What is Conversation Intelligence?
Technology that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales conversations to surface coaching insights and deal intelligence.
Definition
Conversation intelligence platforms automatically record and transcribe sales calls, demos, and meetings, then use AI to analyze the conversation for coaching insights. The analysis includes talk-to-listen ratio, question frequency, filler word usage, competitor mentions, pricing discussions, next step commitments, and sentiment patterns. Advanced platforms correlate conversation patterns with deal outcomes to identify what top reps do differently.
Why It Matters
Before conversation intelligence, sales coaching was based on ride-alongs and anecdotal feedback. Managers could listen to a handful of calls per week. Now, every call is analyzed automatically, and coaching insights are data-driven. The technology also creates organizational knowledge: when a top rep leaves, their conversation patterns and techniques are captured in the system. For RevOps teams, conversation data enriches pipeline forecasting with qualitative signals.
Example
Gong analyzes 500 sales calls from your team and identifies that deals where reps ask 11-14 questions close at 2x the rate of deals where they ask fewer than 7. It also flags that your top closer spends 35% of the call listening, while struggling reps talk 70% of the time. The manager uses these insights to build a coaching program focused on discovery question frameworks.