Just like athletes watch game tape, the best sales reps listen to sales calls. These calls reveal how real sales conversations unfold — uncomfortable pauses and all. By taking time to listen to these calls, you can spot patterns that can help you refine your technique.

Nutshell’s Gustavo Bianco says sales call recordings aren’t just for quality control. They’re powerful tools for spotting what resonates, where deals stall and how buyers actually think. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share his ideas on the 6 things you should always listen for when you play back a sales call recording.

  1. Your qualification process. Make sure you’re actually targeting the right people. Bianco recommends asking specific qualifying questions to all prospects. These questions should reveal whether or not a prospect is a good fit.

  2. The prospect’s problem. If a prospect agrees to talk on the phone, it’s because they have a specific challenge they need to overcome. When listening to sales call recordings, Bianco says it’s important to identify the most common challenges. Then brainstorm all the ways your promo solve them.

  3. Proper phone etiquette. Maybe you notice you use filler words like “uh” and “um” or you regularly cut off prospects mid-sentence. As you’re listening to call recordings, pay attention to phone etiquette. Small adjustments, like pausing before you speak or letting the other person finish their thought, can make you sound more considerate and appear more confident.

  4. Accurate information. By not sharing the right information with prospects, you could miss opportunities. Sharing inaccurate information sometimes happens by accident. But sometimes, sales reps overpromise just to make a sale.

  5. The prospect’s objections. If you notice the same objections arising time and again, you can develop strategies to either avoid or overcome these objections in the future, Bianco says. Pay attention to the language a prospect uses. This can help you uncover what really matters to them.

  6. Missed opportunities. He also recommends listening for missed opportunities. Maybe you missed the chance to share a relevant PPAI Magazine article, or perhaps you didn’t steer the conversation in a more helpful way.

Listening to sales calls is a great way to help your messaging get tighter. It’s not about catching mistakes but about uncovering what truly matters to your prospects. You’ll start to see patterns and learn what falls flat and what resonates. These insights can help you fine-tune your approach.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Gustavo Bianco is the former VP of sales and customer service for Nutshell.