Acoustic–semantic equivalence: A trimodal framework for B2B sales communication effectiveness and training allocation

This study documents acoustic–semantic equivalence as the empirical finding that voice delivery and message content have comparable predictive power for sales outcomes under duration-matched conditions. In 5183 authentic Finnish business-to-business (B2B) sales calls, acoustic and semantic features predict outcomes with nearly identical accuracy, challenging traditional content-centric training approaches. A trimodal framework that integrates acoustic, semantic, and linguistic dimensions yields improved predictive performance, with gains arising from complementary information across modalities. These results suggest that sales training may benefit from balanced attention to how salespeople speak and what they say, within the way they structure their conversations. The study contributes to multimodal communication research and offers practical guidance for redesigning sales training and developing AI-assisted coaching systems.