15 AI Insights that can be extracted from the sales call recordings

Sales call recordings have always been a treasure trove of valuable insights. But extracting key information from them takes work, especially when the call volume is high. But thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), you can unlock not only a wealth of information from these recordings but also use them to gain a deeper understanding of your customer interactions and gauge the overall performance of your sales team. This post will explore 15 eye-opening AI insights from sales call recordings. From competitor mentions to value mention analysis, modern AI-powered tools can offer a powerful lens into sales calls. Let’s dive into the world of AI and see the different ways you can leverage sales call recordings for actionable intelligence!

1) Competitor mentions

AI-powered sales call recording software can track and highlight competitor mentions in sales calls. This gives your associates a unique opportunity to showcase how your product or service can outshine the competition. For instance, if the recording highlights that your prospect is considering company A as a potential option, your associate can research A and prepare for the next call. In the call, they can highlight the different features missing in A but present in yours. You can also use this information to optimize your pricing structure. For instance, you can offer an appropriate discount so that the prospect will prefer your solution over the competitors. 

2) Objections

Whenever your prospects raise objections during a call, your associate must not get apprehensive about it – It is a good sign. It shows that your prospect is genuinely interested in your solution but has a few concerns. When an AI-powered sale call recording software automatically tracks objections, it helps you identify all those concerns before they impact the buyer’s purchase decision. Your associate will be better prepared for the next call with a polite counter-argument or a clear solution to their concern. Many reps create separate scripts for different objections that can help them confidently address and close the deal.

3) Questions asked during the call

The different questions asked by prospects during a sales call are also important. They give you invaluable data about the prospect’s needs, pain points, and preferences. It will enable your associates to modify the pitch accordingly. For example, suppose 9 out of 10 prospects ask a question about a particular feature of your product. In that case, your associates are not correctly explaining its usecases or applications. Your associates must be given more information about that feature so that they can explain it better in future calls. 

4) Call summarization

Call summarization is particularly useful for sales managers and sales leaders who wish to understand what a particular sales call is all about. An AI-powered tool can easily pull information, compress it, and convert it into an easily readable summary. The manager or the leader can skip the entire call recording to understand the overall gist of the sales call. This overview of the call helps the manager in making quicker decisions. 

5) Keyword mentions

A common feature in most AI sales recording tools, keyword mention focuses on tracking predefined words or phrases a prospect mentions during the sales call. Each of these keywords points to a particular aspect of the deal. For example, if the keyword “budget” was mentioned multiple times during the sales call, it means the prospect is worried about the pricing of your product. A discount or a better pricing structure can help convert them into paying customers.

6) Follow-up tasks discussed during the call

An associate can’t track every component discussed during a sales call. This could include even the important tasks that must be completed after the call ends. For instance, scheduling a follow-up meeting or sending additional info about a feature. Unfortunately, not completing the follow-up tasks can impact your brand’s reputation and even result in a no-deal. Yes, you can always go through the entire call recording after every call to know what was discussed and if there is any follow-up task. But this is not the most efficient usage of time. An AI tool can automatically track and highlight the follow-up tasks after every call so that they are completed on time, and nothing is missed.

7) Topic segmentation

Before you ask, topic segmentation is different from call summarisation. The latter involves creating a summary of the entire call. The former divides the call topics into different segments so that the reader can revisit only the particular part of the call they are interested in. For example, if you want to know what was discussed about the pricing component, you can review the pricing segment. 

8) Sentiment analysis

Some AI tools can capture the different moments in the call with the help of positive, negative, and neutral tones of the prospects. It uses Natural Language Processing to evaluate the prospect’s tone to understand their emotional state. It will enable you to identify the elements that can make the prospect happy. For instance, if you find out that a prospect exudes a positive tone whenever your associate talks about a particular feature, you can use this knowledge to alter your subsequent calls to always revolve around this core feature. 

9) Cross-selling and up-selling opportunities

For any business, identifying cross-selling and up-selling opportunities is very important because it helps to increase revenue and improve customer relationships. An AI tool can dissect your call recordings and identify customer needs and pain points. This vital information can be used to sell additional products or services that address those precise needs. For instance, if a customer is looking for a cloud telephony tool and expresses concern about the huge volume of daily calls they need to make, the AI tool will flag it as an opportunity to up-sell an unlimited calling plan.

10) Decision-making patterns

Some tools can offer valuable AI insights from sales call recordings that focus on decision-making patterns exhibited by prospects. It will help you better understand the decision-making process of the prospect’s organization. You will have a clear idea of the various decision-making triggers, how to address key decision-making objections, and the decision-making timelines typically followed by them.

By leveraging these insights, your associates will be better prepared to engage with customers. They will be able to prioritize follow-up efforts and increase their chances of closing the deal.

11) Influential language

An AI analysis tool can also capture influential language your associates use during calls. To the unversed, influential language refers communication techniques used by successful salespeople. They use it to influence customers and get them to make a purchase. The tool captures all these techniques, such as storytelling, using social proofs, highlighting value, creating FOMO, addressing objections, etc. Sharing these persuasive techniques with other reps will help them to refine their communication strategies and become successful.

12) Call outcome prediction

By analyzing different factors and patterns in your sales call customer engagement, an AI tool can predict the likely outcome of a sales call. In other words, it can predict whether the call will result in a successful sale, a follow-up opportunity, or a lost deal. Some parameters it gauges for its prediction include the customer’s engagement level, the clarity, and relevance of the messaging, objections raised, etc. Armed with this key information, your associates can make informed decisions on how to proceed with the opportunity.

13) Script Adherence

Scripts are an integral part of an associate’s communication strategy. It ensures they are always well-prepared to handle any questions, objections, or situations. Following the script also ensures they follow the most optimal path to convince a prospect to buy from them. But many associates deviate from the script resulting in unwanted results and lost deals. And this is where an AI tool helps. It evaluates whether the associate follows recommended language, asks the right questions, and moves along the designated sales flow. It will ensure the associates always deliver consistent and effective sales messages to prospects and customers.

14) Influencers identification

Some tools use advanced ML techniques to analyze call recording data and determine the key decision-makers in the prospect’s organization. These people have a considerable impact on the decision-making process and can sway the direction of the deal. The AI tool automatically obtains this data by tracking mentions, references, and connections made during the call.  When you chart out these relationships, you can pinpoint influencers as the ones who were mentioned frequently by the prospects indicating their impact on the purchase decision.

15) Value mention analysis

This involves analyzing the frequency and effectiveness of various value-related keywords and phrases your associates use in a sales call. In other words, the tool gauges how often and effectively they communicate your brand’s value propositions to the prospects. It is important because it directly impacts customer engagement, such as positive responses, higher conversion rates, or even longer call durations. Using this data, you can identify the top-performing associates in your organization and replicate their strategy across your team.

Further Reading: Know your rights: Call recording laws in various countries

Conclusion

Analyzing sales call recordings using AI-powered tools can offer you a wealth of information and insights that can help drive sales performance and improve customer satisfaction. The AI insights from sales call recordings mentioned in this post can give you a deeper understanding of your customer’s needs. They also offer data about the performance of your associates, which will help optimize your sales strategies. Embracing AI in today’s world is important for all those businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve.