Copilot's ability to track topics in customer conversations is a powerful tool for gaining insights and improving sales strategies. Topics are keywords or phrases that Copilot identifies within call transcripts, allowing you to tag calls, filter them, and analyze trends.  

There are three types of topics in Copilot, each serving a slightly different purpose:

• Default Topics: Copilot comes with a set of pre-programmed topics that cover common sales concepts like "Agenda Setting," "Customer Goals," and "Blockers."  
• Keyword Topics: These are custom topics created by admins who manually add specific words or phrases they want Copilot to track.  
• Smart Topics: Leveraging AI, Smart Topics provide more contextually accurate tagging, reducing noise and improving the precision of your topic tracking. For a detailed guide on effectively using Smart Topics, please refer to this article: Unlocking Insights with Copilot's Smart Topic Workflow  

This guide will focus on how to strategically create topics, drawing from insights gained through conversations with our customers and observed best practices, to help you get the most out of Copilot.

I. Strategic Topic Creation: Themes and Examples

Based on customer conversations and common needs, here are key themes to consider when creating topics in Copilot:

A. Core Business and Sales Themes

1. Competitors
   Focus: Tracking mentions of competitors to understand the competitive landscape.  
   • Why Track:
     • Gain insights into how customers perceive your solution versus alternatives.  
     • Identify common competitive objections and develop effective counter-strategies.  
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "Competitors" (Keywords: "Gong," "Outreach," "Salesforce," "Salesloft")  
     • Smart Topic: "Comparison with CCompetitor X]"
       • Description Example: "Customer explicitly compares our product to Competitor X during the evaluation phase, focusing on feature comparisons and pricing."
2. Market Trends
   Focus: Identifying broader industry shifts and economic factors influencing customer conversations.  
   • Why Track:
     • Adapt sales strategies to align with evolving customer needs and market dynamics.
     • Proactively address customer concerns related to market challenges (e.g., "Macro Challenges").  
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "Market Trends" (Keywords: "economic downturn," "industry trends," "market conditions")  
     • Smart Topic: "Cloud Migration Drivers"
       • Description Example: "Customer discusses drivers for cloud migration, including cost savings, scalability needs, and security improvements."  
          
3. Positioning and Differentiation
   Focus: Analyzing how your sales team positions your solution and differentiates it from competitors.  
   • Why Track:
     • Ensure consistent and effective messaging around your unique value proposition.
     • Identify areas where positioning can be improved.
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "Differentiation" (Keywords: "unique value," "competitive advantage," "why us")  
     • Smart Topic: "Highlighting Key Differentiators"
       • Description Example: "Sales rep highlights key product differentiators during a competitive comparison in a product demo."  
          
4. Business-Specific Topics
   Focus: Tracking themes unique to your industry, product, or sales process.  
   • Why Track:
     • Gain granular insights into the topics that matter most to your business.
     • Enable highly customized analysis and reporting.
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "ERP Integration" (Keywords: "SAP," "Oracle," "NetSuite")  
     • Smart Topic: "Workflow Automation Benefits"
       • Description Example: "Customer discusses the benefits of workflow automation, such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, and fewer errors."  

B. Generic Sales and Process Themes

1. Sales Methodologies
   Focus: Monitoring the use of specific sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDPICC, BANT).  
   • Why Track:
     • Ensure consistent application of sales methodologies.
     • Identify areas for coaching and improvement in sales execution.  
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "BANT" (Keywords: "budget BANT," "authority BANT," "need BANT," "timing BANT")  
     • Smart Topic: "Upfront Contract Establishment"
       • Description Example: "Sales rep establishes an upfront contract at the beginning of the call, outlining the agenda and call objectives."  
          
2. Sales-Related Topics
   Focus: Tracking common sales activities, deal stages, and customer interactions.  
   • Why Track:
     • Gain visibility into deal progression and identify potential bottlenecks.
     • Analyze factors influencing deal outcomes.
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "Deal Closing" (Keywords: "close," "win," "agreement," "contract")  
     • Smart Topic: "Defining Next Steps"
       • Description Example: "Sales rep clearly defines next steps at the end of the call, including action items, scheduling a follow-up meeting, and setting deadlines."  
          
3. Churn-Related Topics
   Focus: Identifying conversations that may indicate a risk of customer churn.  
   • Why Track:
     • Proactively address customer concerns and mitigate churn risk.
     • Analyze patterns and drivers of churn.
   • Examples:
     • Keyword Topic: "Churn Risk" (Keywords: "cancel," "downgrade," "unhappy," "churn")  
     • Smart Topic: "Customer Dissatisfaction"
       • Description Example: "Customer expresses dissatisfaction with the product's performance and raises concerns about unresolved issues."  

II. Analyzing and Leveraging Topic Data

• Topic Dashboards: Visualize topic trends, segment data, and gain actionable insights.  
• Call Filters: Filter calls based on tracked topics to quickly find relevant conversations.  
• Conversation Feeds: See topic tags within individual call transcripts.  

Best Practices

• Start with Recommended Topics: Copilot suggests relevant topics to save you time.  
• Iterate and Refine: Continuously adjust your topics based on the data and insights you gain.  
• Combine Topic Tracking with Other Copilot Features: Use filters and alerts to proactively manage your sales conversations.  
• Consider the Customer Journey: Align topics with key stages of the customer lifecycle to track relevant conversations at each point.
• Prioritize Key Metrics: Focus on tracking topics that directly impact your most important sales metrics (e.g., conversion rates, deal velocity).
• Regularly Review and Update: Ensure your topics remain relevant as your business, market, and sales strategies evolve.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively leverage Copilot's topic tracking to drive better sales outcomes and a deeper understanding of your customers.