The Balto Real-Time Index


The Balto Real-Time Index provides an industry-level view of call trends and in-depth analysis from Balto’s in-house research team, the Conversation Excellence Lab. The Balto Real-Time Index is based on data from Balto’s 200m+ calls.


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Overview & Methodology
B2B Technology
Collections
Financial Services
Health Insurance
Home Improvement
Property & Casualty Ins
Retail
Utilities

0.37%

Percent of Sales Calls Where Agents Overcame the “My Project Is On Hold” Objection

27.62%

Percent of Sales Calls Where “Budget” Was Brought Up By Prospects

0.28

Avg. Times Per Service Call That Agents Built Rapport

Home Improvement

“Budget” was among the most common objections in home improvement in this edition of the Real-Time Index, and both “My Project Is On Hold” and “I Will DIY” made their way to the list of the hardest objections to overcome.

Considering the state of the economy as well as interest rate and supply chain issues, it is not surprising that consumers are looking to save money on home improvement projects by doing them themselves or pausing them altogether.

Use these objections as an opportunity to create urgency through questions like:

  • “How long would it take you to do something like that yourself?”
  • “Is it important to you to have that done by a certain date or for an upcoming event?” 
  • “What happens if you don’t get it done by that date or time?” 

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Home Improvement

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
My Project Is On Hold 0.36% NEW
Do It Myself 0.55% -95.7%
Do Not Call 0.72% -88.8%
Not Interested 2.56% -50.6%
Need Decision Makers 3.76% -24.8%

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Top Objections in Home Improvement

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Not Interested 10.02% -28.0%
Budget 6.69% -15.8%
Busy 4.84% -30.7%
Do Not Call 4.23% -29.0%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Home Improvement

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Question-Asking 1.90 NEW
Justification 0.99 -35.7%
Respect 0.62 -72.3%
Proactivity 0.29 -67.0%
Empathy 0.20 -61.5%

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Home Improvement

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Recap 0.005 NEW
Rapport 0.03 -50.0%
Interest 0.05 +0.0%
Laughter 0.06 NEW
Active Listening 0.06 -60.0%

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

1.71%

Percent of Sales Calls Where Agents Overcame the “Cancellation Request” Objection

0.47

Avg. Times Per Call That Sales Agents Built Rapport

6.03

Avg. Times Per Call That Service Agents Used Question-Asking

Healthcare Insurance

Even the most successful business will come across cancellation requests from its customers, it’s inevitable. In this edition of the Real-Time Index, we found that cancellation requests were both some of the most common objections and the hardest to overcome. A cancellation request is often your last opportunity to interact with a customer, and your agents should know how to best take advantage of it to bring the most value to your organization — even if that customer does still end up leaving.

Your agents can try the following questions to better leverage cancellation requests to get feedback that can in turn improve your products and services:

  • “Why did you decide to request a cancellation today?”
  • “How could our company have served you better in the past?”
  • “If you’re willing to share, which health insurance provider will you be using going forward?”

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Health Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Cancellation Request 1.54% -94.7%
I Want to Reschedule 2.97% NEW
Budget 6.56% +51.7%
Going with the Competition 6.94% NEW
Call Me Back 7.00% NEW
Think About It 8.23% -76.0%
Need Decision Makers 8.50% -73.5%

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Top Objections in Health Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
I Want a Quote 6.92% NEW
Send Me an Email 2.55% NEW
Shopping Around 2.23% NEW
Going with the Competition 2.23% -0.2%
Not Interested 1.73% -70.2%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Health Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Respect 6.99 +69.7%
Question-Asking 5.62 NEW
Proactivity 3.84 -71.9%
Justification 1.89 -20.3%
Empathy 0.59 -0.04%

A higher number indicates a soft skill was more likely to be used during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Health Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Rapport 0.06 NEW
Active Listening 0.14 -33.3%
Agreeability 0.29 -19.4%
Credibility 0.42 NEW
Urgency 0.48 +75.0%

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

4.34%

Percent of Sales Calls Where Agents Overcame the “Busy” Objection

0.15

Avg. Times Per Service Call That Agents Displayed Agreeability

0.34

Avg. Times Per Sales Call That Agents Built Rapport

B2B Technology

“Busy” was both the most common objection in B2B technology sales — and the hardest objection to overcome. Like the “Call Me Back” and “Email Me” objections, “Busy” is a way for prospects to get off the phone as soon as possible. But these objections aren’t a death sentence. Faced with a “Busy” objection, your agents can try to:

  • Go deeper: “To make sure I include the most important information in my email to you, can I clarify…”
  • Find a better time: “I bet you are busy, I hear that response a lot from people in your industry! Let’s reschedule this call for tomorrow at 3 PM. Would that work for you?”
  • Determine interest: “I can absolutely send you more information if it’s not a good time. Before I do that, let’s take a couple minutes now to make sure that __ is up your alley in the first place.”

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in B2B Technology

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Busy 4.39% NEW
Not Interested 4.48% -86.1%
Call Me Back 6.29% NEW
Send Me an Email 7.25% NEW
Shopping Around 7.25% -13.7%

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Most Common Objections in B2B Technology

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Budget 5.42% -77.0%
Do Not Call 4.53% +23.6%
Not Interested 4.08% -21.8%
Need Decision Makers 3.66% -10.9%
Call Me Back 2.98% NEW
Busy 2.91% -0.03%
Shopping Around 2.82% -73.2%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in B2B Technology

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Respect 2.64 -52.9%
Question-Asking 2.42 NEW
Proactivity 1.36 -67.2%
Justification 0.82 -68.1%
Urgency 0.34 -57.5%

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in B2B Technology

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Average Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Authority 0.001 +0.0%
Recap 0.01 +69.0%
Rapport 0.03 -62.5%
Active Listening 0.05 -77.3%
Agreeability 0.10 NEW

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

1.09%

Percent of Service Calls Where Agents Overcame the “Shopping Around” Objection

32.03%

Percent of Service Calls Where “Budget” Came Up

0.01

Avg. Times Per Sales Call That Agents Built Credibility

Property & Casualty Insurance

Even when the economy is booming, “Budget” objections won’t be overcome altogether. Customers today are cost-conscious (32.03% of calls) — they’re shopping around for the best prices (12.13% of calls), looking for quotes over the phone (37.24% of calls), and switching to the competition when they can get a better deal (12.13% of calls).

If you’re not the cheapest offering on the market, you have to make sure to create value in other ways. This can be through:

  • Stellar customer service
  • Better, more robust product offerings
  • Positive reputation and online reviews
  • Seamless user experience

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Property & Casualty Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Budget 1.08% -76.4%
Shopping Around 1.21% -50.3%
Send Me an Email 5.56% NEW
Busy 9.46% +93.3%
Need Decision Makers 9.59% +31.9%
Call Me Back 9.64% +42.0%
Going with the Competition 10.0% NEW

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Most Common Objections in Property & Casualty Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
I Want a Quote 24.03% NEW
Send Me an Email 17.14% NEW
Budget 15.28% NEW
Shopping Around 8.05% NEW
Going with the Competition 5.92% NEW

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Property & Casualty Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Question-Asking 6.00 NEW
Respect 5.53 -54.8%
Proactivity 2.78 -70.1%
Justification 1.91 -84.9%
Agreeability 0.50 NEW

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Property & Casualty Insurance

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Compliment 0.002 NEW
Recap 0.005 +22.2%
Authority 0.005 +28.0%
Rapport 0.04 -81.8%
Interest 0.11 +72.7%

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

32.06%

Percent of Service Calls Where a “Cancellation Request” Occurred

10.38

Avg. Times Per Service Call That Agents Showed Respect

0.04

Avg. Times Per Sales Call That Agents Used Active Listening

Retail

Active listening was one of the most underutilized — and therefore most coachable — soft skills in retail in this edition of the Real-Time Index. Without active listening, agents can’t properly recap a problem to a consumer (used 0.05x per call on average), and recapping goes a long way: it ensures you’re not only solving the problem at hand but building or rebuilding trust with the consumer by letting them know that you were listening to them and you are there to help. Read more about active listening and try incorporating these phrases into your next call:

  • “It sounds like you’re saying that…” 
  • “To confirm, your main concern is…”
  • “It seems like ___ would solve your problem. Is that right?”

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Retail

View Table (All Use Cases)
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Bad Reviews 14.29% NEW
Request to Speak with Supervisor 15.09% NEW
Budget 35.31% +90.7%
General Complaint 35.55% NEW

Figure 2: Top Objections in Retail

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Cancellation Request 30.86% +96.4%
COVID-19 21.26% NEW
Budget 9.78% +77.2%
Send Me an Email 9.47% +75.7%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Retail

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Respect 10.09 +92.4%
Question-Asking 9.54 NEW
Proactivity 5.69 +91.6%
Justification 2.80 +77.9%
Empathy 2.43 NEW

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Retail

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Authority 0.0001 -90.0%
Rapport 0.04 +92.5%
Recap 0.04 +95.0%

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

2.56%

Percent of Sales Calls Where Agents Overcame the “Budget” Objection

28.89%

Percent of Service Calls Where the “Send Me an Email” Objection Occurred

0.04

Avg. Times Per Sales Call That Interest Was Shown By An Agent

Financial Services

When prospects said they were “Not Interested” during a sales call, agents were only able to overcome that budget on 10.93% of calls. Almost 90% of the time, this resulted in an unsuccessful call. But there are strategies that your agents can use to handle “Not Interested” objections like pros. The key to overcoming this objection is not to overcome it per se, but to acknowledge it and ask further questions using the AIOA model:

  • Agree: “I didn’t expect you to be interested, you don’t know enough about what we do yet” 
  • Isolate: “I called because it seems like ___ may be a priority for your business. Is that the case?” 
  • Overcome: “Our product has seen a lot of success with companies like yours because we…”
  • Ask: “Do you want set up time to learn more?” 

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Objections and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Financial Services

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Budget 2.65% -57.6%
Not Interested 10.55% +89.3%
Bad Reviews 11.96% NEW
Busy 17.86% +57.7%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 2: Top Objections in Financial Services

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Budget 3.25% -31.4%
Not Interested 2.59% -68.5%
Going with the Competition 1.64% NEW
Send Me an Email 1.60% -79.7%
Busy 1.49% -79.4%

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Financial Services

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Question-Asking 6.88 NEW
Justification 1.94 -27.9%
Respect 1.40 -72.9%
Empathy 0.80 +42.5%
Proactivity 0.61 -65.7%

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Financial Services

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call (All Use Cases) % Change from Q2 ’22
Authority 0.002 NEW
Recap 0.002 -96.7%
Laughter 0.008 NEW
Interest 0.02 NEW

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

6.09%

Percent of Calls Where Agents Overcame the “COVID-19” Stall

2.07

Avg. Times Per Call That Agents Used Question-Asking

0.01

Avg. Times Per Call That Agents Showed Authority

Collections

Mentions of “COVID-19” were some of the hardest stalls to overcome in this edition of the Real-Time Index. When debtors used “COVID-19” as an excuse to not pay their debts, collectors were only able to overcome that objection 6.09% of the time. This might sound low, but it’s nearly 3x the win rate from the last edition of the Real-Time Index, where the “COVID-19” objection was only overcome 2.39% of the time.

Even in 2023, COVID-19 is still coming up from many who may have lingering health issues, family members to take care of, or be under financial duress due to the associated economic climate. Train your agents on the following soft skills make debtors feel heard and understood so they are more likely to settle on a plan that works best for both of you:

  • Empathy (used 0.23x times per call on average)
  • Respect (used 0.15x times per call on average)
  • Rapport (used 0.13x times per call on average)

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Stalls and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Stalls to Overcome in Collections

View Table (All Use Cases) View Collections Graph
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection % Change from Q2 ’22
Wrong Number 3.61% NEW
I Need to Call My Lawyer 3.87% +12.1%
I Already Paid 5.17% NEW
Refusal to Verify Identity 6.08% +29.6%
COVID-19 6.09% +60.8%
Dispute Charge 7.70% NEW
Bankruptcy 10.31% +94.6%

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Top Stalls in Collections

View Table View Collections Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred % Change from Q2 ’22
Already Paid 3.61% -29.1%
Can’t Pay 2.89% -46.1%
Dispute Charge 2.72% +18.7%
Won’t Pay 2.38% -46.9%
Call Me Back 1.23% NEW
Wrong Number 1.21% NEW
Need Decision Makers 1.18% NEW

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Collections

View Table View Collections Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call % Change from Q2 ’22
Question-Asking 2.07 NEW
Justification 0.57 -44.1%
Credibility 0.31 -47.5%
Empathy 0.23 -51.1%
Urgency 0.17 -45.2%
Respect 0.16 NEW

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Collections

View Table View Collections Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call % Change from Q2 ’22
Active Listening 0.05 -50.0%
Proactivity 0.05 +20.0%
Laughter 0.03 NEW
Interest 0.03 +0.0%
Recap 0.01 NEW

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

49.39%

Percent of Service Calls Where a “Cancellation Request” Occurred

0.06

Avg. Times Per Service Call That Active Listening Was Used

1.12

Avg. Times Per Sales Call That Credibility Was Built

Utilities

“Credibility” is defined by our AI Library item as times when an agent assures a consumer that the agent’s organization is credible or legitimate. This includes statements like “We’ve won an award for the best customer service” or “We have been in this industry for 15 years.”

Utilities providers aren’t always beloved, but there are ways to build credibility and garner customer favor. You can:

  • Build up your online review program
  • Include testimonials on your website
  • Convey your company values and commitments to your customers
  • Share your corporate social responsibility efforts with your customers
  • Provide A+ customer service!

Reference our Glossary of Terms to define the Stalls and Soft Skills below.

Figure 1: Hardest Objections to Overcome in Utilities

View Table (All Use Cases)
Objection % of Successful Calls After Objection % Change from Q2 ’22
General Complaint 30.54% NEW
Can I Speak With a Supervisor? 30.56% NEW
Budget 33.09% NEW
Cancellation Request 40.74% NEW
Need Decision Makers 41.17% NEW

A smaller percentage indicates an agent was less likely to overcome the objection

Figure 2: Top Objections in Utilities

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Objection % of Calls Where Objection Occurred % Change from Q2 ’22
Cancellation Request 35.78% NEW
Budget 15.31% NEW
Shopping Around 10.70% NEW
Going with the Competition 5.51% NEW
Not Interested 3.99% NEW

A higher percentage indicates an objection was more likely to occur during a call

Figure 3: Top Soft Skills in Utilities

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call % Change from Q2 ’22
Question-Asking 8.25 NEW
Justification 3.26 NEW
Empathy 0.97 NEW
Credibility 0.83 NEW
Respect 0.52 NEW

A higher number indicates a soft skill was used more often during a call

Figure 4: Most Underutilized Soft Skills in Utilities

View Table (All Use Cases) View Sales Graph View Customer Service Graph
Soft Skill Avg. Occurrences Per Call % Change from Q2 ’22
Urgency 0.04 NEW
Active Listening 0.13 NEW
Laughter 0.15 NEW
Agreeability 0.29 NEW

A lower number indicates a soft skill was used less often during a call

Overview

This edition of The Balto Real-Time Index focuses on four main areas:

  • The most common consumer objections
  • The most difficult objections to overcome
  • The soft skills that agents use the most
  • The soft skills that agents use the least

We’ve built on our previous data by providing additional granularity by use case as well as through change over time.

New Industry

We’ve added the “Utilities” industry onto our roster of industries, as well as a glossary of terms linked at the top of each industry so you can find quick definitions of our language models and better interpret the data in front of you.

Future Updates

In our next release, look forward to more in-depth change over time trends as well as real-time graphs that update automatically as Balto continues to guide more and more calls. In future editions of the Index, we also plan to display sentiment data, additional use cases, objections by call stage, and more.

Bookmark this page for future updates. If you have any questions about our insights or would like to cite The Balto Real-Time Index, please reach out to our research team at cel@baltosoftware.com. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Methodology

The Balto Real-Time Index is updated once per quarter by Balto’s research and data analysis department, the Conversation Excellence Lab. The raw data for the index is derived from the over 200m+ calls conducted using Balto’s software. The data is processed through machine learning and natural language processing models trained to identify call events, like soft skills and objections. We then aggregate the data into industry-specific categories to deliver trends and insights via the Index. The data subset for this edition of The Balto Real-Time Index is representative of trends between April – June 2023.

Limitations 

Balto’s Real-Time Index is based on language models with a 83% recall and 82% precision. Our team is continuously improving these models so that we can provide the most accurate data possible. We are also focused on expanding our data sets so we can provide more complete data and fill in missing graphs where they occur.

While this edition of the Index provides data aggregated by use case (i.e. sales, customer service, collections) in addition to industry, we hope to use later editions to incorporate whether a call is inbound or outbound, as well as hyper-specific use cases within industries, such as outbound lead generation within sales. 

Please note that the values presented in the Balto Real-Time Index are averages and represent a subset of our data. If you’d like to hear more about our methodology or limitations, reach out to us at cel@baltosoftware.com.

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