Sales guys are a species. The guys who keep businesses going.

Sales training is about building relationships with clients and the rush that comes from achieving targets.

So, does data have any role to play apart from recording the number of calls within the CRM and tracking progress?

Apparently it does.

A company called Gong did an experiment. It used AI to analyse over 25000 sales calls.

The conversations were anonymised to ensure that the people involved were not identified.

These were sales calls conducted on platforms like GoTo Meeting, join me and Zoom.

Then these conversations were mapped to matching CRM records to determine the wins, revenue generated and the time it took to close deals.

The interesting data evolved from there.

If the customer spoke for longer, the chances of success improved dramatically. 

Doesn't that go against the grain? Because sales guys are supposed to talk their way into deals.

Another finding. Talk about price about 40 minutes after the call begins.

Prepare the ground but don't keep price discussions out of the picture.

The full article talks about how AI is taking guesswork out of the equation.

Sales data should help sales ramp up.

And Gong seems to make it work.

The data disconnect. Practicing Yoga right

Yoga apps put you in the right frame of mind with music and instructions.

They provide data on the minutes you spent doing yoga and the potential gain

But there is no way to figure if the exercises are being done right.

Are you putting enough pressure on your ankles?

Or too little.

A teacher had to be present and guiding you while you exercised, correcting postures and making sure that you were going with the flow.

Smart Mat is trying to be that teacher.  Combining an app, pressure sensors and the Yoga mat

The mats look exactly the same.

Except that they map out the parts of your body in touch with the mat according to the exercise being performed.

You are guided on what you need to do to fix the posture or aligning your limbs.

Tying up all the interaction points and provide feedback on the go.

Data on your posture, your movements and the pressure you put on the mat develops a picture for the app to guide you in real time.

Will it make up for the absence of the teacher?

Not exactly what the ancient gurus anticipated.

Would you give it a chance?

The data disconnect. Understanding human relationships

This is the last post in a series that touches upon how data metrics are moving to the next level.

Matching human beings for marriage or even a casual relationship is still a shot in the dark.

Looks, backgrounds, education and interests have been the pivotal points of putting two people together and hoping for the best.

What's revealing is how each 'dating' site explored the connections.

Tinder went for the jugular, letting a primal sense of love at first sight determine how it would happen.

In a podcast, the founder of OK Cupid talked about how the data gathered on the site provided clarity on some of the aspects people seemed to gravitate towards.

In the early days, the focus was on building engagement, time on site and page views

But these metrics were of no value to the user.

So how could the data be thought of from a user perspective?

The more people who were able to find dates through the site, the more customers it could attract.

The metric that built traffic was called 'four-ways' the number of conversations that people had on the site

The deeper the conversations, the more chances of a relationship

Simple? Or complex?

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it with friends. Or Tweeting the link. The more people we can get to tune in every week, the merrier. Thank you.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ideascape.substack.com