Collaborative suite : 

The new generation of messaging software, including email, contacts and calendars, but also instant messaging, video conferencing, document sharing… Google Apps is the leading collaborative suite.

Coverage of the sales pipeline : 

The amount of live opportunities divided by the corresponding quota. The coverage ratio is a traditional feature of sales analysis and forecasting. Its drawback is that it does not take into account the time dimension of sales.

CRM : 

“Customer Relationship Management”. A generic term for sales and marketing activities. CRM is now so common a term that it has become confusing…

Ideal pipeline : 

This is the pipeline you would today (based on your track record) to reach a given sales target. Comparing the ideal and the “real” pipeline is interesting.

Judgmental forecast : 

A forecast resting on human judgment. In forecasting theory, quantitative and judgmental forecasting are classically opposed. Judgmental forecasts require specific techniques for improvement.

Sales analysis : 

The analysis of the sales process. The goal of sales analysis is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this process and improve it permanently, thus increasing the efficiency of the sales team.

Sales cycle : 

Another name for “sales process”. A traditional difficulty when analysing the sales cycle is the frontier between the marketing cycle (lead generation) and the sales cycle (prospect conversion).

Sales dashboard : 

A group of indicators monitored by the sales rep or manager. The pitfall is to chose indicators of volume, not progress.

Sales forecasting : 

A branch of forecasting theory. The methodologies a company can use depend on the volume of data available. With lots of data (over 1000 data points), quantitative methodologies are relevant. With little data, a company will usually start from the judgement of its sales reps.

Sales pipeline : 

A traditional name for the sales process. Also called sales funnel. Prospects glide through this pipeline, from the first to the last stage.

Sales process : 

The process leading to the conversion of prospects into clients. Modern sales methodologies recommend that companies optimize sales like they would any industrial process.

Sales simulation : 

A detailed scenario letting a sales rep or manager explore assumptions on opportunity amounts, closing dates and closing probabilities. Sales simulation is an efficient forecasting methodology in a B2B context.

Velocity of the sales pipeline : 

Measures the time an opportunity spends in the sales pipeline, from creation to closing. The velocity of a pipeline is an important element of sales analysis and forecasting. It captures the “time factor” that traditional CRM software often ignores.