In short
- Short definitions of the terms SDRs hear most, from ICP and BANT to OTE, ARR and pipeline.
- Knowing these helps in interviews and in your first weeks on the job.
Roles
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SDR (Sales Development Representative) | Finds and contacts potential customers and books meetings for the sales team |
| BDR (Business Development Representative) | Often the same as an SDR; sometimes focused on outbound outreach |
| AE (Account Executive) | Runs demos and closes deals |
| CSM (Customer Success Manager) | Helps customers get value after they buy, and keeps them renewing |
| RevOps (Revenue Operations) | Runs the tools, data and processes behind sales, marketing and customer success |
| GTM (go-to-market) | The plan for how a company reaches, sells to and keeps its customers |
Customers and targeting
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ICP (ideal customer profile) | The type of company most likely to buy and succeed with the product |
| Buyer persona | The type of person inside that company who uses or buys the product |
| Decision-maker | The person who can approve the purchase |
| Champion | Someone inside the customer company who wants the deal to happen |
| ABM (account-based marketing) | Focusing sales and marketing effort on a chosen list of accounts |
Qualification
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BANT | A qualification checklist: Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline |
| MEDDIC | A deeper checklist used in larger deals: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion |
| Discovery call | An early call to understand the prospect's needs before pitching |
| MQL / SQL | Marketing-qualified lead and sales-qualified lead: how far a lead has been checked |
| Objection | A reason the prospect gives for not moving forward, like price or timing |
Pipeline and metrics
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pipeline | All the open opportunities, grouped by stage |
| Sequence (or cadence) | A planned series of emails, calls and messages to one prospect |
| Reply rate | The share of people who reply to your outreach |
| Conversion rate | The share that moves from one stage to the next, for example reply to meeting |
| Quota | Your target for a period, such as meetings booked per month |
Pay
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OTE (on-target earnings) | Fixed salary plus the full variable pay you'd earn at 100% of target |
| Variable pay | The part of pay linked to results, such as incentives or commission |
| Commission | Variable pay calculated as a share of the revenue you help close |
| Accelerator (in a pay plan) | A higher commission rate once you pass your target |
Business terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SaaS (software as a service) | Software customers pay for by subscription and use online |
| B2B | Business to business: selling to companies rather than individuals |
| ARR / MRR | Annual and monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions |
| Churn | Customers who cancel or don't renew |
| CAC (customer acquisition cost) | What it costs to win one new customer |
Questions people ask
What does ICP mean in sales?
Ideal customer profile: the type of company most likely to buy a product and succeed with it. SDRs use it to decide which companies to contact.
What is BANT in sales?
A simple way to qualify a lead by checking Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline.
What is the difference between ARR and MRR?
MRR is monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions; ARR is the same figure over a year.
Want structured training for this?
The AI SDR & GTM Certification Program is a 3-month, hour-a-day online program that trains you for SDR jobs at B2B SaaS companies and helps you run your job search.