If you talk to clients for a living—sales, account management, customer success—you know there are moments when someone drops a hint they could use more from you. Trouble is, it’s easy to miss those signals in the middle of a busy call. This guide is for anyone who wants a dead-simple, practical way to spot upsell opportunities using Fathom—without getting bogged down in “AI-driven synergy” nonsense.
Let’s break down how to actually use Fathom to catch upsell cues in conversations, turn them into real actions, and not waste time chasing ghosts.
1. Set Up Fathom to Capture Everything (But Don’t Overcomplicate)
First things first: Fathom records and transcribes your meetings. That’s the baseline. If you haven’t already, connect it to your meeting tool (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams). Don’t stress about fine-tuning at this point—just get it capturing calls so you have raw material to work with.
Pro tips: - Make sure everyone on your team is using it. Partial adoption = partial results. - Let clients know you’re recording, both for ethics and trust. - Don’t fuss over custom categories or highlights yet. You can tweak those later.
2. Know What an Upsell Opportunity Really Sounds Like
Before you start combing through transcripts, you need to know what to listen for. Upsell cues aren’t always direct (“I want to buy more!”). They’re often subtle:
- Mentioning frustrations or gaps (“We wish X could…”)
- Talking about business changes (“We’re growing/launching/opening…”)
- Asking about features not in their plan
- Comparing your product to others (“Does your tool do Y like Competitor?”)
- Complaining about manual work they still do
Don’t waste time on:
Generic “great job” comments or chatter about unrelated stuff. Fathom’s AI will surface highlights, but you’ll still need human judgment to spot the real signals.
3. Use Fathom’s Highlights and Search—But Don’t Blindly Trust the AI
Fathom can automatically highlight key moments, like when a client asks a question or mentions a competitor. That’s handy, but not perfect. AI still misses context and nuance—the stuff that actually matters for upselling.
How to use it: - After a call, skim Fathom’s auto-highlights. Look for any that mention features, pain points, or “nice-to-haves.” - Use the search bar to look for keywords like “upgrade,” “need,” “problem,” or the names of advanced features. - Don’t just rely on the highlights. Sometimes the gold is hiding in a rambling answer or an offhand comment. If a call feels important, browse the full transcript or the recording at 2x speed.
What doesn’t work:
Letting Fathom run and expecting it to hand you deals on a platter. It’s a tool, not a mind-reader.
4. Build a Simple (Not Over-Engineered) Upsell Signal System
You don’t need a 20-field CRM integration or a complicated tagging system. Start with something you’ll actually use.
Here’s one way: - Create a single tag in Fathom for “Upsell Opportunity.” - Whenever you spot a possible upsell cue, tag that moment during or after the call. - Add a two-sentence note: What did the client say, and what might they want? Keep it blunt. - Once a week, review all “Upsell Opportunity” tags, and decide which ones are real and which are just wishful thinking.
Optional:
If you want to get fancy, set up a Zap or integration so tagged moments auto-create tasks or notes in your CRM. But don’t let that be an excuse to avoid starting.
5. Share the Real Stuff (Not Just Activity Metrics) With Your Team
The real value isn’t in showing off how many calls you made—it’s in surfacing actual signals the team can act on.
What works: - In your weekly sales or account review, play the 30-second clips from Fathom where clients hint at needing more. - Skip the generic “call summary” and focus on: “Here’s what the client said. Here’s what we could offer.” - Encourage team members to challenge whether something is a true upsell opportunity or just wishful thinking. Healthy skepticism saves time.
What to ignore:
Don’t waste time reporting on every positive comment. Focus on moments with a clear business gap or need.
6. Turn Insights Into Action—Quickly
Spotting upsell opportunities is only useful if you act on them. Here’s how to keep it simple:
- After each call, if you tagged an upsell moment, send a quick follow-up: “You mentioned XYZ—you want to explore how we can help with that?”
- If it’s a bigger deal, loop in the right product or sales person right away. Attach the Fathom clip so they know exactly what was said.
- Don’t overthink it. If you wait a week, the moment’s gone.
Pro tip:
If a client brings up the same pain point in multiple calls, Fathom’s search makes it easy to spot patterns. That’s your cue to propose a bigger solution.
7. Avoid the Hype: What Fathom Won’t Do For You
A reality check: Fathom is a great tool, but it won’t magically grow your accounts.
- It can’t replace real listening or judgment. If you’re checked out on calls, no AI highlight will save you.
- It won’t turn every “maybe” into a sale. Most upsell signals go nowhere. That’s normal.
- It won’t tell you exactly which product to pitch. That’s still your job.
Ignore the hype:
You’ll see claims about “AI-driven revenue acceleration.” Take those with a grain of salt. Use Fathom for what it’s good at—finding moments you might have missed, making them easy to share, and helping you act faster.
8. Iterate and Keep It Stupidly Simple
Don’t try to build the perfect system from day one. Start basic:
- Use Fathom to capture and review calls.
- Tag real upsell moments.
- Share and act on them as a team.
As you go, you’ll figure out what works for your clients and your workflow. If a process feels heavy, simplify it. The real win is catching one or two upsell opportunities you would have missed—not tracking everything down to the last comma.
Bottom line:
Fathom can make it a lot easier to spot upsell opportunities hiding in your client conversations, but it’s not magic. Skip the overthinking, focus on what clients actually say, and use the tool as a force multiplier—not a crutch. Keep it simple, review as a team, and tweak as you go. That’s how you actually grow accounts—with your ears, your brain, and just enough tech to keep you honest.