How to be a fly on the wall in sales calls

Sales calls offer a goldmine of customer insights without requiring extra recruitment effort. By joining these calls as a silent observer, you witness how prospects describe their problems and evaluate solutions. This real-world context reveals priorities and pain points that customers might not mention in formal interviews or research sessions.

The key to successful observation is staying completely invisible during the call. Introduce yourself briefly at the start, then mute yourself and turn off your camera. Let the salesperson run the call normally without interference. Take detailed notes on the language customers use, the questions they ask, and the features that excite or concern them most.

After each call, spend five minutes immediately capturing your top insights while they're fresh. Look for patterns across multiple calls over time. Pay special attention to objections and concerns that arise repeatedly. These often point to fundamental product issues that need addressing in your roadmap.