Glossary
What is sentiment analysis in sales?
Sentiment analysis is the automatic reading of text to judge its tone: positive, negative or neutral. In sales it is used to sort replies so the warm ones reach a person first. A simple tone score misses what matters, though: a polite not now and an interested question can both read as positive.
Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 24 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.
Why is tone not enough?
| Reply | Tone | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks for connecting! | Positive | A pleasantry, not interest |
| Not now, maybe next year | Neutral | A timing objection worth a later follow up |
| This is the third email this week | Negative | A complaint; stop and apologise |
| How much is it for 20 users? | Neutral | Strong buying interest |
| Please remove me | Neutral | An opt out that must be honoured |
What should replies be sorted by instead?
By what the person wants: interested, asking a question, not now, wrong person, already has a supplier, opt out, or automatic reply. Each needs a different next step. The post on AI reply handling for 12 reply types walks through them.
Where does sentiment still help?
- Spotting angry replies quickly so a person answers them.
- Tracking whether follow ups produce more negative replies over time.
- Flagging conversations where the tone changes, such as a buyer who goes cold.
How Sellinger handles it
The agent reads each reply and decides the next step, instead of scoring tone alone. When a contact replies with an opt out such as STOP or unsubscribe, in English, Bulgarian or German among other forms, the contact goes on the team's suppression list, the agent stops and the lead is closed out. A weak or unclear phrase never writes the permanent record: the agent stops and a person decides. Automatic replies from helpdesks, no reply senders, satisfaction surveys and empty messages are marked as machine mail. They never count as a human reply, the agent does not answer them, and the lead is sent to a person with a named reason.
An out of office or other absence notice is not counted as a reply from the person: the agent does not answer it, it does not use up a follow up step, and the lead is contacted again 7 days after the return date the notice gives, or after 21 days when no date can be read.
Common questions
Is sentiment analysis accurate?
Should negative replies stop the sequence?
Does Sellinger count quick replies as interest?
Sources and method
General AI practice; examples are illustrative. Sellinger behaviour from the fact register, checked 24 October 2026.
Related: Objection handling, Reply rate, Conversation intelligence, AI reply handling: 12 reply types.
