How your Call Scoring could be hampering the progress of your Sales Teams

You’ve seen it happen. A rep wraps up a call thinking it went great - objections handled, next steps discussed. Then, days later, the deal slips through.

What happened?

It wasn’t the obvious red flags. It was the subtle shifts - an extra second of hesitation on pricing, a change in tone when talking about implementation. These details make all the difference, yet traditional call scoring doesn’t catch them.

That’s why by 2025, 80% of customer-facing teams will be using AI to score calls (Gartner). AI isn’t just tracking what was said; it’s picking up on what wasn’t. And that’s where sales are won or lost.

Where Traditional Call Scoring Falls Short

Call scoring frameworks have been around for a while, and they do a decent job at evaluating objection handling, call structure, and next steps. But they still can’t detect buyer intent or the unspoken cues that signal where a deal is truly headed.

AI-driven call scoring takes things further. It detects:

• Hesitation and Uncertainty: These subtle signs can indicate when a deal might stall, allowing you to intervene proactively.
• Talk-to-Listen Ratios: This metric ensures that your reps are truly engaging, not just delivering a pitch.
• Response Time and Question Depth: These factors provide a window into how serious and invested a prospect really is.
• Buyer Sentiment and Emotional Cues: Advanced AI can gauge the mood and emotional investment of a prospect, offering insights into their level of enthusiasm and trust.
• Behavioral Traits and Buyer Persona: By analyzing the way buyers communicate, AI tools can help identify whether a prospect is analytical, decisive, or cautious, allowing you to tailor your strategy accordingly.
• Communication Style and Clarity: Understanding the nuances in how a prospect expresses themselves gives you a clearer picture of their expectations and potential objections.

How to Make Call Scoring Work for Your Sales Org

• Let reps score their own calls – Encouraging self-reflection leads to better improvement.
• Gamify the process – A bit of competition keeps reps engaged and striving for better results.
• Provide feedback quickly – Delayed coaching is wasted coaching. Timeliness makes all the difference.

In conclusion, as a sales leader you understand that traditional call scoring often falls short in capturing the intricate nuances of buyer behavior. Beyond simply identifying subtle signals, leveraging advanced tools provides deep buyer insights - helping you understand various traits, the essential do's and don'ts, and even the art of navigating complex deals to closure.

These modern call scoring solutions offer your team a superpower: the ability to read prospects in real time, creating a positive impact that transcends individual performance. When your reps are equipped with these insights, they’re not just closing more deals - they’re building a meaningful pipeline and forging lasting relationships that drive sustainable growth.

If you want to dive even deeper into these strategies, check out our in-depth guide on call scoring.