20 Useful Business words that you need to know when you work in the world of business. terms
I have been in a business administration program for almost three years and still haven't learnt any important English vocabulary that could be important. This is why I'm doing a glossary with the most important words that I think we should know.
Adoption process
Noun
Another way of saying "the buying process." The stages a potential buyer goes through, from learning about a new product or service to either becoming a loyal customer or rejecting it. The potential buyer may or may not end up purchasing/adopting that product or service.
Example: When I first bought my Apple iPhone, I went through a important adoption process.
en: Processus d'adoption
AIDA
Adjective
An acronym used in Sales that stands for Attention/Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. They are the four steps of the now somewhat-outdated Purchase Funnel (although most agree the funnel is much more complex than what is represented in this traditional model), wherein customers travel from awareness to purchase.
Example: To be effective the marketing communications should follow the AIDA model.
en: AIDA
Bluebird Sales
Noun
A "bluebird" is a sale that came seemingly from nowhere or with unexpected ease. A sales rep might say, "Fortunately, a bluebird flew right in at the end of the quarter, helping me reach my goal."
One thing to keep in mind with inbound sales is that many of these sales may not be true bluebirds since your inbound engine is actively building awareness and helping prospects along a buyer's journey. With high-performance sales organizations, you'll want to have some control over your pipeline forecasting and be able to look at lead attribution, so it's best not to rely on bluebirds.
Example: As I was leaving the car dealership, a bluebird suddenly came in and told me that he was buying that new 2022 car right now.
en: Ventes d'oiseaux bleus , doesn't really exist in French
Bottom of the Funnel
Phrase
A stage of the buying process leads reach when they're just about to close into new customers. They've identified a problem, have shopped around for possible solutions, and are very close to buying.
Example: After looking for a new pair of water proof and wireless headphones, I finally reached the bottom of the funnel between two different pairs.
en: Bas de l'entonnoir
Business 2 business (B2B)
Adjective or noun
Business 2 Business. B2B is a term that describes the transactional relationship between provider and client where the provider is a business and the client is another business. e.g. "Our B2B marketing strategy targets organizations in the manufacturing niche
Example: Farmers always do B2B because they sell their goods to businesses who then make them available to costumers.
en: Entreprise à entreprise
Business to client (B2C)
Noun
Business 2 Consumer. B2C is a term describes the transactional relationship between provider and client where the provider is a business and the client is an individual consumer. e.g. "Our B2C marketing strategy targets new moms."
Example: Grocery do lots of B2C, since they sell their products to people directly.
en: Entreprise à client
Buying Criteria
Phrase
All the information a consumer needs to make a buying decision. It can be written or unwritten, and often answers questions like, "what is it?; "why should I buy it?"; "what is the price?"; "why do I need it?" and so on.
Example: When it came to buying myself a new hockey stick, all the buying criteria where clearly shown and made it easy for me to choose.
en: Critères d'achat
Cold Calling
Verb
Making unsolicited calls in an attempt to sell products or services. It's also a very inefficient way to find potential customers.
Example: My job consists in making cold calls every day in order to either find new costumers or discover peoples interests in the product or service that we offer.
en: Démarchage téléphonique
Commission
Noun
The payment a sales rep gets when they successfully sell something; usually a percentage of sales revenue
Example: For every sell, you make a 2% commission on that sell. So, if you sell for 20 000$, you will get 400$ commission.
en: Commission
Consumer
Noun
A person who uses a product or service. They may not be the actual buyer of that product; for example, if I buy my brother a pair of basketball shoes, then my brother is the consumer of those shoes, not me.
Example: They must raise consumer awareness about the exploitation of products made in China.
en: consommateur
Cross-Selling
Verb
When a sales rep has more than one type of product to offer consumers that could be beneficial, and s/he successfully sells a consumer more than one item either at the time of purchase or later on. An example is when Apple sells you an iPhone and then successfully sells you an Apple iPhone case or a pair of Apple headphones. In this case, a sales rep identifies a need the customer has, and fulfills that need by recommending an additional product.
Example: The sales man at the Gucci store did a lot of cross selling to that lady at the counter. She ended up buying a purse, a wallet and a belt after coming to buy a pair of pants!
en: Vente croisée
Feature
Noun
A function of a product that can solve for a potential buyer's need or pain point; usually a distinguishing characteristic that helps boost appeal.
Example: These new hockey skates features includes new materials that make it safer and lighter for the skater and more comfortable from the inside.
en: Caractéristique
Forecasting
Verb
Estimating future sales performance for a forecast period based on historical data. Forecasted performance can vary widely from actual sales results, but helps sales reps plan their upcoming days, weeks, and months, and helps high-level employees set standards for expenses, profit, and growth.
Example: Like we forecasted, this project will cost way more than we anticipated it to cost. Luckily, we had it planned in our budget.
en: Prévision
Loss Leader
Noun
Used in retail to refer to a product sold at a low price (either at break-even or at a loss) for the purpose of attracting customers into the store. The goal is for customers who go into the store to buy other items that are priced to make a profit.
Example: This weeks loss leader at Super C are the eggs at 4,99$ for two dozens!
en: Chef de perte
Margin
Noun
The difference between a product or service's selling price and the cost of production.
Example: This company uses cheap labor to increase its profit margins.
en: Marge
Mark-Up
Phrasal verb
The amount added to the cost price of goods to cover overhead and profit.
Example: Hence the mark-up and therefore monopoly power is inversely related to the elasticity of demand facing the firm.
en: Majoration
Objection
Noun
A prospect's challenge to or rejection of a product or service's benefits, and a natural part of the sales process. Common objections often have to do with budget, authority, need, and timing (see BANT). How sales reps handle objections plays a big role in determining whether a prospect will buy.
Example: When I told my client that our product was the best, he objected and asked me how was it the best.
en: Objection
Pain Point
Noun
A prospect's pain point, or need, is the most important thing for a sales rep to identify in the selling process. Without knowing a prospect's pain points, they can't possibly offer benefits to help resolve those pain points.
Example: I realized that that this costumers pain point was actually making sure that his girlfriend had enough space on the passenger's seat, so that she could have room even with her personal belonging's.
en: Point de la douleur
Prospecting
Noun
The process of searching for and finding potential buyers. Sales reps (or "prospectors") seek out qualified prospects and move them through the sales cycle.
Example: The company is currently prospecting in order to figure out if the population of this territory will be interested in their products or not.
en: Prospection
Quota
Noun
A sales goal; a set amount of selling a sales rep is expect to meet over a given time frame, usually a month and/or quarter. It's very, very common for sales reps to have quotas, also the form they take can vary from company to company and from role to role.
Example: With my 20 000$ sales this month, I now have a 25 000$ quota to achieve.