (noun/adj) any contact after the first contact | |
| follow up | (verb) to make contact after the first contact | |
| gatekeeper | (noun) a person who controls who gets access to decision-makers in a company. The gatekeeper is often a receptionist. | |
| generate leads | (verb) to work to obtain potential customers | |
| get along with someone | (verb) to be friendly with someone | |
| get in touch with someone | (verb) to contact someone | |
| get up to speed with something | (verb) to get up to date on something | |
| guarantee | (verb) to promise complete satisfaction | |
| guarantee | (noun) an offer of complete satisfaction | |
| Headquarters (H.Q.) | (noun) main office of a business; usually where the president or CEO sits | |
| hold someone back from something | (verb) to prevent someone from doing something | |
| Human Resources (H.R.) department | (noun) department within a company which is responsible for relationships with the employees | |
| inside sales | (noun) sales done from an office (never leaving the office), usually over the phone | |
| key account | (noun) valuable account/customer | |
| land a sale or contract | (verb) to make a sale | |
| lead | (noun) a person or company that may be interested in your product or service | |
| look forward to something/-ing | (verb) to be excited to see something or do something | |
| look to do something | (verb) to hope to do something | |
| make a cold call | (verb) to phone a person who doesn't expect your call to generate interest in your product or service. See also "to cold call" | |
| make a follow up | (verb) to check back with a client after a sale | |
| make a profit | (verb) to make money after all expenses are paid. | |
| make a purchase | (verb) when someone buys something - usually something large | |
| make a sale | (verb) when a person or company buys your product or service | |
| market (segment) | (noun) a defined group of people or companies which have similar buying habits and needs | |
| marketing budget | (noun) the amount of money and how it will be used set aside for marketing within a period of time | |
| meet or reach quota | (verb) to sell as much or more than your quota | |
| meet the needs of someone | (verb) to satisfy someone | |
| move forward with something/someone | (verb) to take a step closer to finishing something | |
| MSA (Master Services Agreement) | (noun) an agreement which explains the responsibilities of both parties and what will happen if the responsibilities are not met | |
| obstacle | (noun) something which stops someone/something from moving forward | |
| outside sales | (noun) to do field sales. Involves legwork or traveling | |
| overcome objections | (verb) to resolve issues a potential client has so that the prospect will move forward and make the sale | |
| permanent staff | (noun) person or people legally employed by a company (can be part-time or full-time) | |
| pitch something to someone | (verb) to offer, in words, a product or service for sale | |
| pool of plural noun, for example "employees" | (noun) a group of an available resource | |
| position (job) | (noun) a role within a company that has defined tasks | |
| profits | (noun) the money gained by a company after all the expenses are paid from the revenues | |
| prospect | (noun) a potential customer/client | |
| provide customer care | (verb) to solve issues that a current customer may have | |
| provider of something, for example "staffing" | (noun) a way to describe what a company sells | |
| PSA (Professional Services Agreement) | (noun) similar to a MSA but for professional services | |
| purchase something | (verb) to buy something – usually something large | |
| put out a fire | (verb) to solve a problem or issue | |
| put someone on the spot | (verb) to put someone under pressure | |
| put your best foot forward | (verb) to do or look your best | |
| qualified (lead) | (noun) a prospect who meets the criteria defined by the company for being a customer. A qualified lead has the ability to purchase your product or service | |
| qualify a lead | (verb) to make sure that a lead has the need and resources to purchase a product/service | |
| reach out to someone | (verb) to contact someone | |
| reach/meet quota | (verb) to sell the amount of quota | |
| recession | (noun) a period of slow economic growth | |
| reel someone/something in | (verb) to successfully attract someone/something | |
| referral | (noun) a person or company who has been recommended to a sales rep by a another person or company | |
| retire | (verb) to stop working full time because of age or wealth | |
| rival | (noun) a person or company that sells a similar product/service to the same group | |
| (sales) channel | (noun) the way to get a product to the market either directly or through middlemen like wholesalers and dealers. | |
| (sales) commission | (noun) amount of money a sales representative earns based on the amount of a sale he closed | |
| (sales) contract | (noun) legal document which states what is being sold, for how much, how it's going to be delivered and when | |
| (sales) forecast | (noun) estimate of how much in sales one can make over a period of time. | |
| (sales) inquiry | (noun) person or company which shows an interest in a product/service | |
| (sales) lead | (noun) basic information about a person or company who is interested in a product or service | |
| (sales) promotion | (noun) campaign to push sales by offering special prices to either the end consumer or middlemen | |
| (sales) quarter | (noun) quarter of the year or 3 months | |
| (sales) quota | (noun) minimum amount of sales a sales representative is responsible for bringing in for a fixed period of time | |
| (sales) revenue | (noun) the total amount of money earned from doing sales | |
| (sales) territory | (noun) geographical area where a sales rep can do sales in | |
| sales force | (noun) a group of people working for the same company to sell its products/services | |
| (sales) pipeline | (noun) all the customers/clients and potential clients at each stage in the sales process | |
| (sales) representative or rep. | (noun) a person who does sales | |
| seal a deal | (verb) to close or make a sale | |
| sell someone on something | (verb) to convince someone of an idea | |
| sell over quota | (verb) to sell more than a quota | |
| sell something to someone | (verb) to offer a product/service that someone buys | |
| selling points | (noun) the most important reasons why a customer/client would need a product/service | |
| service sales | (noun) selling a service | |
| small talk | (noun) light, not serious, conversation | |
| solution | (noun) an answer to a problem (can be a service or a product) | |
| Strategic Account Management | (noun) a method to manage large accounts using principles of strategy | |
| strategy | (noun) a business plan of action based on an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats | |
| sweet talk someone | (verb) to say things which make another person feel good | |
| sweeten the deal | (verb) to add more benefits to a transaction | |
| temp | (noun) see temporary staff | |
| temporary staff | (noun) person or people working for a company to meet a temporary need | |
| terminate | (verb) to end something | |
| upsell | (verb) to sell more expensive products/services to the same customer | |
| vendor | (noun) a company which provides a product or service to another company | |
| Vice President (V.P.) of a department or business unit | (noun) the position under president and above director in a company | |
| voice a concern | (verb) to mention a problem | |
| walk in someone's shoes | (verb) expression which means to think like the other person. It's very helpful for a sales rep to do this to get to know his customer's needs better | |
| web lead | (noun) contact information about a potential customer which came from a website | |
| website administrator (web admin) | (noun) the person who manages a website | |
| word-of-mouth | (noun/adj) when information is passed through people talking to each other |
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Events
English for Sales 1-Day Intensive Course
San Diego, California
15 Sep 2012
Tokyo, Japan
10 Mar 2012
Quotes
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