If you’re a sales or support manager, you already know that listening to a few random calls isn’t enough. You want data—actual insights into what your team says and how it lands with customers. That’s where conversational analytics tools like Balto come in. But let’s be honest: these platforms can be overwhelming, full of dashboards and charts that look great but don’t always help you coach your team.
This guide is for anyone who wants to get honest, practical value from Balto’s analytics—without getting lost or wasting time. Let’s break down how to set things up, what to actually pay attention to, and how to use it for better coaching (not just fancier reports).
Step 1: Set Up Balto’s Conversational Analytics the Right Way
Before you can analyze anything, you need to make sure Balto is properly connected to your call environment. Don’t skip this. If you do, you’ll end up with missing calls, bad data, or nothing at all.
Connect Balto to Your Call System
- Check compatibility. Balto works with a bunch of dialers and softphones, but not all. Double-check yours is supported.
- Work with IT. Unless you love troubleshooting SIP trunk settings, get your IT team to help with the integration. Balto’s support will walk you through it, but you need access to your phone system.
- Verify live call capture. Run a test call and make sure Balto is capturing audio and metadata (agent, customer, timestamps).
Pro tip: Don’t just trust the green checkmark. Listen to a couple of test calls in Balto to make sure audio quality is usable and the right calls are showing up.
Set Up Teams, Roles, and Permissions
- Mirror your org chart. Set up teams and users in Balto to match your actual structure. Otherwise, you’ll end up analyzing a jumble of random agents.
- Give the right people access. Make sure managers and coaches have analytics permissions. Some orgs lock this down too much or too little.
Customize Key Phrases
Balto comes with default keywords and phrases to track (“guarantee,” “cancel,” “price”), but these may not match your business.
- Edit tracked phrases. Go to the phrase library and add company-specific terms, competitor names, compliance language, or pain points you care about.
- Group phrases by topic. Make it easy to see trends: “Objections,” “Competitor Mentions,” “Upsell Attempts,” etc.
What to skip: Don’t try to track everything. If you’re logging 100+ phrases, you’ll drown in noise. Start with 10-20 that actually matter for coaching.
Step 2: Collect and Organize the Right Call Data
Analytics are only as good as the data you feed them. Garbage in, garbage out.
Decide Which Calls to Record
- All calls, or just some? In regulated industries, you might need to record everything. If not, focus on key call types (sales, complex service calls, etc.).
- Tag calls by type/priority. Use call disposition codes or tags so you can filter later (e.g., “Closed Won,” “Escalated,” “Demo Scheduled”).
Make Sure Metadata Is Accurate
- Check agent IDs. If agents use shared logins or if your system isn’t syncing IDs, your analytics will be useless.
- Time zone consistency. Make sure call times match your reporting needs (local vs. UTC can get messy fast).
Let Agents Know
- Be transparent. Tell your team that calls are being analyzed, and explain how it’ll help them, not just “catch them doing something wrong.”
- Share best practices. If agents try to “game” keyword tracking, your data gets less useful. Focus on outcomes, not just checkboxes.
Step 3: Analyze the Data—What Actually Matters
Here’s where people get tripped up. Balto’s dashboards are flashy, but not everything deserves your attention. Focus on what helps you coach.
The Reports That Are Worth Your Time
- Phrase Usage Frequency
- Shows how often key phrases or compliance language are used.
- Useful for: Spotting which agents avoid (or overuse) certain scripts, compliance checks.
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What to ignore: Don’t obsess over minor phrasing differences unless compliance requires it.
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Objection Handling
- Tracks how agents respond to common objections (e.g., “I need to think about it”).
- Useful for: Identifying agents who handle objections well vs. those who fold.
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Pro tip: Look for effective responses, not just whether an agent said the right words.
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Competitor Mentions
- How often customers bring up other providers.
- Useful for: Spotting new competitor threats, updating scripts.
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What to ignore: Don’t treat every mention as a crisis. Context is key.
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Call Outcomes Linked to Behaviors
- See which phrases or tactics actually correlate with successful calls.
- Useful for: Adjusting training to focus on what works.
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What to ignore: Correlation isn’t causation. Don’t assume saying “guaranteed” causes a sale.
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Talk-to-Listen Ratio
- Balto tracks how much agents talk vs. listen.
- Useful for: Coaching agents who dominate calls, or never say a word.
- Caution: This is a blunt metric. Don’t force everyone to hit an arbitrary number.
Don’t Get Distracted By...
- Sentiment analysis. It can be fun to see “positive” or “negative” flags, but these are based on algorithms that miss context. Use as a rough guide, not gospel.
- Wall-of-charts syndrome. If you’re looking at 10 dashboards and don’t know what to do next, step back. Focus on the few metrics tied to coaching goals.
Slice by Team, Not Just Individuals
- Look for patterns. If an entire team struggles with a specific objection, it’s a training issue, not a “bad agent” problem.
- Compare top and bottom performers. What do your best folks actually do differently? (Often, it’s not what you think.)
Step 4: Turn Analytics into Coaching That Works
Data is just numbers unless you use it. The goal isn’t to “catch” people—it’s to help them improve.
Use Snippets, Not Just Stats
- Pull real call clips. When coaching, use actual audio snippets to show examples (good and bad). Balto lets you clip and share within the platform.
- Don’t just say “Use the script more.” Show what “good” sounds like—and what doesn’t.
Build One Coaching Focus at a Time
- Pick one or two trends to work on. If you try to fix everything at once, agents tune out.
- Set clear, realistic goals. “Improve objection handling on ‘price’ by next month” is better than “Say the script more.”
Make It a Two-Way Conversation
- Ask your agents what they see. Sometimes the data doesn’t capture the real challenges they’re facing.
- Share wins and good calls. Don’t just use analytics to find mistakes—highlight what’s working.
Track Progress, Not Perfection
- Set up monthly or quarterly reviews. Look for improvements, not instant turnarounds.
- Don’t obsess over outliers. One weird call doesn’t mean you need a new script.
Step 5: Avoid Common Pitfalls
Some mistakes will waste your time or kill trust with your team.
- Don’t micromanage. If you use analytics to nitpick every sentence, you’ll get resentment or agents gaming the system.
- Don’t chase vanity metrics. Just because a dashboard exists doesn’t mean it matters. Always ask, “Does this help us coach for better outcomes?”
- Don’t ignore context. A “bad” phrase in one call might be exactly right in another.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Balto and tools like it can be game-changers—but only if you use them to make real improvements, not just generate reports. Start with a handful of metrics, review a few calls, and focus on one coaching theme at a time. Don’t let the tech run the show; use it to have better coaching conversations and help your team get better, call by call.
The bottom line: Keep it simple, stay skeptical of shiny dashboards, and use the data to make real changes. Rinse, repeat, and you’ll get real value—and a stronger team.