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Kixie Kixie AI Voice Agent

AI Sales Agent MVP
From Insight to Impact

The AI Sales Agent MVP used real call data to solve key sales problems and improve results.

This project focused on building the Kixie AI Voice Agent by analyzing over 100 million minutes of sales calls from thousands of representatives. We identified common challenges where human reps struggled: talking too much before qualifying prospects, missing buyer hesitation cues, and mishandling price objections. These insights directly informed the development of our first agent version. Our approach was data-driven from the start, building and iterating based on actual call performance.
1

We started with the data, our competitive advantage

We had access to over 100 million minutes of recorded sales calls from thousands of representatives. I worked closely with the data team to analyze what was actually happening in these conversations: where reps got stuck, where prospects disengaged, and what triggered common objections. Rather than relying solely on dashboard metrics, we focused on understanding the actual conversation dynamics.

We used Whisper for transcription and OpenAI models to identify initial patterns in the conversations. Claude Opus, while expensive, proved invaluable for this analysis. Our goal wasn't perfection in the first iteration, but rather gathering sufficient signal to build a working prototype.

We discovered common points where reps fumbled:

  • Talking too much before qualifying
  • Missing tonal cues when buyers hesitated
  • Mishandling price objections

This analysis provided the foundation for our training approach. We translated these insights into specific tasks and developed our initial agent.

Kixie's Data Foundation

100M+
Call Minutes Analyzed
3
Key Failure Points
100%
Data-Driven Approach
2

Built the MVP with constraints, not hypotheticals

The first version accomplished its core objectives: answering calls, following structured scripts, and managing basic objections. Rather than attempting to solve every possible use case, we concentrated on high-volume, lower-risk scenarios like initial lead capture and first-touch interactions.

MVP Constraints

What it could do:

  • • Answer incoming calls
  • • Follow structured scripts
  • • Handle basic objections
  • • Capture lead information

What we focused on:

  • • High-volume scenarios
  • • Low-stakes conversations
  • • Top-of-funnel interactions
  • • First-touch experiences

Following a week of research, I collaborated with engineering to define clear requirements, removed features that didn't support our primary use case, and launched the MVP for internal testing within 3 weeks total.

MVP Development Timeline

Research
Requirements
Development
Dogfooding
3

Let the market tell us where to go

We ran structured surveys across five verticals, sent demo calls, and watched who leaned in. Hard Money Lending stood out immediately. They had compliance needs, heavy phone usage, and lean teams that couldn't scale reps.

I helped design the survey, ran working sessions with sales and CS, and pushed for a vertical-first go-to-market instead of a generic pitch.

We focused. Built objections that mattered to lenders. Added disclaimers. Tuned the tone.

Market Interest by Vertical

Hard Money
3.0x Higher Intent
Finance
1.0x Baseline
Insurance
0.8x
SMB Sales
0.9x
Services
0.7x

Hard Money Lending showed 3x higher engagement than any other vertical in our structured surveys.

4

Improved based on real usage

The initial calls revealed significant challenges: awkward pauses, unnatural phrasing, and missed conversational cues. The team put in long hours to address these issues, driven by a shared commitment to shipping a working product. We monitored every call, identified failure points, and implemented fixes quickly.

After four weeks of iteration:

  • Call completion improved from 60% to 85%
  • Sentiment detection accuracy more than tripled
  • Objection handling jumped from 10% to 40% success

I ran the feedback loop directly. No middle layers. PM to engineer to call review to fix.

4-Week Improvement Trajectory

Call Completion Rate +25 points
60% (Week 1)
85% (Week 4)
Sentiment Detection Accuracy 3.2x improvement
Baseline (Week 1)
3.2x (Week 4)
Objection Handling Success +30 points
10% (Week 1)
40% (Week 4)

Weekly iteration cycles based on real call analysis drove measurable improvements across all key metrics.

5

Made hard calls when it helped the product

Our initial approach attempted to serve five different verticals simultaneously, which proved ineffective. The scripts became generic, the model performance degraded, and the product lacked clear focus.

I advocated for a strategic pivot and worked to align our go-to-market team and leadership on this direction. We decided to concentrate exclusively on lending, redesigned our conversation flows based on actual lender calls, and trained the model with more targeted data. The improvement was immediately apparent.

The difference was immediate. Higher adoption, fewer errors, and real customer engagement.

Before: Multi-Vertical Approach

  • Generic scripts for 5 verticals
  • Confused AI model
  • Diluted value proposition
  • Low customer engagement

After: Lending-Focused

  • Specialized lending scripts
  • Focused AI training data
  • Clear value proposition
  • High customer adoption

Pivot Decision Process

Poor Results
Stakeholder Buy-in
Immediate Impact

Why it worked

We transformed repetitive, error-prone first-touch calls into consistent, reliable interactions. By analyzing over 100 million minutes of call data, we identified a focused use case and built features that directly improved key performance metrics.

We shipped the MVP in 3 weeks and established a weekly iteration cycle based on actual call performance. Call completion improved from 60% to 85%, objection handling success increased from 10% to 40%, and sentiment detection accuracy improved by 3.2x. The results came from focused execution, data-driven decisions, and rapid feedback loops.

Closed alpha with select customers.

Ship an AI MVP that lifts a metric.

One narrow use case. Real usage. Weekly improvement. If you have volume and a clear problem, I’ll help you scope, ship in ~3 weeks, and iterate from calls.

Talk About Your Use Case
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Kixie AI Voice Agent
Powered by 100M+ minutes of real sales conversations
Learn more at kixie.com