Glossary: Sales and AI, in plain words.
The terms you'll meet when you bring AI into a sales team — each defined in one sentence, then explained with what it means in practice.
01 · 6
AI and data.
- Conversational BIBusiness intelligence you use by asking questions in plain language — typed or spoken — instead of building reports and dashboards.
- Text-to-SQLA technique that turns a question in plain language into a database query, so people can get answers from their data without knowing SQL.
- AI hallucinationWhen an AI system produces an answer that sounds right but isn't supported by any real data — an invented figure, name or fact.
- Human in the loopA design in which an AI system prepares an action, but a person approves it before it happens.
- Agentic AIAI systems that don't just answer but take steps toward a goal — looking things up, drafting, scheduling — usually within limits set by people.
- Voice assistantSoftware you talk to — by phone, app or speaker — that understands spoken requests and answers or acts on them.
02 · 4
Sales.
- Field salesSelling in person, at the customer's premises, by reps who spend most of their week on the road rather than at a desk.
- Sales briefingA short summary of what a rep needs to know before meeting a client: account history, balance, open issues and goals for the meeting.
- Sales pipelineThe set of open sales opportunities, organised by stage from first contact to closed, used to track progress and forecast revenue.
- Sales follow-upThe contact a salesperson makes after a meeting, quote or order to keep the conversation moving — an email, a call or a visit.
03 · 3
Finance.
- Accounts receivableMoney customers owe a company for goods or services already delivered and invoiced, but not yet paid.
- Days sales outstanding (DSO)The average number of days a company takes to collect payment after a sale — a key measure of how fast invoices turn into cash.
- Gross marginRevenue minus the direct cost of what was sold, usually expressed as a percentage of revenue.
04 · 3
Systems and compliance.
- ERPEnterprise resource planning software: the system that records a company's invoices, stock, purchases, accounts and other core operations.
- CRMCustomer relationship management: the system and practice of recording a company's customers, contacts, opportunities and interactions.
- GDPR and AIHow the EU's General Data Protection Regulation applies when AI systems process personal data: lawful basis, transparency, minimisation, security and people's rights.
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