The sales category runs on a few dozen acronyms (ARR, MRR, MQL, SQL, SAL, ICP, TAM, MEDDIC, BANT, SPIFF, OTE, CPQ, CAC, LTV, NRR). The acronyms are useful; the inconsistent definitions across teams are the problem. This glossary cross-references each one to the Strkr primitive that ships it.
Every B2B sales team uses the same acronyms. Every B2B sales team defines them slightly differently. The AE calls a stage "SAL" that Marketing calls "MQL" that the previous RevOps leader called "qualified lead." The CFO reports ARR that the sales leader reports as bookings. The CRO calls a mid-market deal with 2000 users an "ICP account" that the Product Marketing team's ICP document explicitly excluded. The acronyms are useful shorthand only if the definitions are shared. On most teams they are not, and the quarterly operating review burns an hour on definitional disagreements before it gets to the actual numbers. The pain below is what every RevOps leader runs into when the function tries to standardise definitions across Sales, Marketing, CS, and Finance, and the fix is a system where each acronym maps to a concrete primitive that everyone can point to.
Sales reports a closed deal as ARR. Finance reports the same deal as bookings until it bills. The CFO reports a different ARR number than the CRO reports. The board meeting burns a quarter-hour on definitional cleanup instead of operating conversation. The function has one word for two numbers.
Marketing counts MQLs on their definition. The sales leader counts SALs on a different definition. The RevOps leader counts SQLs on yet another. The three numbers never match because the three stages are defined differently in three systems. The hand-off conversation becomes a definitional conversation.
Product Marketing has an ICP document. The sales leader has an ICP in a Slack message. The ABM lead has an ICP in Salesforce as a tag. The three definitions overlap but do not match. The campaigns Marketing runs do not hit the accounts Sales considers ICP, and the attribution conversation is a Venn diagram.
The team adopted MEDDIC (or MEDDPICC, or BANT, or CHAMP) as the qualification framework. The slide is in the onboarding deck. The AE fills the qualification in a text field on the Opp, if at all. The manager cannot filter deals by MEDDIC coverage because MEDDIC lives in a free-text field. The framework is theatre.
The rep's OTE is stated in the offer letter. The comp plan with accelerators, SPIFFs, and quota multipliers lives in a Finance spreadsheet. The rep sees their OTE but not the mechanics behind it. The quarterly comp dispute cycle burns because the two are not reconciled on-platform.
CAC, LTV, CAC payback, and NRR all live in the warehouse because the CRM does not model them. The CFO reports them to the board monthly. The RevOps leader cannot refresh the numbers in-tool for the Monday review. The unit-economics conversation runs on a BI dashboard that nobody else can rebuild.
The top-of-funnel and lifecycle acronyms are where most teams have the sharpest definitional disagreements because the terms span Marketing and Sales. The cards below name each one, state the common working definition, and point to the Strkr primitive that ships it. The point is not that there is one right definition for every team; the point is that whatever definition the team chooses should live in one system so Sales and Marketing stop reconciling the numbers at quarter-end.
A contact or account whose behavior and firmographic match the Marketing-side qualification threshold. On Strkr the MQL lives as a lifecycle stage field on the contact and account with a native transition triggered by a lead score crossing the threshold. The score runs in the formula engine, so the definition is one record away from Marketing and Sales.
A MQL that the sales team has reviewed and accepted into the funnel. On Strkr the SAL is a lifecycle transition after the SDR or AE reviews the MQL and either accepts or rejects. The acceptance logs on the record with a reason code, so the quarterly reconciliation between MQL count and SAL count becomes a filter.
A SAL that has been qualified against the sales qualification framework (BANT, MEDDIC, CHAMP) and is ready for an Opp to be created. On Strkr the SQL is a lifecycle transition that fires on either an SDR qualification form or an AE qualification review. The qualification framework fields live on the contact or Opp as structured custom fields.
The firmographic and behavioral profile of the account most likely to buy, retain, and expand. On Strkr the ICP is a saved view on the account record with the firmographic criteria (industry, size, geo, revenue, employee count) plus the behavioral criteria (product fit, buying signal). The ICP becomes a filter the sales and marketing teams share rather than a slide.
The total number of accounts that fit the ICP. On Strkr the TAM is a count of accounts matching the ICP saved view. The CRO reports the TAM number from the CRM record count rather than a slide the Product Marketing team maintains. The TAM number updates as accounts are added or qualified out.
A user whose product usage pattern indicates buying intent. Common in PLG motions. On Strkr the PQL is a lifecycle transition triggered by a product-usage signal (feature adoption, usage volume, team expansion). The signal flows into the CRM as a field update on the account, and the transition fires on a flow.
The pipeline and forecast acronyms are where Sales and Finance disagree most often because the terms describe revenue at different points in its lifecycle. The cards below define each one and point to the Strkr primitive that ships it. The common pattern is that the team agrees on one definition and the system enforces it rather than letting the AE and the CFO carry two different numbers for the same deal.
The annualised value of the recurring portion of a contract. On Strkr ARR is a formula field on the Opp that sums the recurring line items multiplied by the annualisation factor. The ARR number on the Opp is the same ARR number on the forecast and on the Finance report, so Sales and Finance stop carrying two numbers.
The monthly value of the recurring portion of a contract. On Strkr MRR is ARR divided by 12 (or by the appropriate annualisation factor for the billing cycle). The formula field renders live on the Opp and the account, so the monthly motion runs on evidence rather than division by hand.
The total annualised value of a contract including recurring and non-recurring. On Strkr ACV is a formula field on the Opp that sums all line items annualised. The ACV versus ARR distinction (ACV includes implementation, services, one-time fees) lives in the formula definition rather than in a Slack argument.
The total value of a multi-year contract. On Strkr TCV is a formula field on the Opp that sums the line items across the full contract term. For multi-year deals TCV is larger than ACV, and the formula renders both so the Finance and Sales conversations use the same numbers.
The forecast category the rep uses for deals they are confident will close in the period. On Strkr Commit lives on the forecast record for the rep and period, submitted on Tuesday and locked on Friday. The commit history is durable in the CRM, so the "what did they commit last quarter" question gets answered on evidence.
The forecast category above commit, representing deals that could close if a thing happens. On Strkr Best-case lives on the forecast record alongside Commit, with the deals attached to the category. The gap between commit and best-case is the AE's risk-adjusted stretch, which the manager coaches to.
The qualification, deal structure, and comp acronyms span the whole deal lifecycle from first discovery to renewal. The cards below define each one and point to the Strkr primitive that ships it. The common pattern across these acronyms is that most teams treat them as cultural shorthand rather than system primitives, which is why the manager cannot filter deals by MEDDIC coverage or report accurate CAC by segment. On Strkr each acronym has a concrete record it maps to.
A deal qualification framework. On Strkr each MEDDIC letter is a structured custom field on the Opp with a required-fill rule by stage. The manager filters deals by "MEDDIC coverage less than 4 of 6" to triage the Opps that are advancing without qualification. The framework ships as a system instead of a slide.
An older qualification framework. On Strkr the BANT fields live as structured custom fields on the Opp. The framework is less popular than MEDDIC for complex B2B but still works for transactional motions. Each team picks one framework and the system enforces it rather than letting the AE free-text the qualification.
A buyer-centric qualification framework. On Strkr the CHAMP fields live as structured custom fields on the Opp. The framework reorders qualification around the buyer's situation rather than the vendor's information needs. Teams running CHAMP typically pair it with a discovery-call template that structures the questions.
A short-term incentive for a product, segment, or motion. On Strkr the SPIFF lives on the Comp Plan custom object with the eligibility rule, the amount, and the period. The attainment formula on the Opp applies the SPIFF automatically, so the comp statement at month-end reflects the SPIFF without a manual adjustment.
The rep's total compensation at 100 percent quota attainment. On Strkr the OTE lives on the user record with the base plus variable split. The quota and the comp plan live on custom objects linked to the user. The rep sees their OTE and the mechanics behind it on the same workspace, so the quarterly comp dispute cycle collapses.
The process of building a priced quote on the deal. On Strkr CPQ ships natively via Strkr Products on the Opp with SKUs, bundles, discount tiers, approval chains, and multi-rate pricing. The dedicated CPQ tool (Salesforce CPQ, Conga) usually retires because the capability is covered.
The common pattern across the acronyms is that most teams treat them as cultural shorthand rather than system primitives. The result is definitional drift and quarterly reconciliation. The table below shows where each acronym lives on Strkr versus where it typically lives on a classic Salesforce plus Marketo plus Clari plus BI stack.
| Feature | Strkr | Salesforce + Marketo + Clari + BI |
|---|---|---|
| MQL | Lifecycle stage on contact and account | MAP field, synced to CRM |
| SAL | Lifecycle stage with acceptance log | Custom field in CRM, inconsistently used |
| SQL | Lifecycle stage with qualification form | Opp stage or free-text field |
| ICP | Saved view on account | Slide maintained by Product Marketing |
| TAM | Count of ICP saved view | Slide number, rarely refreshed |
| ARR | Formula field on Opp | Reported differently by Sales and Finance |
| MEDDIC | Structured custom fields with stage gate | Free-text field, if present at all |
| SPIFF | Comp Plan custom object with eligibility rule | Finance spreadsheet |
| OTE | User record field with comp plan link | Offer letter and separate spreadsheet |
| CPQ | Strkr Products on the Opp | Separate CPQ tool |
| CAC | Formula field, in-tool | BI dashboard, monthly refresh |
| NRR | Formula field across accounts | BI dashboard, quarterly refresh |
The playbooks below are what Strkr customers at 50 to 500 person B2B companies do to standardise acronyms across Sales, Marketing, CS, and Finance. The common pattern is that each acronym becomes a concrete primitive (lifecycle stage, formula field, saved view, custom object) that everyone can point to, which stops the quarterly definitional reconciliation.
A 70-person B2B SaaS moved MQL and SQL from the MAP and the CRM free-text fields into Strkr lifecycle stages. The score runs in the formula engine, the SAL and SQL transitions fire on flows, and Marketing and Sales report the same funnel numbers because they pull from the same stage field. The quarterly reconciliation stopped.
A 160-person growth-stage team moved MEDDIC from a free-text field into structured custom fields on the Opp with required-fill rules by stage. The manager filters deals by MEDDIC coverage, and the deals that advance without qualification surface automatically. The framework shipped as a system instead of a slide.
A 220-person mid-market team moved the ICP from three overlapping documents into one Strkr saved view on the account. Product Marketing, the sales leader, and the ABM lead agreed on the firmographic and behavioral criteria, and the saved view became the shared surface. Marketing campaigns and sales territories align because the ICP is one record.
A 300-person growth-stage team moved the ARR definition from Slack arguments into a formula field on the Opp. Sales and Finance agreed on the formula (annualised value of recurring line items), and the formula renders on the Opp, the forecast, and the Finance report. The CFO stopped reporting a different ARR number than the CRO.
A 400-person enterprise B2B team moved SPIFFs and OTE from Finance spreadsheets onto Strkr Comp Plan custom objects. The attainment formula on the Opp applies the SPIFF automatically, the rep sees their OTE on the user record, and the comp statement at month-end reflects the mechanics without manual adjustment. The quarterly comp dispute cycle collapsed.
Start a 14-day trial with Strkr enabled on day one: lifecycle stages for MQL and SQL, formula engine for ARR and MRR and ACV and TCV, structured custom fields for MEDDIC and BANT, Comp Plan custom objects for SPIFF and OTE, saved views for ICP, and native reports for the operating-cadence number pack. The pricing page shows the per-seat line in full with no premium admin module. Retire the quarterly definitional reconciliation.
The common pack covers the lifecycle acronyms (MQL, SAL, SQL, PQL, ICP, TAM), the pipeline and forecast acronyms (ARR, MRR, ACV, TCV, bookings, commit, best-case), the qualification acronyms (MEDDIC, BANT, CHAMP, SPIN), the deal structure acronyms (CPQ, MSA, NDA, SOW, MDF), the comp acronyms (OTE, SPIFF, accelerator, decelerator), and the unit-economics acronyms (CAC, LTV, CAC payback, NRR, GRR). Beyond those, specific motions have their own vocabulary (ABM, PLG, CS QBR, EBR, QBR). The acronyms themselves are useful shorthand. The problem is that most teams define them differently, and the quarterly operating review burns time on definitional disagreements. The fix is a system where each acronym maps to a concrete primitive the whole function can point to.
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a contact or account whose behavior and firmographic match the Marketing-side qualification threshold. SAL (Sales Accepted Lead) is an MQL that the sales team has reviewed and accepted into the funnel. SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is a SAL that has been qualified against the sales qualification framework (BANT, MEDDIC, CHAMP) and is ready for an Opp to be created. The three stages are a hand-off chain: Marketing passes MQLs, Sales accepts into SAL, Sales qualifies into SQL, Sales creates the Opp. The common failure mode is that MQL, SAL, and SQL live in different systems with different definitions, which produces the quarterly reconciliation where Marketing counts 420 MQLs and Sales counts 310 SQLs. On Strkr all three live as lifecycle stages on one record so the hand-off is a stage move instead of a sync.
MEDDIC is a deal qualification framework with six components: Metrics (the quantified value the buyer gets), Economic Buyer (the person who owns the budget), Decision Criteria (the explicit criteria the buyer will decide against), Decision Process (how the buyer actually decides including stakeholders and steps), Identify Pain (the pain the buyer is trying to solve), and Champion (an internal advocate who sells for the AE). MEDDPICC adds Paperwork and Competition. On Strkr each MEDDIC letter is a structured custom field on the Opp with a required-fill rule by stage. The manager filters deals by "MEDDIC coverage less than 4 of 6" to triage the Opps that are advancing without qualification. The framework ships as a system instead of a slide the team forgets by month three.
ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) is the annualised value of the recurring portion of a contract. MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) is ARR divided by 12. ACV (Annual Contract Value) is the total annualised value including recurring plus non-recurring (implementation, services, one-time fees). TCV (Total Contract Value) is the total value of a multi-year contract across the full term. For a three-year contract at 100K ARR with 20K one-time implementation, the ARR is 100K, the MRR is roughly 8333, the ACV is 120K (year one), and the TCV is 320K (three years of ARR plus the implementation). The common failure mode is that teams carry two of these numbers for the same deal because the definitions live in slide decks instead of formula fields. On Strkr all four are formula fields on the Opp with explicit definitions, so Sales and Finance stop reporting two different numbers.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is the fully-loaded cost of acquiring a new customer: sales and marketing spend divided by new customers acquired in the period. The common variants are CAC (overall), CAC payback (how many months of revenue to recover the CAC), and segment CAC (by product, region, or channel). On Strkr CAC can run as a formula field across the Opp and the Campaign and the user records: new customers acquired come from closed-won Opps, sales spend comes from user record data on the rep team, and marketing spend comes from the Campaign records. The CFO reports CAC from the CRM instead of waiting for a BI dashboard refresh. The number updates monthly without a BI engagement, and the segment CAC breakdown is a saved view.
OTE (On-Target Earnings) is the rep's total compensation at 100 percent quota attainment. OTE breaks into base (fixed salary) plus variable (commission at target). On Strkr the OTE lives on the user record with the base plus variable split, and the comp plan lives on a Comp Plan custom object linked to the user. The comp plan models accelerators (commission rate above a threshold), decelerators (reduced rate below a threshold), SPIFFs (short-term incentives for a product or segment), and multi-rate pricing (different rates for different revenue types). The quota lives on a Quota custom object tied to the user and the period. The attainment formula on the Opp applies the comp plan automatically, so the rep sees their earned commission on the record and the quarterly comp dispute cycle collapses because the number in the record is the number on the paycheck.
The pattern is that each acronym becomes a concrete primitive the whole function can point to: MQL and SQL become lifecycle stages, ICP becomes a saved view on the account, ARR becomes a formula field on the Opp, MEDDIC becomes structured custom fields with stage gates, SPIFF and OTE become Comp Plan custom object records, CAC and LTV become formula fields across Opp and Campaign and user. When each acronym has a concrete record it maps to, the quarterly definitional reconciliation stops because Sales and Finance and Marketing and CS all pull from the same primitive. The acronyms stay as useful shorthand instead of becoming the thing the operating review spends an hour on before it gets to the actual numbers.
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