Sales onboarding is always a slog. You’ve got eager new reps, but handing them a binder or running another slide deck isn’t going to cut it. They need to hear what real sales calls sound like—awkward silences, tough questions, deals in the making. If you want new hires to hit quota, you need to show them the messy, practical stuff. That’s where using Sembly comes in.
Sembly records, transcribes, and highlights your actual sales meetings. Instead of playing telephone with what “good” sounds like, you can drop new reps right into the real thing. Here’s how to use Sembly to build a library of gold-standard calls, coach smarter, and skip pointless role-play marathons.
1. Get Sembly Set Up for Your Sales Team
Before you can train anybody, you need to capture the right material. Sembly works with Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and Webex, so it’ll probably slot into whatever you’re using.
Steps: - Create accounts: Make sure every rep who runs calls has a Sembly account. You’ll want a centralized workspace so you’re not chasing files. - Integrate your calendar: This lets Sembly auto-join meetings and record them. Less hassle, fewer “oops, forgot to record” moments. - Set recording rules: Decide which calls get recorded. Not every internal sync is worth archiving, but every prospect call probably is. - Talk to your legal/compliance folks: Some regions need explicit consent to record. Slap a sentence in your meeting invites or check Sembly’s settings for notification options.
Pro tip:
Don’t overthink it. Start by recording all customer-facing meetings, then dial it back if you’re getting too much noise.
2. Gather High-Value Sales Recordings
Not all calls are worth sharing. You want the ones that show new reps what “good” (and “bad”) actually look like.
What to look for: - Win/loss calls: What questions did prospects ask before buying? Where did reps fumble and lose the deal? - Objection handling: Any call where a rep handled a tough objection or tricky competitor question. - Discovery calls: The messy first meetings where needs are uncovered (or missed). - Demo calls: Especially if the rep adapts the pitch to the customer in real time.
How to find them: - Tag your calls: In Sembly, tag or categorize meetings as “Win,” “Objection,” “Demo,” etc. You’ll build a filterable library over time. - Ask your team: Have reps flag calls they’re proud of—or ones where things went sideways. Both are teaching gold. - Use highlights: Sembly can auto-highlight “key moments” based on keywords or agenda items. This saves you from scrubbing through hour-long recordings.
What to skip:
Don’t bother with routine check-ins, pipeline updates, or calls that are just “fine.” You want teachable moments, not background noise.
3. Build a Training Library With Highlights
Dumping hours of raw recordings on a new rep is a recipe for glazed eyes. The magic is in the highlights—short, focused clips that zero in on what matters.
How to do it: - Review recordings: Use Sembly’s transcript search to jump to key topics (“budget,” “timeline,” “why now?”). - Clip highlights: Sembly lets you bookmark or clip sections. Grab the exact moment a rep turns a no into a yes, or when they crash and burn. - Organize by topic: Create folders or playlists—like “Handling Pricing Objections,” “Discovery Best Practices,” or “How Not to Demo.” - Add context: Drop a one-liner on why you picked each clip. Example: “Notice how Lisa reframes the competitor’s feature without trash-talking.”
Pro tip:
Less is more. Five solid highlights beat an hour-long slog. If a clip isn’t memorable, cut it.
4. Create Real-World Training Modules (No Fluff)
Now you’ve got the raw material, turn it into something a new hire can actually use.
Steps: - Mix clips and commentary: Pair Sembly highlights with your own notes or questions. For example: “Watch this clip. What did you notice about how Sam handled the silent pause?” - Make it interactive: Don’t just say “watch these.” Build exercises around the clips. Ask reps to spot the turning point or write down three questions the prospect asked. - Show both wins and failures: Don’t sanitize the library. Seeing a rep flub a pitch (and how they recover) is ten times more useful than a perfect call. - Keep modules short: Chunk things into 10-15 minute segments. Better to have reps watch three focused modules than one marathon.
What to ignore:
Don’t waste time building fancy slide decks or quizzes unless you really need to. The real-world calls are the content.
5. Use Recordings for Coaching and Feedback
Once your new sales reps start taking calls, use Sembly to speed up their feedback loop.
How to use recordings for coaching: - Instant playback: Pull up the rep’s own calls and review key moments together. Skip the “I think I said…” back-and-forth—everyone can hear what actually happened. - Self-review: Encourage reps to watch (and cringe at) their own calls. It’s uncomfortable, but it works. - Peer review: Have more experienced reps tag highlights in a new hire’s call—“Nice recovery here,” or “You missed the buying signal at 12:33.” - Track progress: Use Sembly’s built-in analytics if you want (but don’t get lost in the weeds—focus on what actually moves the needle).
Pro tip:
Don’t turn coaching into a surveillance fest. Pick a few calls a week, review them together, and focus on one or two habits at a time.
6. Keep Your Library Fresh and Relevant
The market shifts, competitors change, and yesterday’s “killer pitch” can get stale.
How to stay current: - Rotate in new calls: Review recent wins and losses. Add new highlights that show reps tackling current objections or new features. - Prune old material: If a pitch or product demo is outdated, yank it. Don’t let new hires waste time on stuff that doesn’t match your current motion. - Get feedback: Ask new reps which clips helped and which were confusing. Update based on their input, not just your gut.
What to ignore:
Don’t aim for a “perfect” library. It should be a living thing, not a museum.
7. Quick FAQ: What Works, What Doesn’t
Does Sembly replace a real sales trainer?
No. It gives you better raw material, but you still need a human to add context and coach.
Is it worth tagging every single call?
Nope. Focus on the 10% of calls that have clear learning value.
Can you use Sembly as a compliance tool?
It helps document what was said, but don’t rely on it as your only source of truth.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink It
Don’t get bogged down in building the “perfect” training system. Start small: record calls, clip the best bits, and use them to coach your new reps. The goal isn’t a glossy onboarding package—it’s getting new hires up to speed on what actually works (and what doesn’t) in your market, right now. Sembly makes that a whole lot easier, but you’ll still need to bring the human touch. Keep things simple, tweak as you go, and you’ll see results faster than any training manual ever delivered.