If you work in B2B sales, you know the “next big thing” in sales tech is always around the corner. It’s easy to get distracted by shiny dashboards and AI promises, but most of us just want tools that help us hit targets without slowing us down. This review cuts through the noise and gets real about what the Convin B2B GTM (Go-To-Market) software actually does, who it's for, and whether it’s worth your team’s time in 2024.
What is Convin Supposed to Do?
Convin pitches itself as an “AI-powered sales conversation and enablement platform.” Translation: it records, transcribes, and analyzes your sales calls, then spits out insights to help your team close more deals. It’s aimed at B2B sales teams—especially those running lots of calls and demos—who want a better grip on what’s happening in customer conversations.
Here’s what Convin claims to help you with: - Call recording and searchable transcripts - Automated meeting summaries and action items - Deal pipeline analysis and next-step suggestions - Coaching tools (scorecards, feedback, sharing best calls) - Analytics on rep performance and buyer engagement
On paper, it sounds like the sales ops fantasy: less admin work, smarter coaching, and fewer deals slipping through the cracks.
Setting Up: How Hard Is It, Really?
Getting started with a new tool is where a lot of sales tech falls apart. Here’s how the setup shakes out with Convin:
- Integrations: The basics are there—Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, HubSpot, and a few others. Most users report that integration is straightforward, but don’t expect miracles if you’re running on a custom CRM or a Frankenstack of tools. Zapier isn’t natively supported, which is a miss for teams that cobble things together.
- Onboarding: There’s a reasonable guided tour and some help docs, but don’t expect hand-holding. If you’ve set up tools like Gong or Chorus before, you’ll be fine. If not, expect to spend an afternoon getting everyone’s permissions sorted and figuring out how to route recordings.
- User Management: Admin controls are as basic as you’d expect. No exciting surprises, but nothing broken either.
Pro Tip: If you want value fast, start by integrating your main meeting tool (Zoom/Google Meet) and CRM. Don’t try to roll it out to the whole org until you’ve run a pilot with your core sales team.
Features: The Good, The Not-So-Good, and the Meh
Let’s break down what actually works, what’s just okay, and what you can probably ignore.
Call Recording & Transcription
- What Works: Convin reliably records calls, whether you’re on Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. Transcriptions are about as accurate as what you get from big-name competitors. Search is snappy—finding that one prospect quote from three weeks ago is easy.
- What’s Lacking: The language support is limited. If your team sells in anything besides English or Hindi, you’ll hit walls. Also, heavy accents or crosstalk can trip up the AI (but honestly, that’s true for everyone in this space).
- What to Ignore: Fancy sentiment analysis. It’s a nice chart, but don’t make decisions based on whether a bot says your rep “sounded positive.”
Automated Summaries & Action Items
- What Works: After each call, Convin generates a summary and flags action items. For busy reps who forget to log notes, this is a lifesaver. You can push these summaries to your CRM, which is genuinely useful.
- What’s Lacking: The summaries are hit-or-miss. They’ll catch the basics (“Follow up with pricing”), but don’t expect nuance or context on complex deals.
- What to Ignore: The “deal health” score. It’s a black box and tends to rate everything as “medium.” Use your own judgment.
Pipeline Analysis & Forecasting
- What Works: You get a simple dashboard showing which deals are moving, which are stalled, and who’s talking to whom. It’s easy to see which reps are following up and which are dropping balls.
- What’s Lacking: The AI “next step” suggestions are often generic—“Send a follow-up email” doesn’t exactly move the needle. Still, it’s a nudge.
- What to Ignore: Forecasting numbers. They look impressive but lean heavily on CRM data quality. Garbage in, garbage out.
Coaching & Feedback
- What Works: Managers can flag good calls, create scorecards, and share feedback. Convin does a decent job surfacing coachable moments (e.g., “Rep talked over the customer here”).
- What’s Lacking: The feedback loop isn’t as tight as more mature platforms like Gong. There’s no built-in way to tie coaching to outcomes—so you’ll still need to track whether feedback is making a difference.
- What to Ignore: Gamification features. They exist, but most teams ignore them after the first week.
Analytics & Reporting
- What Works: Basic stats—talk time, question rate, topics discussed—are all here. Managers can quickly spot who’s dominating calls and who’s not asking enough questions.
- What’s Lacking: Custom reporting is limited. If you want to slice data by industry, region, or deal size, you’re out of luck.
- What to Ignore: Vanity metrics. Just because a rep talks less doesn’t mean they’re listening more. Use the call recordings, not just the charts.
Pros: Where Convin Delivers
- Affordable compared to giants like Gong and Chorus. For teams with tight budgets, this is a big one.
- Solid core functionality. Recording, transcribing, and basic analytics just work.
- Useful for manager coaching. If you don’t have time to listen to every call, the highlights reel saves a ton of time.
- Decent CRM push. Summaries and action items sync well with Salesforce and HubSpot.
Cons: Where Convin Falls Short
- AI insights can be shallow. Don’t expect the software to do your thinking for you.
- Limited integrations and reporting. Power users will find the edges pretty quickly.
- Spotty support for non-English calls. If you’re international or multilingual, you’ll run into issues.
- Interface is a little dated. It’s functional, but don’t expect a beautiful experience.
- No real ecosystem. There aren’t a lot of plug-ins, add-ons, or community-driven features.
Who Should Actually Use Convin?
If your B2B sales team: - Does most of its selling over video calls - Needs a way to track what’s actually being said to customers - Wants basic coaching tools without a massive price tag
...then Convin is worth a look. It’s especially good for smaller teams or startups who can’t justify Gong’s sticker price but still want a reliable call recording and feedback system.
If you need deep integrations, custom reporting, or advanced AI-driven insights, you’ll probably outgrow Convin. Same goes if your sales process is more field-based or in-person than remote.
Is It Worth the Hype (and the Money)?
Let’s be honest: most sales tools promise the moon and deliver a decent calendar integration. Convin doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s not trying to. What you’re really paying for is: - Less time spent on manual call notes - Easier coaching for managers - A simple way to keep tabs on what’s happening in your pipeline
That’s it. Don’t expect a magic win button.
Pricing? It’s cheaper than the big names. You’ll need to talk to sales for a quote (annoying, but standard in this space). Free trials are hit-or-miss, so push for one if you want to test it with real calls.
What Alternatives Should You Consider?
- Gong: Best for large teams who need deep AI and tons of integrations. Expensive, but polished.
- Chorus (now part of ZoomInfo): Similar to Gong, with a focus on enterprise.
- Avoma: Good for meeting notes and basic AI, with a friendlier price tag.
- Fireflies.ai: Cheaper, but less sales-focused—more of a generic meeting recorder.
If you’re already using one of these, Convin probably won’t offer enough to make you switch. If you’re starting fresh, weighing price versus features is key.
Bottom Line: Should You Buy It?
If you want sales call recording, basic analytics, and a way to coach reps without breaking the bank, Convin is a solid, no-nonsense option. It’s not magic, but it works—and sometimes, that’s all you need.
Don’t get lost in features. Start with a pilot, see if your team actually uses it, and tweak from there. Sales is about conversations, not dashboards—keep it simple, and add tools when they actually solve a real problem.