What is talk time?
Talk time is the time a rep spends in live conversation on calls, measured per call or added up over a day, week or campaign.
Why it matters for sales teams
Talk time shows how much of a calling session was spent actually selling. Two reps can each log a full day of calling; the one with more talk time had more real conversations, or longer ones.
It is a useful check on dials per hour. High dials with little talk time can mean bad data or a dialing method that spends most of the hour waiting. Very long talk time with few meetings can mean conversations that wander without a clear ask. Neither number tells the whole story alone.
Talk time vs talk ratio
Talk time is how long the conversation lasted. Talk ratio is how that time was split between rep and prospect. A long call where the rep did nearly all the talking can be a weaker call than a short one where the prospect explained their problem.
Talk time vs handle time
Average handle time adds hold time and after-call work to talk time, so it reflects the full cost of each call, not only the conversation. A rep with modest talk time but high handle time is likely losing time to admin between calls.