In this article
Before auditing: recordings, consent and a scorecard
Record calls with consent — tell the buyer at the start, which in India is a one-line courtesy and usually accepted — or sit in on visits. Choose which calls to audit deliberately: a first discovery call and a follow-up after a quote, for each salesperson, rather than the calls they volunteer. And build the scorecard before the first audit, from your playbook: what a good discovery call asks, what the value proposition sounds like, which objections have approved answers, what a next step looks like. The scorecard is what makes the audit fair, because everyone is scored against the same standard and knew it in advance.
Decide who audits: the sales lead or the owner, and — the part that makes it work — the salesperson themselves, scoring their own call before the review.
The scorecard: preparation, discovery, value
Preparation: did the salesperson know who they were calling, what the buyer had asked for, what was in the CRM from previous contact, and what they wanted the call to achieve? A call that opens with “so, tell me about your requirement” to a buyer who wrote it in the form has failed this line. Discovery: were the questions from the playbook asked — the need in the buyer’s words, what they have tried, who decides, when, what they will compare — and were they asked before any pitching? Score the share of the call the buyer spent talking; below half is a monologue. Value: when the salesperson did speak, did they connect what the buyer had said to what the business does — “you mentioned rejections at inspection; the first-article report we send with every batch is for exactly that” — or recite the company description?
Score each of the three from one to five, with a line of evidence: the moment in the call that earned the score.
The scorecard: questioning, listening, objections, next step
Questioning: open questions that invite the buyer to explain, follow-ups that dig — “what happened when you tried that?” — rather than a checklist read aloud. Listening: did the salesperson use what the buyer said, refer back to it, let silence work, avoid interrupting; or did they wait to speak? Objections: when the buyer raised price, timing or the incumbent, did the salesperson ask a question to understand it before answering, and then use the approved answer — or argue, concede, or move on? Next-step control: did the call end with a specific action the buyer agreed to, with a date — a visit, a sample, a proposal, a call with the decision-maker — or with “I will send you something”?
Four more scores with evidence. The next-step line is worth reading first: a call with a good next step and weak discovery is recoverable; a call with brilliant discovery and no next step went nowhere.
Turn observations into focused coaching
The review is twenty minutes, salesperson and manager, both scorecards on the table. Start with what went well, with the evidence. Then the one thing — not seven — that would have changed the call most, chosen from the lowest score with the biggest effect: usually discovery or the next step. Agree what the salesperson will do differently on the next call, in one sentence, and audit that call for it. Record the score and the coaching point in the CRM against the salesperson, so the trend is visible over a quarter.
Across the team, the audits show the pattern: if every salesperson scores low on discovery, the playbook’s questions need work or the training does; if one does, it is coaching. The team pattern is where the manager’s time goes.
Scorecard · use it here or print it
Sales-call audit scorecard
Score one recorded call. Two calls a week per salesperson, reviewed together, is the coaching rhythm; the lowest group is the one thing to work on this fortnight.
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Mistakes, and what changes after a quarter
The mistakes: auditing only the salesperson’s best calls; a scorecard with twenty lines, so nothing is coached; scoring without evidence, which turns audit into opinion; seven coaching points per review, which is none; using the audit to discipline rather than to develop; and stopping after the first month. A safeguard: the salesperson scores first, and the review starts from their score — most people are harder on themselves than the manager would be.
After a quarter of two audits a fortnight, discovery gets longer and pitching gets shorter, calls end with agreed next steps, stage conversion after the first call rises, and the new salesperson sounds like the experienced one sooner. This is the conversation-quality work we do — the scorecard built from your playbook, the first month of audits done with your manager, calibration so two auditors score alike, and the coaching format — and the free audit begins with listening to three of your calls.
Questions owners ask
Is recording sales calls legal in India?
With the other party told at the start, yes, and it is the courteous thing to do. A one-line notice at the beginning of the call is enough; a buyer who objects is not recorded.
How many calls should be audited?
Two per salesperson per fortnight — a discovery call and a follow-up — chosen by the manager, not volunteered. More than that and the reviews stop happening.
Should the salesperson hear the recording?
Yes, and score it themselves before the review. Hearing your own call is most of the coaching; the manager’s job is to choose the one thing to work on.
What if we have no playbook to build the scorecard from?
Build the scorecard from what your best salesperson does on their best call — listen to three, write down what they ask and how they close — and that becomes the start of the playbook.
Can this be automated with AI call analysis?
Tools can transcribe, flag talk ratios and find keywords, which saves the manager time. The judgement about what to coach, and the conversation with the salesperson, still need a person.
What does GullySales do?
The scorecard from your playbook, the first month of audits with your manager, calibration between auditors, the coaching format and CRM tracking, and the team-pattern report at the end of the quarter. Scoped in the free audit and priced in writing.