What's the difference between a lead and a prospect?

A lead is someone who showed some interest, often just contact information. A prospect is a lead that's been qualified as a realistic potential customer.

Can I practice sales calls in class?

Yes, an English for work class can role-play cold calls, objection handling or closing conversations using your real product.

Sales vocabulary in English

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Sales vocabulary
Term	Meaning	Spanish	Example
lead	a potential customer	prospecto, lead	We generated 50 new leads this month.
prospect	a potential customer being pursued	prospecto	She's following up with a promising prospect.
pipeline	the stages a deal goes through before closing	pipeline, embudo de ventas	We have ten deals in the pipeline.
quota	a sales target for a period	cuota de ventas	He hit his quota two weeks early.
close a deal	to finalize a sale	cerrar una venta	We closed the deal after three calls.
upsell	to sell an additional, often higher-value item	venta adicional, upsell	We upsold them to the premium plan.
cross-sell	to sell a related product	venta cruzada	We cross-sell accessories with every order.
churn	customers who stop buying or cancel	abandono de clientes, churn	Churn increased after the price change.
objection	a reason a customer gives for not buying	objeción	Price is the most common objection we hear.
cold call	an unsolicited sales call to a new contact	llamada en frío	He makes twenty cold calls a day.
follow-up	a later contact after an initial conversation	seguimiento	Don't forget the follow-up email.
conversion rate	the percentage of leads that become customers	tasa de conversión	Our conversion rate improved this quarter.
quote	a price offer for a product or service	cotización, presupuesto	I'll send you a quote by tomorrow.
negotiation	discussing terms to reach an agreement	negociación	The negotiation took longer than expected.
account manager	the person who manages a client relationship	gerente de cuenta	Your account manager will reach out this week.
renewal	continuing a contract for another period	renovación	The renewal is due at the end of the year.
discount	a price reduction	descuento	We offered a 10 percent discount for early payment.
commission	payment based on sales made	comisión	Her commission depends on monthly sales.
value proposition	why a customer should choose your product	propuesta de valor	Our value proposition is speed and reliability.
decision maker	the person with power to approve a purchase	quien toma la decisión	Make sure you're talking to the decision maker.
customer onboarding	helping a new customer start using the product	incorporación del cliente	Our onboarding team helps new clients get started.
churn rate	the percentage of customers lost over time	tasa de abandono	We track churn rate monthly.
referral	a new customer recommended by an existing one	referido	Half our new business comes from referrals.
forecast	a prediction of future sales	pronóstico de ventas	Our forecast for Q4 looks strong.
stakeholder	someone with an interest in the decision	parte interesada	We need buy-in from every stakeholder.

How to use these at work

Many sales terms stay in English even inside Spanish-language teams (pipeline, lead, churn), so focus on using them naturally in full sentences, not translating them.
Actually doesn't mean actualmente. Use currently for current state: we're currently following up on that lead.
English sales communication favors a clear ask at the end of every message or call: state the next step directly, such as can we schedule a call for Thursday?, rather than leaving it open.

Practice

Questions

What's the difference between a lead and a prospect?: A lead is someone who showed some interest, often just contact information. A prospect is a lead that's been qualified as a realistic potential customer.
Can I practice sales calls in class?: Yes, an English for work class can role-play cold calls, objection handling or closing conversations using your real product.

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