If you’ve ever stared in disbelief at a transcript of your sales call and wondered how “RevOps” became “red ox,” you’re in the right place. This guide is for people in B2B sales who rely on transcripts from Otter to capture meetings, but keep running into botched company names, product jargon, and acronyms. You’re busy, you need clean notes, and you don’t have time to fix Otter’s mistakes after every call.
Let’s make Otter understand your world—without overcomplicating things.
Why Otter Trips Up on B2B Sales Lingo
Otter is pretty good out of the box, but B2B sales meetings are a minefield for most speech-to-text tools. Here’s why:
- Company names: “Acme Data” sounds nothing like “AcmeDate” to Otter’s algorithm.
- Industry jargon: Words like “MQL,” “ARR,” or “pipeline hygiene” aren’t in most dictionaries.
- Acronyms: B2B folks love acronyms. Otter, not so much.
- Product names: If your solution is called something like “QuikSync” or “Zynkflow,” good luck.
The result? Transcripts full of embarrassing errors, which can confuse your team or clients—or worse, make you look sloppy.
Step 1: List Your Must-Have Terms
Before you touch Otter’s settings, grab a notepad and jot down the words Otter always gets wrong. Think:
- Your company name and the names of competitors
- Product names, feature names, tool names
- Key acronyms (“SQL,” “MQL,” “TAM,” etc.)
- Client names you mention often
- Common industry terms or phrases
Pro tip: Ask your team for their top five “hilariously wrong” Otter transcript moments. It’ll help you build a more complete list.
Step 2: Use Otter’s Custom Vocabulary Feature
Otter lets you teach it new words, but this feature isn’t obvious unless you look for it. Here’s how you do it:
- Go to Account Settings: On web, click your profile picture > Account Settings.
- Find ‘Custom Vocabulary’: Look for a section labeled “Custom vocabulary” or similar.
- Add Your Terms: Paste in your list. Separate each term by commas or line breaks.
- Save Changes: Don’t forget this part. If Otter doesn’t have a “save” button, just leave the field and it should auto-save.
What Actually Works Here
- Unique words: The more unique or technical the word, the more likely Otter will benefit from learning it.
- Acronyms: Works decently if you add them in all-caps. For example, “MQL,” not “mql.”
What Doesn’t Work So Well
- Common English words: Adding “lead” or “deal” won’t help—Otter already knows these.
- Phrases: Otter’s custom vocab is for single words, not full phrases or names.
What to Ignore
- Trying to “teach” Otter how to use words in context: It just learns the word’s existence, not usage.
- Adding every possible term: Stick to your power list. Overloading it doesn’t help.
Step 3: Fine-Tune Pronunciation (If You Care Enough)
Otter doesn’t let you record pronunciations, but you can sometimes “hack” better recognition by:
- Adding alternate spellings: If your product is “Qorelytics” but people say “Core Analytics,” add both.
- Phonetic spellings: Try adding how people actually pronounce the word (“Zynkflow” might be “Zinc-flow”).
This isn’t foolproof, but it helps for names or jargon that always get mangled.
Step 4: Prep Before Important Meetings
Custom vocab is set-and-forget, but if you’re about to meet with a new client with a tricky name, add their company and product names to your list before the call.
- Don’t overthink this: You don’t need to update your list every week, but before a big demo or a call with lots of new people, it’s worth 60 seconds to add those names.
Step 5: Use Speaker Labels for Context
Otter’s speaker identification is decent, but it’s not magic. If you label speakers clearly (“Jim from Acme Data,” “Sarah, CMO”), it gives Otter a little more context, which sometimes helps with correct word choice.
- How to do it: After your meeting, go into the transcript and assign names to each speaker. Takes a minute, but improves future accuracy slightly.
Step 6: Clean Up Transcripts Quickly (Don’t Obsess)
Even with all the custom vocab in the world, Otter will still make mistakes—especially if you have people with accents, bad audio, or talk over each other. Don’t aim for perfection.
- Skim-and-edit: After each call, spend 2-3 minutes fixing the worst errors.
- Use the Search tool: If you know Otter always butchers “MQL,” search for it and fix all instances at once.
- Export and share: Once it’s good enough, export as text or PDF and move on.
Step 7: Ignore the Hype—Otter Still Needs Human Oversight
No AI transcription tool is perfect, despite what the sales pages say. Here’s what not to believe:
- “100% accuracy”: Not happening, especially in noisy meetings.
- “Understands all industry terms”: Only if you feed it those terms.
- “Set it and forget it”: You’ll always need to skim and fix, just less often if you use custom vocab.
Bonus: When to Use (or Skip) Otter’s Paid Plans
Custom vocabulary is included in paid Otter plans, not the free one. Before you upgrade:
- Worth it if:
- You’re in sales and use transcripts every week
- Your meetings are full of jargon, acronyms, or unique names
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You want to save time post-call
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Maybe not worth it if:
- You only transcribe the occasional call
- Your meetings are mostly plain English
If you’re on the fence, try the free trial, customize the vocab, and see if the improvement is worth the money.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Don’t try to make Otter perfect out of the gate. Add the most important words now, see what’s still getting mangled, and tweak your custom vocab every month or so. The goal is faster, clearer notes—not a flawless transcript.
Transcription tools are getting better, but you’re still the best judge of what matters in your meetings. Keep it simple, and let Otter do the busywork.