Build a Searchable Archive of Broker and Vendor Calls

1. Go to Otter's website and sign up with your work email.
2. Verify your email address and complete the basic profile setup.

What you should see: A dashboard, mostly empty, with an option to connect a calendar or start recording. Troubleshooting: If your company blocks new account sign-ups on the work network, try from a personal device first to confirm the service works before asking IT to allow it.

1. In your account settings, look for the option to connect a calendar or a meeting platform.
2. Link the calendar you use to schedule broker, carrier and vendor calls, and choose whether Otter should join automatically or only when you invite it.

What you should see: Upcoming meetings from your calendar listed inside Otter, with an option to have it join and transcribe automatically. Troubleshooting: If Otter does not show a meeting you expect, check that the calendar event actually includes a video link. Calendar-only invites without a conferencing link will not trigger automatic joining.

This is the step to slow down for. Recording a call without permission is a legal problem in some states, not just an etiquette one.

1. Before the call starts, tell every participant the call will be recorded and transcribed, and give them a chance to object.
2. If your organization operates across state lines, treat every call as if it needs everyone's consent rather than assuming your state's rule applies. A number of states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington, require all participants to agree before a call can be recorded, and a few more states have mixed or unsettled rules. When a call crosses state lines, the stricter state usually controls.
3. Use Otter's recording disclaimer feature where available. It can send an automatic notice to participants that the call is being recorded, and it can capture explicit recording permission for Microsoft Teams calls specifically.

What you should see: A verbal or written acknowledgment from participants before the recording starts. Troubleshooting: If a broker or carrier representative objects to being recorded, respect that and take manual notes instead. Do not record over an objection.

1. Once the call ends, open the transcript in your Otter dashboard.
2. Rename it with something searchable: the vendor name, the topic and the date, for example "Dental carrier, rate guarantee discussion."
3. Skim the AI-generated summary and fix any obviously wrong names or numbers before you rely on it later.

What you should see: A clean transcript with speaker labels and a short summary at the top. Troubleshooting: Speaker labels are sometimes wrong on the first pass, especially with multiple unfamiliar voices on the call. Relabel them manually so future searches return the right speaker.

1. Use the search bar across your Otter workspace, not just a single transcript, to look across every past call.
2. Search for a vendor name, a topic, or a specific phrase you remember from the conversation.

What you should see: A list of matching moments across multiple calls, each linking to the exact point in the transcript. Troubleshooting: If a search comes up empty, try a shorter or more general term. Exact phrase matches can miss a slightly different wording than what was actually said.