Vocabulary: Sales, Promotions & Selling

Welcome to the exhaustive guide on the business of selling! In this interactive vocabulary lesson, we will cover the essential terms you need to succeed in sales and promotions.

We will explore sales strategies, promotional terminology, revenue concepts, and how native speakers use business idioms in the workplace. Read through the vocabulary, test your knowledge in the quizzes, and complete today's missions below.

Sales Strategies List:

Pitch - A short speech to persuade someone to buy or do something.
Persuade - To convince someone to do or believe something.
Negotiate - To try to reach an agreement or compromise.
Upsell - To persuade a customer to buy a more expensive item or upgrade.
Cross-sell - To sell a different product or service to an existing customer.
Close a deal - To successfully finish a business negotiation.
Follow up - To maintain contact with a person to check progress or secure a sale.
Target audience - The specific group of people you want to sell to.
Convert - To turn a potential customer into an actual buyer.
Promote - To support or actively encourage the sale of a product.
Campaign - A planned set of activities to achieve a marketing goal.
Launch - To introduce a new product or service to the market.

Promotions List:

Discount - A deduction from the usual cost of something.
Voucher - A piece of paper that can be used to pay for goods or services.
Flash sale - A very short period of promotions and heavy discounts.
Early bird - An offer available to those who book or buy very early.
Promo code - A series of letters or numbers entered at checkout to get a discount.
Giveaway - A thing that is given free, often for promotional purposes.
Bundle - To sell multiple items or services together as a package.
Loyalty program - A rewards program offered to customers who frequently make purchases.
Complimentary - Given or supplied free of charge.
Markdown - A reduction in price.
Rebate - A partial refund to someone who has paid too much.

Revenue Terms List:

Revenue - Income, especially when of a company or organization.
Profit - A financial gain, the difference between earned and spent.
Margin - The difference between the cost of buying/producing and the selling price.
Commission - A percentage of sales paid to the person who made the sale.
Wholesale - Selling goods in large quantities at lower prices.
Retail - The sale of goods to the public in small quantities.
Lead - A person who might eventually become a client.
Prospect - A potential customer who has shown interest.
Retention - The ability of a company to keep its customers.
Invoice - A list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due.
Receipt - A printed statement acknowledging that something has been paid for.
Transaction - An instance of buying or selling something.
Quote - Give someone the estimated price of a job or service.

Expressions List:

Sell like hotcakes - To be sold very fast and in large quantities.
Hard sell - A policy or technique of aggressive salesmanship.
Soft sell - A gentle, persuasive way of selling.
Drive a hard bargain - To expect a lot in exchange for what you pay or do.
Foot in the door - An initial opportunity that could lead to something bigger.
Seal the deal - To come to an agreement or finish a successful negotiation.
Sweeten the deal - To make an offer more attractive.
Word of mouth - Information passed verbally from person to person.
Pitch an idea - To propose or present an idea to someone.
Buy into - To believe in and support an idea or plan.

Please enable JavaScript to view the interactive flashcards, take the quiz, and download the audio resources.

menu_book 1. Interactive Vocabulary

Filter the words below and click on any card to reveal its definition, audio pronunciation, and a sentence-building mini-game.

bolt 2. Knowledge Check

Test your understanding of the business vocabulary and idioms.

visibility Definition Match

What do you call a percentage of a sale paid to the person who made the sale?

forum Strategy Check

If you convince a customer to buy the full-day tour instead of the half-day, you are...

warning IDIOM TRAP

If your product is "selling like hotcakes", is that a bad thing?

psychology Context Fill

We offer a ___ rate for guests who book three months in advance.

psychology Idiom Match

To make an offer more attractive to the customer is to...

workspace_premium

Quiz Complete!

target 3. Action Missions

Complete these real-world tasks to lock the vocabulary into your memory.

Pitch an Idea 🗣️ Write down a short, 2-sentence "pitch" explaining why a customer should buy your product instead of a competitor's. Read it out loud!

Cross-selling Plan 📝 Think of one small item or service you can "cross-sell" to your customers. Write down how you would offer it politely.

cloud_download 4. Study Resources

Lesson Summary & Review

Let's review the key concepts covered in the interactive module above to ensure you are ready to succeed in business communication.

Sales Strategies & Terminology

Upsell vs. Cross-sell: Upselling is convincing a customer to buy a more expensive version of what they want. Cross-selling is convincing them to buy an additional, related product.
Revenue vs. Profit: Revenue is all the money coming in. Profit is the money you keep after paying your expenses.
Lead vs. Prospect: A Lead is someone who might be interested. A Prospect is someone who has shown active interest and is closer to buying.

Business Idioms

Native speakers use idioms constantly in the workplace. Learning these will make you sound highly fluent.

Sell like hotcakes: To sell out very quickly.
Foot in the door: A small first step that leads to a bigger opportunity.
Sweeten the deal: To make an offer better by adding an extra benefit.
Pitch an idea: To present a concept or plan to someone.

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Vocabulary: Sales, Promotions & Selling

menu_book 1. Interactive Vocabulary

bolt 2. Knowledge Check

Quiz Complete!

target 3. Action Missions

cloud_download 4. Study Resources

Lesson Summary & Review

Sales Strategies & Terminology

Business Idioms

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