Call review
Listening back to a recorded sales call with the seller to coach one specific moment in it.
In plain words
A call review is listening back to a real conversation with the seller who had it. You do not grade the whole call. You find one moment where the deal moved forward or stalled, and you work on that moment together.
It needs recordings or careful notes. Many CRMs store call recordings on the deal card, so the review starts from the deal. Keep a short log of each review: the call, the moment, what the seller will try next time. The log shows whether the same skill keeps coming up. Over a few months, it also shows which skills the whole team needs to practice.
Worked example
For example, the seller answers a price question before asking what the customer needs. Next time, they agree to ask about the need first.
How to use it
Review one call per seller each week or two, usually inside the 1:1. The seller picks the call and the moment. Ask them first what they would change. Then add your view, and agree on one thing to practice before the next customer conversation.
It changes coaching from opinions to evidence. You hear what was said, not the seller's memory of it. If the same moment fails on several calls, the fix goes into a role play. If it fails across the team, the fix goes into the script or the discovery call questions.
Call review sits between the 1:1, where you plan, and role play, where the seller practices. The script says what should be said. The call review shows what was actually said and how the customer reacted.
Common mistakes
- Reviewing only bad calls. The seller starts to dread the review. Pick a good call regularly, and ask what made it work.
- Listening to the whole call together. It takes too long, and the lesson gets lost. Agree on the moment in advance and play only that part.
- Giving five corrections at once. The seller remembers none of them. Pick one, practice it, and check it on the next call.
- Letting the review stay between two people. The team repeats the same mistake. Share one short, anonymous clip with the team when a moment matters for everyone.
NEXT STEP · TOOL
By Friday, each seller picks one recent call and marks the moment they would like help with. In the next 1:1, the head of sales plays only that part. Agree on one thing to try, and write it in the review log. On the following call, the seller tries it and reports back. After a month, read the log and name the skill that came up most often.
A weekly meeting on stuck deals that ends with a decision and an owner for each.