How to Select a Meeting Notetaker for Sales Teams

Most people working at innovative companies have used or at least come across meeting notetakers. These bots join your virtual meetings (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams) to record, transcribe, and analyze calls, providing access to video recordings, transcripts, and summaries. This can reduce manual note-taking and serve as a helpful database. However, for sales teams, notetakers often fall short in optimizing workflow and maximizing efficiency.

The Problem with Current Notetakers

According to Salesforce’s State of Sales Report, sales reps still spend 72% of their time on non-selling activities, including rewatching calls and scrubbing transcripts to extract information for CRM entries. With multiple calls a day, it’s impractical to review each one thoroughly, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

Post-meeting tasks like CRM data entry, follow-up emails, and repetitive questions are time-consuming. Selecting a notetaker that can automate these tasks is crucial. Not only does it free up time, but it also allows sales reps to engage more effectively with customers, while leadership gets the data needed for strategic decisions.

Beyond Basic CRM Integration

Many notetakers claim CRM integration but often only log a call summary. True value comes from tools that update CRM fields like competition, pain points, and MEDDICC criteria. This detailed data is essential for accurate reporting, marketing decisions, and sales forecasting.

AI in Notetakers: What to Look For

AI can enhance notetakers by extracting and organizing information from meetings meaningfully. Here are key differentiators to consider:

Proprietary vs. Commercial AI

Most advanced notetakers use commercially available AI, like ChatGPT, which is built on large language models (LLMs) by companies with significant resources. Proprietary models often lack the sophistication and accuracy needed. Additionally, dropping transcripts into public AI tools can pose security risks.

Effective CRM Integrations

Effective AI-driven notetakers go beyond logging summaries—they automatically update relevant CRM fields. This capability reduces manual entry, ensuring all critical data is captured and utilized.

Custom Prompting

Advanced notetakers offer custom prompts to extract specific information like key objections, commitments, and next steps, directly updating the CRM. This saves time and ensures no critical information is overlooked.

Conclusion

When selecting a meeting notetaker, prioritize features like custom prompting and comprehensive CRM integration. These tools can transform note-taking from a mundane task into a strategic advantage, allowing your sales team to focus more on selling and less on administrative work. Effective use of AI in notetakers enhances productivity and decision-making, making them invaluable for modern sales teams.