Information processing apparatus, method of operation for an information processing apparatus, and computer program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a working method for the information processing apparatus, and a computer program product. The information processing apparatus includes a storage unit configured to associate and store information about a first utterance of a person in charge when the person in charge listens to a demand of a customer during a business talk with the customer, and information about a second utterance of the customer indicating the demand; and a control unit configured to output the information about the first utterance and the information about the second utterance in accordance with a search condition.

Description

Cross-references to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-003060, filed on January 8, 2025. The entire disclosure of the above application, including the specification, drawings and claims, is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a method of operating the information processing apparatus, and a computer program product. Background Technology

[0003] In various businesses, the skills of conducting business-talks to encourage customers to purchase products depend on the individual skills of the sales manager. Therefore, various techniques have been proposed to help improve the skills of business-talk managers. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-28910 (JP 2019-28910 A) discloses a technique for searching for conversations that need to be monitored from the content of explanations given to customers. Summary of the Invention

[0004] There is room for improvement in the efficiency of sales executive training, particularly in technologies that utilize machine learning and other methods to enhance the business negotiation skills of sales executives.

[0005] The following section will disclose an information processing device that can improve the training efficiency of sales managers.

[0006] The information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of this disclosure includes: a storage unit configured to associate and store information about a first utterance by a person in charge when listening to the needs of the customer during a business meeting with the customer, and information about a second utterance by the customer indicating the needs; and a control unit configured to output the information about the first utterance and the information about the second utterance according to search criteria.

[0007] In the information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of this disclosure, the storage unit may be configured to store, in association with the information regarding the first speech and the information regarding the second speech, information about a third speech made by the person in charge based on the request. The control unit may be configured to output the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0008] In the information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of this disclosure, the storage unit may be configured to store, in association with the information regarding the first statement, the information regarding the second statement, and the information regarding the third statement, information indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal. The search criteria may be intention-related search criteria. The control unit may be configured to output the information regarding the fourth statement together with the information regarding the first statement, the information regarding the second statement, and the information regarding the third statement.

[0009] In the information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of this disclosure, the information regarding the first statement may include the audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting. The information regarding the second statement may include the audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

[0010] In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of this disclosure, the control unit may be configured to generate information about the first speech and information about the second speech from the audio of the business meeting, and store the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech in the storage unit.

[0011] In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of this disclosure, the control unit may be configured to generate information about the third speech from the audio of the business meeting and store the information about the third speech in the storage unit.

[0012] In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of this disclosure, the control unit may be configured to generate information about the fourth speech from the audio of the business meeting and store the information about the fourth speech in the storage unit.

[0013] A second aspect of this disclosure is a method of operation for an information processing apparatus configured to associate and store information regarding a first statement made by a manager when listening to a customer's needs during a business meeting, and information regarding a second statement made by the customer instructing on those needs. The method of operation includes outputting the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement based on search criteria.

[0014] A method of operating an information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of this disclosure may include: storing information about a third speech made by the person in charge when the person in charge makes a proposal based on the demand, in association with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech; and outputting the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0015] A method of operating an information processing device according to a second aspect of this disclosure may include: storing information about a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal, in association with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement; and outputting the information about the fourth statement together with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement. The search criteria may be search criteria related to the intention.

[0016] In the operating method of the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect of this disclosure, the information regarding the first statement may include audio of the first statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting. The information regarding the second statement may include audio of the second statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting.

[0017] The operating method for an information processing device according to the second aspect of this disclosure may include generating, from the audio of the business conversation, information about the first speech and information about the second speech, and storing the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0018] The operating method for an information processing device according to the second aspect of this disclosure may include generating the information about the third speech from the audio of the business meeting and storing the information about the third speech.

[0019] The operating method for an information processing device according to the second aspect of this disclosure may include generating information about the fourth speech from the audio of the business meeting and storing the information about the fourth speech.

[0020] A third aspect of this disclosure is a computer program product comprising a computer program for an information processing device, which, when executed by the information processing device, causes the device to associate and store information regarding a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of a customer during a business meeting, and information regarding a second statement made by the customer instructing on the needs. The computer program for the information processing device includes outputting the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement based on search criteria.

[0021] A computer program product according to a third aspect of this disclosure may include: storing information about a third speech made by the person in charge in accordance with the requirements, in association with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech; and outputting the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0022] A computer program product according to a third aspect of this disclosure may include: storing information about a fourth statement in association with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement; and outputting the information about the fourth statement together with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement. The search criteria may be search criteria related to the intention.

[0023] In a computer program product according to a third aspect of this disclosure, the information regarding the first statement may include audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting. The information regarding the second statement may include audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

[0024] A computer program product according to a third aspect of this disclosure may include generating information about the first statement and information about the second statement from the audio of the business meeting.

[0025] A computer program product according to a third aspect of this disclosure may include generating the information about the third statement from the audio of the business meeting.

[0026] The fourth aspect of this disclosure is a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions executable by one or more processors included in an information processing apparatus, which is configured to associate and store information regarding a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of a customer during a business meeting, and information regarding a second statement made by the customer instructing on the needs. The function includes outputting the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement based on search criteria.

[0027] In a non-transitory storage medium for an information processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, the function may include storing information about a third speech made when the person in charge makes a proposal based on the request, in association with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech; and outputting the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0028] In a non-transitory storage medium for an information processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, the function may include: storing information about a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal, in association with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement; and outputting the information about the fourth statement together with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement. The search criteria may be search criteria related to the intention.

[0029] In the non-transitory storage medium for an information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this disclosure, the information regarding the first statement may include audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting. The information regarding the second statement may include audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

[0030] In a non-transitory storage medium for an information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this disclosure, the function may include generating information about the first statement and information about the second statement from the audio of the business conversation.

[0031] In a non-transitory storage medium for an information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this disclosure, the function may include generating the information about the third speech from the audio of the business meeting.

[0032] The information processing apparatus, the method of operation for the information processing apparatus, the computer program product, and the non-transitory storage medium for the information processing apparatus disclosed herein can improve the training efficiency of sales managers. Attached Figure Description

[0033] The features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like symbols denote like elements, and wherein: Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of an information processing system; Figure 2 It is a diagram used to describe historical information about business negotiations; Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary working process of a server device; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary working process of a server device; and Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary working process of a server device. Detailed Implementation

[0034] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below.

[0035] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates an exemplary configuration of an embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes one or more server devices 10 and one or more terminal devices 12. The terminal devices 12 are connected to the server devices 10 via a network 11, enabling information communication. For example, the server device 10 may consist of a single server computer or multiple server computers capable of communicating with each other, and where appropriate, the server computer may be installed at one or more business locations of a vehicle dealership, one or more data centers, a cloud, or a combination thereof. The server device 10 corresponds to the "information processing device" in the embodiment. For example, the terminal device 12 may consist of a single information processing device or multiple information processing devices capable of communicating with each other, and the terminal device 12 may have communication and voice input functions. For example, the terminal device 12 may be a personal computer, a portable tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc. For example, where appropriate, the terminal device 12 may be installed at one or more business locations of a vehicle dealership and used by the sales manager. The terminal device 12 includes a communication interface for mobile communication, a local area network (LAN), etc., and is connected to the network 11, enabling information communication. In addition, terminal device 12 includes a microphone for acquiring audio of the conversation between the sales manager and the customer, and a processor for processing the audio information. For example, network 11 is a LAN, the Internet, an ad hoc network, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a mobile communication network, other networks, or combinations thereof in the business premises.

[0036] The information processing system 1 in this embodiment assists the vehicle sales manager in business meetings with customers. During these meetings, the sales manager engages in various dialogues. The sales manager listens to the customer's needs, proposes products that match those needs, and encourages the customer to purchase the product once the customer has gained an understanding and acceptance of it. These products include physical items such as vehicles (including passenger cars and commercial vehicles), vehicle parts and maintenance supplies, as well as services such as vehicle maintenance and road services.

[0037] The server device 10 of the information processing system 1 includes a storage unit 102 and a control unit 103. The storage unit 102 stores business meeting history information 104, in which information regarding the salesperson's first statement (hereinafter referred to as "derivation utterance") when listening to the customer's needs during a business meeting (hereinafter referred to as "derivation utterance information") is associated with information regarding the customer's second statement (hereinafter referred to as "response utterance") indicating the customer's needs (hereinafter referred to as "response utterance information"). The control unit 103 outputs the information regarding the derivation utterance and the information regarding the response utterance based on search criteria. Regarding the product being sold, the sales manager or their supervisor can search and learn from past derivation utterances used by the sales manager in business meetings to obtain response utterances using any search criteria, thus improving the training efficiency of the sales manager.

[0038] Next, the communication unit 101, storage unit 102, and control unit 103 included in the server device 10 will be described. When the server device 10 is composed of multiple server computers, the communication unit 101, storage unit 102, and control unit 103 can be distributed among the multiple server computers as appropriate.

[0039] Communication unit 101 includes one or more communication interfaces. For example, the communication interface is a LAN interface. Communication unit 101 receives information for the operation of server device 10 and sends information obtained through the operation of server device 10. Server device 10 is connected to network 11 through communication unit 101 and performs information communication with terminal device 12 via network 11.

[0040] For example, storage unit 102 includes a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, one or more semiconductor memories used as cache memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of these. For example, the semiconductor memory is random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM). For example, the RAM is static RAM (SRAM) or dynamic RAM (DRAM). For example, the ROM is electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Storage unit 102 stores the control and processing programs required for the operation of server device 10, various information required by server device 10 to execute the control and processing programs, and information obtained through the operation of server device 10.

[0041] The control device 103 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or combinations thereof. For example, the processor is a general-purpose processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), or a dedicated processor for specific processing, such as exemplified by a graphics processing unit (GPU). For example, the dedicated circuit is a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The control unit 103 performs information processing related to the operation of the server device 10, and simultaneously controls the components of the server device 10.

[0042] In this embodiment, storage unit 102 stores business meeting history information 104. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the business meeting history information 104 includes one or more business meeting histories 20. Each business meeting history 20 includes one or more combinations of business meeting date and time, inducing remarks, responding remarks, proposing remarks, and deciding remarks.

[0043] Leading conversation information includes information about leading conversations made by a responsible person during business meetings to elicit customer needs, and includes audio and text of the conversations, a summary of the conversation content, and pattern information indicating the leading conversation pattern. Examples of this pattern include a direct inquiry pattern that directly asks about customer needs and an indirect inquiry pattern that includes small talk to indirectly elicit needs.

[0044] Response information includes audio and text recordings of responses, as well as a summary of the content. Responses are relevant to needs and are initiated by users in response to prompts during business meetings. Needs may include purchase intentions, family configurations, vehicle usage purposes, hobbies, life events, and living environment.

[0045] The proposed statement information pertains to statements made by the sales manager during business meetings based on user needs. It includes the audio and text of the statement, a summary of the statement, and information about the proposed product. This proposal is for a product, including vehicles such as passenger cars and commercial vehicles, vehicle accessories, maintenance supplies, vehicle maintenance services, and road services.

[0046] Decision-making messages are messages that instruct customers to agree or refuse to purchase a product or service offered by a representative during a business meeting, and include both audio and text of the message made when the customer agrees or refuses to purchase the product or service.

[0047] Business negotiation history information 104 includes analytical information 21 derived from business negotiation history 20. Analytical information 21 includes information on the agreement rate for each product associated with the product information. The agreement rate is the ratio of the number of business negotiation histories 20 that indicated agreement to purchase based on the speaking information to the total number of business negotiation histories 20 corresponding to a specific product. The product information in business negotiation history information 104 is associated with the product information included in the proposed speaking information in business negotiation history 20.

[0048] Refer again Figure 1 Storage unit 102 stores a large language model (LLM) 105. In the case where server device 10 consists of multiple server computers, the LLM 105 can be stored in any server computer, such as a server computer providing cloud services. The LLM 105 is a machine learning model that has already performed natural language processing using large amounts of text data, and is a language model that can generally perform natural language processing tasks such as information extraction, sentence summarization, and question answering.

[0049] Next, an exemplary configuration of the terminal device 12 will be described.

[0050] The terminal device 12 includes a communication unit 121, a storage unit 122, a control unit 123, a positioning unit 124, an input unit 125, and an output unit 126.

[0051] The communication unit 121 includes a communication module conforming to wired or wireless LAN standards, and a module conforming to mobile communication standards such as LTE, 4G, or 5G. Through the communication unit 121, the terminal device 12 connects to the network 11 via a nearby router or a base station for mobile communication, and performs information communication with other devices via the network 11.

[0052] Storage unit 122 includes one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of them. For example, the semiconductor memory is RAM or ROM. For example, the RAM is SRAM or DRAM. For example, the ROM is EEPROM. For example, storage unit 122 serves as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. Storage unit 122 stores information for the operation of control unit 123 and information obtained through the operation of control unit 123. For example, storage unit 122 may store control and processing programs required for the operation of terminal device 12, various information required for the execution of control and processing programs by terminal device 12, and information obtained through the operation of terminal device 12.

[0053] The control device 123 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or combinations thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or a dedicated processor for specific processing, as exemplified by a GPU. For example, the dedicated circuit is an FPGA or an ASIC. The control unit 123 performs information processing related to the operation of the terminal device 12, while simultaneously controlling the components of the terminal device 12.

[0054] Positioning device 124 includes one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. For example, GNSS includes at least one of Global Navigation Satellite System (GPS), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), BeiDou, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and Galileo. Positioning unit 124 sends positioning results to control unit 123, and control unit 123 evaluates the location information about terminal device 12.

[0055] Input unit 125 includes one or more input interfaces. Examples of input interfaces include a microphone for accepting voice input, physical keys, electrostatic capacitive keys, a pointing device, and a touchscreen integrated with a display. Input unit 125 accepts manipulations for inputting information for the operation of control unit 123 and sends input information to control unit 123.

[0056] Output unit 126 includes one or more output interfaces. For example, the output interface is a speaker or a display. For example, the display is a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic electroluminescent (EL) display. Output unit 126 outputs information obtained through the operation of control unit 123.

[0057] The functions of the control unit 123 are implemented by a processor included in the control unit 123 executing control and processing programs. Each of the control and processing programs is a program for causing a computer to perform a process included in the operation of the control unit 123, thereby enabling the computer to perform a function corresponding to that process. That is, each of the control and processing programs is a program for causing the computer to function as the control unit 123. Furthermore, some of all the functions of the control unit 123 can be implemented by dedicated circuitry included in the control unit 123.

[0058] Figures 3 to 5 This is a flowchart used to describe an exemplary operation of the server device 10. Figures 3 to 5 Each step in the process is executed by the control unit 103 of the server device 10.

[0059] Figure 3 The exemplary process described above is an exemplary process when business meeting history information 104 is stored in server device 10, and an exemplary process executed by control unit 103 of server device 10 when a user activates the business meeting assistance function of server device 10 using terminal device 12. When the sales manager operates terminal device 12 to request the business meeting assistance function, terminal device 12 sends an activation request for the assistance function to server device 10.

[0060] In S30, the control unit 103 of the server device 10 receives an activation request for the auxiliary function and then activates the business meeting auxiliary function in response to the activation request.

[0061] In S31, the control unit 103 acquires the audio of the conversation. When the sales manager is having a business meeting with a customer, the audio of the business meeting is acquired through the terminal device 12, and then the audio data of the business meeting is sent from the terminal device 12 to the server device 10.

[0062] In step S32, the control unit 103 generates dialogue text about the business meeting. For example, when the control unit 103 receives information from the terminal device 12 indicating the end of the business meeting (e.g., information indicating that silence has lasted for more than a certain period of time), the control unit 103 generates dialogue text about the business meeting by performing sound recognition processing on the audio data included in the dialogue information. At this time, the control unit 103 separates the speech of the sales manager and the customer by performing speaker separation using features extracted from the audio waveform, detecting acoustic changes caused by speaker switching, and clustering of audio data, and generates separate speech texts for the sales manager and the customer.

[0063] In S33, the control unit 103 generates a business meeting history based on the dialogue text of the business meeting. Figure 4 The detailed process of step S33 is shown.

[0064] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process when the control unit 103 generates a business meeting history.

[0065] In S40, control unit 103 extracts each of the leading statements, responding statements, proposing statements, and deciding statements from the dialogue text regarding the business meeting. Control unit 103 extracts each statement by deriving the business meeting date and time from the timestamps of the dialogue information and using LLM 105 to analyze the dialogue text after speaker separation. Furthermore, control unit 103 uses LLM 105 to generate a summary of each statement.

[0066] Leading statements are statements made by the person in charge during business meetings to listen to the customer's needs. They include phrases and contexts that directly ask or indirectly inquire about the customer's purchase ideas, family configuration, vehicle usage purpose, hobbies, life events, living environment, etc.

[0067] Responding remarks are statements made by customers in response to prompting remarks during business negotiations, and include phrases and contexts that express the customer's purchasing ideas, family configuration, vehicle usage purpose, hobbies, life events, living environment, etc.

[0068] A proposal statement is a statement made by the sales manager during a business meeting to make a proposal based on the user's needs, and includes phrases and contexts for proposing vehicles such as passenger cars and commercial vehicles, vehicle parts, maintenance supplies, vehicle maintenance services, road services, etc.

[0069] A decision statement is a statement made by a customer during a business meeting in response to a sales representative's offer to agree to or refuse to purchase a product or service, and includes phrases and context expressing the intention to agree or refuse to purchase. Refusal to purchase includes situations where the customer is hesitant to make a purchase.

[0070] In step S41, the control unit 103 determines whether a response message has been retrieved. If a response message has been retrieved ("Yes" in S41), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S42; otherwise, if no response message has been retrieved ("No" in S41), the process ends. Figure 4 The process in.

[0071] In step S42, the control unit 103 determines whether the lead message that has elicited a response message has been extracted. If the lead message has been extracted ("Yes" in S42), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S43; otherwise, if the lead message has not been extracted ("No" in S42), the process ends. Figure 4 The process in.

[0072] In step S43, the control unit 103 determines whether a proposal message in response to a response message has been extracted. If a proposal message has been extracted ("Yes" in S43), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S44; otherwise, if a proposal message has not been extracted ("No" in S43), it proceeds to step S46.

[0073] In step S44, the control unit 103 determines whether a decision statement in response to a proposal statement has been extracted. If a decision statement has been extracted ("Yes" in S44), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S45; otherwise, if a decision statement has not been extracted ("No" in S44), it proceeds to step S47.

[0074] In S45, the control unit 103 generates a business meeting history by associating induced speech information with induced speech information, response speech information with response speech information, proposal speech information with proposal speech information, and decision speech information with decision speech information, and then ends the meeting. Figure 4 The process in.

[0075] In S46, the control unit 103 generates a business meeting history by associating the initiating speech information and the responding speech information, and then ends the meeting. Figure 4 The process in.

[0076] In S47, the control unit 103 generates a business meeting history by associating induced speech information, response speech information, and proposed speech information related to the proposed speech, and then ends the meeting. Figure 4 The process in.

[0077] Return to reference Figure 3 In step S34, control unit 103 exports analysis information 21. For each identical product or service in the business meeting history 20, control unit 103 exports analysis information 21 by calculating the proportion of business meetings in which a decision statement indicated agreement to purchase as the agreement rate. If no inducing statements and response statements have been extracted in step S33, steps S34 and S35 are skipped, and if no proposal statements or decision statements have been extracted in step S33, step S34 is skipped.

[0078] In step S35, control unit 103 stores or updates business meeting history information 104, including business meeting history 20 and analysis information 21. Business meeting history 20 includes at least initiating speech information and responding speech information, and if a proposed speech has been extracted, it also includes proposed speech information; or if a decision speech has been extracted in addition to proposed speech information, it includes decision speech information in addition to proposed speech information. Then, control unit 103 terminates. Figure 3 The process in.

[0079] Figure 5 The exemplary process described herein is an exemplary process when server device 10 searches for information corresponding to search criteria from business meeting history information 104, and an exemplary process performed by control unit 103 of server device 10 when a user specifies search criteria for server device 10 using terminal device 12. When the sales manager operates terminal device 12 to specify search criteria, terminal device 12 sends information about the search criteria to server device 10. For example, product information pre-stored in terminal device 12 is presented to the user, and the user appropriately selects from the presented product information, thereby specifying information about the search criteria. Alternatively, product information may be pre-stored in storage unit 102 of server device 10 and may be sent from server device 10 to be presented to the user. Information about the search criteria may include an agreement rate. The user can set any agreement rate by operating terminal device 12. Alternatively, search criteria may be any keywords, such as phrases indicating customer needs, or other phrases that may be used during business meetings.

[0080] In S51, the control unit 103 of the server device 10 obtains information about the search conditions.

[0081] In step S52, the control unit 103 searches for business meeting history 20 that matches the search criteria from the business meeting history information 104. If a product is specified as a search criterion, the system searches for business meeting history 20 where the specified product was proposed. Furthermore, if an agreement rate is specified as a search criterion, the system searches for business meeting history 20 where a product with a specified agreement rate or higher was proposed. Additionally, if a keyword is specified as a search criterion, the system searches for business meeting history 20 containing statements including the specified keyword.

[0082] In step S53, the control unit 103 determines whether a business meeting history 20 matching the search criteria has been found. If a business meeting history 20 matching the search criteria has been found ("Yes" in S53), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S54; otherwise, if no business meeting history 20 matching the search criteria has been found ("No" in S53), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S55.

[0083] In step S54, the control unit 103 outputs information about the business meeting history 20 to the terminal device 12. When multiple business meeting histories 20 are output, the control unit 103 can sort the histories 20 in descending order of approval rate, or select and present the business meeting history 20 corresponding to the product with the highest approval rate. Then, the control unit 103 terminates the process. Figure 5 The process in.

[0084] In step S55, the control unit 103 outputs a search failure notification to the terminal device 12. Then, the control unit 103 terminates the process. Figure 5 The process in.

[0085] Upon receiving information about the searched business meeting history 20, the terminal device 12 outputs to the user information including leading remarks, response remarks, proposal remarks, decision remarks, and agreement rates from the business meeting history 20. Conversely, upon receiving a notification of search failure, the terminal device 12 outputs to the user information indicating that no business meeting history 20 matching the search criteria exists. The user, i.e., the sales manager or their mentor, can learn, for example, the business meeting practices of past senior sales personnel by examining, for example, the leading remarks, response remarks, proposal remarks, and decision remarks displayed or output by voice, or by examining summaries of these remarks. Specifically, when the sales manager or their mentor specifies a desired agreement rate, the sales manager or their mentor can learn business meeting practices used to achieve that desired agreement rate. Therefore, the training efficiency for sales managers can be improved. Alternatively, the sales manager can search for past business meeting history during a business meeting to utilize that history for business meeting practices.

[0086] As a modification, the business meeting history 20 may include identification information about the sales manager who conducted the business meeting. For example, when the sales manager operates the terminal device 12 to activate the business meeting assistance function, the identification information is sent from the terminal device 12 to the server device 10, and when the server device 10 generates the business meeting history 20, the identification information about the sales manager is included in the business meeting history 20. Furthermore, the analysis information 21 may include the agreement rate of each sales manager. Using the terminal device 12, sales managers can be specified as search criteria to search for speaking information from past business meetings conducted by specified sales managers. Thus, for example, the business meeting practices of sales managers with good business results can be learned by another inexperienced sales manager. Alternatively, the terminal device 12 can be used to specify the agreement rate of sales managers as search criteria to search for speaking information from past business meetings of sales managers with a specified agreement rate or higher.

[0087] In the above embodiments, some or all of the operations of the server device 10 can be performed by the terminal device 12. In this case, some or all of the business meeting history information 104, obtained from the server device 10, can be stored in the storage unit 122 of the terminal device 12, and Figures 3 to 5Some or all of the processes can be executed by the control unit 103. In this case, the server device 10 and the terminal device 12, or only the terminal device 12, correspond to the "information processing device" in the embodiment.

[0088] In the above embodiments, the processing and control program that defines the operation of the terminal device 12 can be stored in the storage unit 102 of the server device 10 or the storage unit of another server device, and can be downloaded to the terminal device 12 via the network 11, or can be stored in a non-temporary recording / storage medium that can be read by the terminal device 12, and can be read by the terminal device 12 from the medium.

[0089] The embodiments described above have been based on the accompanying drawings and examples. Note that those skilled in the art can readily make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that modifications and alterations are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, functions included in devices, steps, etc., can be reallocated to eliminate logical contradictions, and multiple devices, steps, etc., can be combined into one or separated.

[0090] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will be described below. Note that embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0091] Supplement 1 An information processing apparatus comprising: A storage unit configured to associate and store information about a manager's first statement when the manager listens to the customer's needs during a business meeting, and information about the customer's second statement instructing the customer on the needs; and A control unit is configured to output the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech based on search criteria.

[0092] Supplement 2 According to the information processing apparatus described in Supplement 1, wherein: The storage unit also stores, in association with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech, information about a third speech made by the person in charge based on the request; and The control unit outputs the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0093] Supplement 3 According to the information processing apparatus described in Supplement 2, wherein: The storage unit also stores, in association with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement, information about a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal; The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention; and The control unit outputs the information about the fourth speech together with the information about the first speech, the information about the second speech, and the information about the third speech.

[0094] Supplement 4 The information processing apparatus according to any one of Supplements 1 to 3, wherein: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

[0095] Supplement 5 The information processing apparatus according to any one of Supplements 1 to 4, wherein The control unit generates information about the first speech and information about the second speech from the audio of the business meeting, and stores the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech in the storage unit.

[0096] Supplement 6 According to the information processing device described in Supplement 2 or 3, wherein The control unit generates information about the third speech from the audio of the business meeting and stores the information about the third speech in the storage unit.

[0097] Supplement 7 According to the information processing device described in Supplement 3, wherein The control unit generates information about the fourth speech from the audio of the business meeting and stores the information about the fourth speech in the storage unit.

[0098] Supplement 8 A method of operation for an information processing device, the device being configured to associate and store information regarding a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of a customer during a business meeting, and information regarding a second statement made by the customer instructing on the needs. The working method includes outputting the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech based on search criteria.

[0099] Supplement 9 According to the working method described in Supplement 8, wherein: The information processing device also stores, in association with the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement, information about a third statement made by the person in charge based on the request; and The method of operation also includes outputting the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0100] Supplement 10 According to the working method described in Supplement 9, wherein: The information processing device also stores, in association with the information regarding the first statement, the information regarding the second statement, and the information regarding the third statement, information regarding a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal; The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention; and The method of operation further includes outputting the information about the fourth speech together with the information about the first speech, the information about the second speech, and the information about the third speech.

[0101] Supplement 11 According to any one of Supplements 8 to 10, the working method wherein: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting.

[0102] Supplement 12 The working method according to any one of Supplements 8 to 11 also includes The information about the first statement and the information about the second statement are generated from the audio of the business meeting, and the information about the first statement and the information about the second statement are stored.

[0103] Supplement 13 According to the working method described in Supplement 9 or 10, it also includes The information about the third statement is generated from the audio of the business meeting, and the information about the third statement is stored.

[0104] Supplement 14 According to the working method described in Supplement 10, it also includes The information about the fourth speech is generated from the audio of the business meeting, and the information about the fourth speech is stored.

[0105] Supplement 15 A computer program product includes a computer program for an information processing device, which, when executed by the information processing device, causes the information processing device to associate and store information about a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of the customer during a business meeting with the customer, and information about a second statement made by the customer indicating the needs. The computer program causes the information processing device to output the information about the first statement and the information about the second statement according to search criteria.

[0106] Supplement 16 According to the computer program product described in Supplement 15, wherein: The information processing device also stores, in association with the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement, information about a third statement made by the person in charge based on the request; and The information processing device will also output the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

[0107] Supplement 17 According to the computer program product described in Supplement 16, wherein: The information processing device also stores, in association with the information regarding the first statement, the information regarding the second statement, and the information regarding the third statement, information regarding a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal; The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention; and The information processing device will also output the information about the fourth speech together with the information about the first speech, the information about the second speech, and the information about the third speech.

[0108] Supplement 18 The computer program product according to any one of Supplements 15 to 17, wherein: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

[0109] Supplement 19 The computer program product according to any one of Supplements 15 to 18, wherein The information processing device generates information about the first statement and information about the second statement from the audio of the business meeting.

[0110] Supplement 20 According to Supplement 16 or 17, the computer program product wherein The information processing device generates information about the third speaker from the audio of the business meeting.

Claims

1. An information processing device, characterized in that... include: A storage unit is configured to associate and store information about the first statement made by the person in charge when listening to the customer's needs during a business meeting with the customer, and information about the second statement made by the customer instructing the needs; as well as A control unit is configured to output the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech based on search criteria.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The storage unit is configured to store, in association with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech, information about a third speech made by the person in charge based on the request; and The control unit is configured to output the information about the third speech together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The storage unit is configured to also store, in association with the information about the first statement, the information about the second statement, and the information about the third statement, information about a fourth statement indicating the customer's intention regarding the proposal; The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention; and The control unit is configured to output the information about the fourth speech together with the information about the first speech, the information about the second speech, and the information about the third speech.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is configured to generate information about the first speech and information about the second speech from the audio of the business meeting, and to store the information about the first speech and information about the second speech in the storage unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control unit is configured to generate information about the third speech from the audio of the business meeting and store the information about the third speech in the storage unit.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The control unit is configured to generate information about the fourth speech from the audio of the business meeting and store the information about the fourth speech in the storage unit.

8. A method of operating an information processing apparatus configured to associate and store information about a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of the customer during a business meeting with the customer, and information about a second statement made by the customer instructing the needs, the method of operating being characterized by including outputting the information about the first statement and the information about the second statement according to search criteria.

9. The working method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: Information regarding a third statement made by the person in charge based on the requirements is stored in association with the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement; and The information about the third speech is output together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

10. The working method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Also includes: Information regarding a fourth statement indicative of the customer's intention regarding the proposal is stored in association with the information regarding the first statement, the second statement, and the third statement; and The information regarding the fourth speech, along with the information regarding the first speech, the information regarding the second speech, and the information regarding the third speech, are output together, wherein... The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention.

11. The working method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted from the audio of the business meeting.

12. The working method according to claim 8, characterized in that, It also includes generating information about the first statement and information about the second statement from the audio of the business meeting, and storing the information about the first statement and the information about the second statement.

13. The working method according to claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes generating information about the third statement from the audio of the business meeting and storing the information about the third statement.

14. The working method according to claim 10, characterized in that, It also includes generating information about the fourth speech from the audio of the business meeting and storing the information about the fourth speech.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program for an information processing device, wherein, when executed by the information processing device, the computer program causes the information processing device to associate and store information regarding a first statement made by a person in charge when listening to the needs of the customer during a business meeting with the customer, and information regarding a second statement made by the customer instructing the needs, the computer program being characterized in that it includes outputting the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement based on search criteria.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, characterized in that, Also includes: Information regarding a third statement made by the person in charge based on the requirements is stored in association with the information regarding the first statement and the information regarding the second statement; and The information about the third speech is output together with the information about the first speech and the information about the second speech.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16, characterized in that, Also includes: Information regarding a fourth statement indicative of the customer's intention regarding the proposal is stored in association with the information regarding the first statement, the second statement, and the third statement; and The information regarding the fourth speech, along with the information regarding the first speech, the information regarding the second speech, and the information regarding the third speech, are output together, wherein... The search criteria are search criteria related to the intention.

18. The computer program product according to claim 15, characterized in that: The information regarding the first statement includes the audio of the first statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting; and The information regarding the second statement includes the audio of the second statement extracted by the control unit from the audio of the business meeting.

19. The computer program product according to claim 15, characterized in that, It also includes generating information about the first statement and information about the second statement from the audio of the business meeting.

20. The computer program product according to claim 16, characterized in that, It also includes generating information about the third statement from the audio of the business meeting.

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