Buyer words before coaching: 20 keywords and 3 labels

A

Key takeaways before the next coaching talk

Before you schedule the next one-on-one, review the specific language buyers used on recent calls. The tools you use to capture this data vary in how they define and display those words. Here is what to check first, then carry one phrase to your Sales one-on-one agenda for coaching software sellers.

• Define your tracked keywords. You can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call, so the data you review reflects the terms your team actually cares about ( Microsoft Learn). Pick the phrases that matter to your current coaching focus.
• Check the sentiment labels. When looking at team-level data, note that customer sentiment over time displays how the three customer sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral) are spanning across the specified timeframe ( Microsoft Learn).
• Distinguish tracker types. If you use Gong, remember that AI trackers are advanced AI models that identify concepts, rather than words ( Gong). This is different from keyword trackers, which use specific words. Do not mix these up when deciding what to coach on.

B

Which buyer words to look at before you coach

When preparing for a coaching session, your primary goal is to identify the language buyers actually used. You should look for specific phrases that indicate hesitation, interest, or confusion. These words serve as the evidence base for your feedback. Instead of relying on what your sales representatives intended to say, look at what the customer said in response. This distinction ensures your coaching is grounded in real customer behavior.

The Microsoft documentation notes that you can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call ( Microsoft Learn). This means the selection of terms is a deliberate choice made by the user. You are not forced to track every word spoken. Instead, you select the terms that matter most to your current sales challenges. This selectivity helps you filter out noise and focus on the signals that drive your coaching decisions.

To apply this, review your recent call recordings. Listen for recurring themes in the buyer's speech. Are they asking about implementation details? Are they mentioning competitors? Are they expressing concern about budget? Each of these areas represents a different coaching opportunity. By identifying these specific buyer words, you can tailor your feedback to address the exact friction points your team faces. This approach moves your coaching from generic advice to targeted improvement.

C

Microsoft's top 20 keywords and the three sentiment labels

When you open the "View overall insights of your sales and sellers | Microsoft Learn" page, the visual layout helps you identify which phrases are dominating recent conversations. The interface uses bubbles to represent the data, and the bubbles show the top 20 tracked keywords and the number of times that these keywords were mentioned in calls (( Microsoft Learn)). This view provides a concrete count for each term, allowing you to see frequency rather than just presence. The bubbles show the top 20 tracked keywords and the number of times that these keywords were mentioned in calls. You do not need to guess which terms are recurring; the view displays the top 20 tracked keywords and the number of times that these keywords were mentioned in calls (( Microsoft Learn)).

You can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call (( Microsoft Learn)). This means the manager or team lead decides which terms matter for the current coaching cycle. If your team is focusing on handling objections about pricing, you would define those specific terms to be tracked. If you are focusing on discovery questions, you would define those terms instead. The system tracks what you tell it to track. You can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call (( Microsoft Learn)), so the list of top 20 is always relative to your specific configuration.

Beyond the specific words, the "Understand team overview feature in conversation intelligence | Microsoft Learn" page provides a way to gauge the emotional tone of those conversations. The page includes a metric labeled "Customer sentiment over time," which displays how the three customer sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral) are spanning across the specified timeframe (( Microsoft Learn)). These three labels—positive, negative, and neutral—are the only sentiment categories named on that page. Customer sentiment over time: Displays how the three customer sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral) are spanning across the specified timeframe (( Microsoft Learn)).

For a front-line manager, this combination of keyword frequency and sentiment labels offers a two-part diagnostic. First, look at the keyword bubbles to see which terms are being used most often. Second, read customer sentiment over time, which displays how the three customer sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral) are spanning across the specified timeframe.

D

Gong's two kinds of trackers

The "Understanding trackers" page from Gong distinguishes between two distinct methods for monitoring call content. This distinction matters because the two types capture different layers of conversation. One type looks for the underlying idea being discussed, while the other looks for the exact language used. Understanding which type to use helps you decide whether you need to know if a concept was raised or if a specific phrase was spoken.

AI trackers identify concepts

Gong describes AI trackers as advanced AI models that identify concepts, rather than words ( Gong). This means the system is not listening for a specific string of characters. Instead, it is designed to recognize the broader topic or theme being discussed. For example, if a buyer discusses the difficulty of onboarding new users, an AI tracker might flag that conversation as relating to "onboarding challenges" even if the buyer never uses the word "onboarding." This approach is useful when you want to track how often a specific business problem comes up, regardless of how the buyer phrases it.

Keyword trackers use specific words

In contrast, Gong states that keyword trackers are based on specific words, terms, or phrases that are mentioned in your conversations ( Gong). These trackers function by listening for exact matches. If you set a keyword tracker for "budget," it will only flag the call if the word "budget" is actually spoken. This type of tracker is more rigid. This makes keyword trackers ideal for tracking specific product names, competitor names, or mandatory compliance phrases that must be used verbatim.

What managers can track

The "Understanding trackers" page notes that these tools enable managers to track how reps handle product messaging, pricing rollouts, discovery questions, and objections ( Gong). This list highlights the specific areas where a manager might want to monitor consistency or effectiveness. You can use these trackers to see if your team is consistently addressing pricing concerns or if they are asking the right discovery questions. The page ties these tracking capabilities directly to the manager's role in overseeing rep performance.

E

Where HubSpot shows tracked terms on a recording

You do not have to dig through the raw transcript to find the specific phrases you flagged earlier.

If you have a Sales Hub or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise account, on the right, click between the Insights, Stats, and Transcript tabs to view tracked terms, call stats, and the call transcript. This specific interaction is the primary way you access the data.

The availability of this feature is tied to your specific plan level. The documentation specifies that this functionality is accessible to users with a Sales Hub or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise account. If you are on a lower-tier plan, this specific tab configuration may not be available in the same way. It is important to check your current plan status to ensure you have access to these detailed recording reviews. The interface is consistent across Sales Hub and Service Hub for these higher-tier plans, meaning the location of the tracked terms remains the same whether you are reviewing a sales call or a service interaction.

F

Filled reference table of buyer-word tools by publisher

The table below summarizes how three distinct platforms present buyer language data, based strictly on the documentation provided for each publisher. Use this to compare the scope of what each tool tracks and the specific plan requirements associated with those features.

This comparison highlights the different approaches each vendor takes to analyzing call content. Microsoft focuses on a specific count of the top 20 tracked keywords, providing a quantitative view of frequency as described in its documentation ( Microsoft Learn). The platform allows the user to determine which specific terms are monitored, ensuring the data reflects the team's specific focus areas.

Gong offers a different analytical layer by utilizing AI trackers. According to Gong's documentation, these are advanced AI models that identify concepts, rather than words ( Gong). This distinction is critical for managers who need to understand the underlying themes of a conversation rather than just the literal phrasing. The documentation notes that managers can use this capability to track how reps handle product messaging, pricing rollouts, discovery questions, and objections ( Gong). This allows for a deeper dive into the quality of the interaction beyond simple keyword matching.

HubSpot provides a reporting capability tied to its tracked terms feature. The documentation states that you can use tracked terms to build reports on call content ( HubSpot). It is important to note the plan restriction associated with this feature; the documentation explicitly marks this usage as Enterprise only ( HubSpot). If your team is on a different plan, this specific reporting function may not be available, which impacts how you can aggregate and review buyer language over time.

G

Illustrative example of one coaching phrase

A manager has a list of 20 tracked keywords. In this practice pass, 3 of them keep returning: budget, pricing, and onboarding. The manager writes 1 buyer line on the blank line below: what about budget. That 1 line is the only phrase the next coaching talk will use. The 20, the 3, and the 1 are round practice figures, not a live export.

H

Line for the one phrase you will coach

The previous sections outlined how different platforms surface buyer language, but the coaching value lies in your specific context. You can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call, which means the list of words you review should reflect your team's actual conversations rather than generic industry terms. ( Microsoft Learn) Before you schedule the next one-on-one, identify a single phrase that appeared in your recent calls and caused a pause, a question, or a shift in the buyer's tone. This phrase should be concrete enough to replay and specific enough to assign a skill to. Do not try to coach on a broad theme like "objections" or "pricing" without a verbatim anchor. The anchor is what makes the feedback actionable.

Phrase:

Today, write one buyer phrase on the line above and place it first on your Sales one-on-one agenda for coaching software sellers.

I

Buyer-word FAQ

How many tracked keywords does the bubble view show?

The bubbles show the top 20 tracked keywords and the number of times that these keywords were mentioned in calls, according to the "View overall insights of your sales and sellers | Microsoft Learn" page ( Microsoft Learn). This count reflects the specific view described on that page rather than a universal limit for all sales tools.

Who chooses the keywords?

You can define what keywords you want to track during the sales call, as stated on the "View overall insights of your sales and sellers | Microsoft Learn" page ( Microsoft Learn). This means the selection process is manual and controlled by the user setting up the tracking.

What three sentiment labels does the team page name?

The "Understand team overview feature in conversation intelligence | Microsoft Learn" page describes customer sentiment over time as displaying how the three customer sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral) are spanning across the specified timeframe ( Microsoft Learn). These three labels are the specific categories named for sentiment analysis in that context.

How does Gong describe an AI tracker and a keyword tracker?

Gong's "Understanding trackers" page states that AI trackers are advanced AI models that identify concepts, rather than words ( Gong). In contrast, the same page explains that keyword trackers are based on specific words, terms, or phrases that are mentioned in your conversations ( Gong). This distinction separates concept-based identification from exact phrase matching.

Which HubSpot plan mark is on tracked-term reports?

The "Review call recordings and transcripts" page notes that you can use tracked terms to build reports on call content, and this feature is marked as Enterprise only ( HubSpot). This plan designation indicates that the reporting capability associated with tracked terms is restricted to that specific tier.