Marketing, sales and fractional management
A glossary of terms you will meet when running marketing and sales in a B2B company. Each term has a definition under 60 words, practical context and answers to the most common questions. We write it on an ongoing basis and keep the definitions consistent with how we use them in practice.
Ways of working together
Interim management is the temporary placement of an experienced manager into a company, typically for 6 to 18 months and on a full or near-full-time basis.
Full definitionInterim managerAn interim manager is an experienced manager temporarily placed into a company on a full or near-full-time basis, usually for 6 to 18 months.
Full definitionFractional managementFractional management is a model in which a company uses an experienced manager part time, typically 1 to 3 days a week.
Full definitionFractional CMOA fractional CMO is an external marketing director on a part-time basis, typically 1 to 3 days a week.
Full definitionFractional CSOA fractional CSO is an external sales director on a part-time basis, typically 1 to 3 days a week.
Full definitionExternal marketing directorAn external marketing director is an experienced marketing leader who runs a company's marketing part time, typically 1 to 3 days a week, as an external partner on an invoice.
Full definitionExternal sales directorAn external sales director is an experienced sales leader who runs a company's sales part time, typically 1 to 3 days a week, as an external partner on an invoice.
Full definitionRoles in a company
A sales director is a member of a company's leadership responsible for revenue and sales strategy.
Full definitionMarketing directorA marketing director is a member of a company's leadership responsible for the marketing strategy, brand, budget and marketing performance.
Full definitionCMO (Chief Marketing Officer)A CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is the most senior marketing position in a company, in Czech a marketing director.
Full definitionCSO (Chief Sales Officer)A CSO (Chief Sales Officer) is the most senior sales position in a company, in Czech a sales director.
Full definitionMarketing and sales methodology
A lead is a contact with sales potential: a person or company that has shown interest in a product or service, for example through an enquiry, a registration or downloading a resource, and left their contact details.
Full definitionLead generationLead generation is the systematic acquisition of contacts with sales potential.
Full definitionSales funnelA sales funnel is a model that describes the customer's journey from first contact with a company to purchase as a sequence of stages with a narrowing number of people.
Full definitionMQL and SQLAn MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a lead that has met marketing's qualification criteria: it matches the target audience and has shown enough interest.
Full definitionICP (Ideal Customer Profile)An ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is a description of the ideal customer company: one your product or service brings the most value to and which at the same time has the most value for you.
Full definitionGo-to-market strategyA go-to-market strategy (GTM) is a plan for how a company brings its product or service to market and to customers.
Full definitionRevOpsRevOps (Revenue Operations) is an approach that connects marketing, sales and customer care into one system with shared data, processes and metrics.
Full definition