F: Letter F Sales Terms

FAB

Feature-Advantage-Benefit. An insight into how you should structure a pitch. Advantage is sometimes switched to Function. Lead with describing a product’s Feature, highlight what this enables it to achieve (the Advantage or Function), before ending with “which means that…”, where you state the glorious can’t-live-without Benefit of it. Also “English for Stupid” according to Jerzy Balowski.

Farmer

One of the many terms used to describe Account Management. Gamekeeper is also a commonplace term among older reps, as in a ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’. The idea is that Account Managers have to cultivate their crop of precious accounts. Traditionally viewed as less macho and intelligent compared to being a Hunter by new business Tigers. The truth is that a good Farmer has to approach business in a new business manner to make fantastic numbers, and, of course, both strains share a huge number of people who do not deserve to call themselves winning salesreps.

Feature

A specific single objective indisputable attribute of your offering.

Feel-Felt-Found

Maybe getting ever cornier, a technique of structuring story-telling, most often whilst Objection Handling. As in, ‘I know how you Feel’, ‘I remember when someone else Felt the same way’, ‘luckily, they actually Found that…’ type chat.

FFB

Feature-Function-Benefit. Similar to FAB, although I hardly hear it in these terms nowadays.

Field

Out there. Where all the action takes place. Salesreps are often referred to as those ‘in the field’.

Forecast

What you expect to bring in over the coming time period. A documented list of all your potential business opportunities that you are currently actively working on.

Front Talk

The social chit-chat that takes place before a meeting gets underway with a potential customer.

FUD

Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt. A technique of conversation that makes the potential customer aware of the pitfalls of doing something other than buy from you. Typically an anti-competition jibe, not usually recommended. Best used in a more general setting such as the risk of not doing anything at all.

Function

Synonym with Advantage for alternative to FAB routine called FFB.

Funnel

Involves the breakdowns of what you have got on the go. Called Funnel as a concept because you have to pour a lot in the top for a trickle to come out of the bottom. That means lots of names to go after will give a handful of orders. Used to show where deals are at in your particular sales process too, as typically deals will go through known, similar ‘stages’.