Evaluate Conversation Intelligence Solutions

If you see that all of your top-performing reps have a talk ratio of 50%, you can coach the rest of your reps to follow suit.

OK, now you’re clear on standard functionality. If a conversation intelligence solution can’t do all the above, you don’t want it. (Your shortlist is shaping up nicely!)

What makes a good conversation intelligence solution?

Now it’s time to get into the fun stuff: 11 key attributes to look for when evaluating conversation intelligence solutions.

1. Easy to use

   Alex Newmann, CEO of Newmann Consulting Group, says the first thing he looks for when helping clients evaluate conversation intelligence solutions is “simplicity and ease of use.”

   You’re probably thinking, well, duh. But it needs to be said: if a tool isn’t easy to use, reps won’t use it. So when you’re demoing solutions, look at the UX. Is it intuitive?

2. Integrates with existing systems

   If you’re an enterprise organization, you know that no new tool will ever be truly “easy to set up.” But things at least go smoother when the conversation intelligence tool integrates with your other systems (call recording software, CRM, outbound engagement tool, etc.).

3. Aligns with your sales methodology

   Let’s say your org uses MEDDPICC. Look for a conversation intelligence solution that can pull in relevant topics from your CRM. For example, “decision process” or “economic buyer.” Otherwise, we predict a lot of manual uploading in your future.
   

4. Analyzes non-verbal communication

   Most conversation intelligence tools use AI to analyze verbal cues (what was said). But as every salesperson who’s ever thought a call went well only to be ghosted knows: buyers don’t always tell you what they’re thinking and feeling. After all, while B2B buyers are logical, they’re also human. Humans are complex.

   A robust conversation intelligence tool solves this problem by analyzing verbal and non-verbal cues.

   Remember our example where the buyer said, “I need to talk to my Chief Technology Officer about implementation”? If your conversation intelligence solution only analyzes verbal cues, you only get a partial picture. The tool might flag this sentence as a key moment that influences buyer sentiment—but what was the buyer actually feeling when they said this? 

   When you layer on non-verbal cues like tone of voice, pupil dilation, and facial expressions, you get a richer understanding of what the buyer was thinking and how they were feeling when they said something.

5. Emotional Insights

   Sentiment is the positive or negative emotion a buyer displays, while engagement is the level of compromise and attention a buyer displays.

   Together, we refer to sentiment and engagement as emotional insights. Emotional insights are extremely important. As research shows, engaged buyers buy and disengaged buyers don’t. Likewise, buyers who show positive sentiment buy while buyers who show negative sentiment don’t. When sellers can track buyer engagement and sentiment, they can better control deal outcomes.

   Like we said above, many tools offer sentiment analysis. But not every tool provides buyer sentiment analysis and buyer engagement analysis using computer vision. Not every tool opens your eyes to seller actions that influence buyer engagement and sentiment.

   When you have a conversation intelligence tool that utilizes computer vision to see beyond verbal cues, you can:

   • Get a clearer view of buyer and seller emotions

   • Build seller EQ (emotional intelligence).

   • Have better buyer interactions.

   • Get a better sense of which deals are expected to close, which are at-risk but able to be saved, and which are dead in the water.

   • Improve your sales forecast accuracy.

6. Accurate insights

   Another capability that tops Alex’s list is accurate transcription. Accurate transcription is important because it enables accurate insights. If your transcription is inaccurate, AI could miss critical keywords and fail to surface key moments.

   You also need a tool that understands context for accurate keyword interpretation. Let’s say a buyer uses a keyword that indicates buying intent, but says it in a sarcastic tone of voice. You want a tool that analyzes both the words said AND the person’s tone, so your sellers can better understand buyer emotions.

   One Deloitte study found that biometrics (the study of people’s physical and behavioral traits) provided detailed insights no other form of feedback could capture. Body signals reveal how buyers truly feel. But it’s not like we can place our buyers in a scientific lab and force them to wear electrodes on their scalps and faces to measure emotional signals like attention, arousal, and valence.

   The next best way to get inside our buyers’ heads is to use a conversation intelligence tool hat analyzes verbal and non-verbal cues over video calls. 

7. Semantic Search

   As we mentioned at the top of the article, conversation intelligence tools use natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to detect keywords or phrases said. But not every tool recognizes semantic—or related—keywords.

   For example, say your system looks for the keyword “price.” A tool that lacks semantic search capabilities might ignore related words like “amount” or “fee.” Of course, you could manually add every possible variation, but you have better things to do.

8. Scalability

   One recent survey found that scalability is the No. 1 valued platform capability among C-suite leaders. Whatever solution you choose should easily accommodate the addition of new learners and workflows. And it should be powerful enough to analyze large amounts of data—even if conversations become more complex over time.

   If you’re an enterprise org, scalability is a must. But, not all conversation intelligence solutions meet the needs of enterprise buyers.

9. Real-time Insights

   Of course, you want to analyze your calls after you hang up. But you also need a tool that provides real-time insights so you can self-correct in the moment.

   For example, say your decision maker’s engagement rate is declining mid-call. But you miss the cues because you’re screen sharing and speaking into the green light.

   The best conversation intelligence tool alerts you on a real-time app when someone’s engagement is dropping or they seem confused.

10. Data security and privacy

    If you’re like most GTM leaders, the idea of conversation intelligence solutions creeped you out a bit at first. That’s normal. Privacy is a concern.

    A good conversation intelligence solution should be able to provide accurate insights into prospect and customer conversations while ensuring everyone’s personal information is protected.

    But let’s take privacy a step further. Some vendors say “your privacy is our top concern.”

    Then they turn around and share user data as part of their marketing efforts. For example, “Companies that use our tool to do x, experience y and z.”

    Do you really want smaller competitors to benefit from your decades of experience and hard work?

11. Cost-effectiveness

    You’ve heard the adage: There’s good, there’s fast, there’s cheap. Pick two.

    And while we wouldn’t recommend buying the cheapest conversation intelligence solution, we do recommend finding a conversation intelligence tool you can try for free before making a long-term commitment.

    Right now, you can try Q for Sales for free for six months!