When we are talking about what is better to use: manual dialing or auto dialer, it is like comparing driving a sports car with walking on your own feet. In other words, this is the issue of speed: you can process all your contact bases manually, but how much time would it take?

We all know that the world is shifting towards automation, especially when it comes to manual tasks and processes. Therefore, ignoring such a great option as using an auto dialer isn’t a good idea if you focus on improving your business efficiency and reaching your business goals.

Now, let’s deal with the key questions about auto dialers.

What Is an Auto Dialer?

Auto dialer is a software tool that automates dialing process and allows business to perform more outbound calls per the same period of time compared to manual dialing. Besides dialing automation, auto dialer can also identify unsuccessful phone calls to avoid connecting agents with such calls and waiting their working time. It can also provide the user with deep analytics and insights into the performance of outbound calling campaigns, as well as integrate data from the CRM software or call scripts.

How does an auto dialer work?

Auto dialer is a general term, and there are numerous types of auto dialers, mostly differentiated into four main kinds of auto dialer: Power dialer, Preview dialer, Predictive dialer, and Progressive dialer. All of them serve different purposes and have unique features.

What Is a Predictive Dialer?

Predictive dialer is a type of auto dialer that is designed specifically for cold calling with unique calling algorithm that allows to perform over 100 call attempts per agent per hour.

How does predictive dialers work?

Predictive dialer works as any other auto dialer – uses pre-imported contact base, takes phone numbers from there and starts calling them and connecting successful calls to agents. Nevertheless, it has one vital difference from other auto dialers: it uses smart algorithms to predict average call duration and initiate a new call even before the last one is still in progress. Thus, it can come up with a new call exactly when the agent ends his previous call.

Therefore, the Predictive dialing mode provides the fastest dialing pace compared to other auto dialing methods: 100 calls per agent per hour with a 75% connection rate, which makes it the best solution for cold calls. Anyhow, it has some unique characteristics that make it not the best option for warm calling.

Predictive Dialer vs Auto Dialer: What to Know

First auto dialers were designed in eraly 1940s, and used in banks – they could automatically dial phone numbers, but were limited to 52 of phone numbers available in advanced versions – basic ones had 12 numbers available.

As the technological advancement have been developing, auto dialers have become common in almost all business industries – sales, healthcare, government institutions, financial institutions, retail,etc.

Modern auto dialers are totally automated and have advanced features and algorithms aimed at improving the dialing pace and analytics in order to boost the campaign effectiveness.

Benefits of a Predictive Dialer

• Can dial as many phone numbers as you want – limited only with the number of agents
• Fastest dialing speed among all other auto dialers
• Highest call connection rate
• Advanced analytics

Benefits of an Auto Dialer

• Can use different calling algorithms, not only predictive
• Distributes calls between available agents.
• Can be used for warm calls too
• Can work with only one agent available at a time
• Can leave voicemails

Weaknesses of a Predictive Dialer

• Doesn’t have call waiting.
• Can cause dropped calls
• Requires at least five agents to work properly
• Can’t work with warm calls
• Can’t leave voicemails

Choosing the Right VoIP Phone System

All VoIP phone systems offer a variety of voice calling features. Most of them include some type of dialer. How do you narrow down the choices? Read on for five tips on how to choose the right VoIP phone system to meet your small business needs for a predictive dialer or auto dialer.

• Consider the size of your customer base. With a preview dialer, reps can view the next call in line and decide whether to skip it. By contrast, a progressive dialer automatically dials the next call on the list. Smaller companies may prefer a power dialer while larger companies may benefit more from a predictive dialer.
• Identify the features you need. Automatic dialers come with features like opt-out management, CRM integration, dashboard reporting, speech recognition, IVR capability, and more.
• Consider the size of your team. Predictive dialers and auto dialers don’t make sense for teams with just a few reps, but other voice features may be important for your business.
• Ask the vendor if you can do a trial. The best sales dialers are intuitive and easy to use. They’ll save you lots of training time.
• Choose a vendor that has a reputation for strong customer support. You’ll want assurance that the company will be there for you when you need them.

Optimizing outbound calls is crucial for the growth of small businesses, presenting two key challenges. Firstly, implementing features like predictive dialers or auto dialers should increase qualified leads, conversion rates, and overall business success. Tracking data is essential to ensure these objectives are being met. Secondly, outbound calling can become repetitive, leading to a lack of motivation and enthusiasm among sales and support agents. Without a positive work culture, it’s challenging for these teams to perform optimally.

Predictive and auto dialers address both challenges effectively. Here are some strategies to optimize outbound calls, boosting sales and revenue while fostering a positive team culture:

• Utilize Predictive Dialers: Implementing predictive dialers can increase efficiency by automatically dialing multiple numbers simultaneously, connecting agents only to live calls. This reduces downtime and increases productivity.
• Track and Analyze Data: Regularly track and analyze data from outbound calls to monitor lead quality, conversion rates, and overall performance. Use this data to refine strategies and improve outcomes.
• Provide Training and Support: Offer comprehensive training and ongoing support to sales and support agents to ensure they have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in outbound calling efforts.
• Encourage Positive Work Culture: Foster a positive work environment by recognizing and rewarding achievements, promoting open communication, and providing opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Rotate Tasks and Offer Variety: Rotate tasks and provide opportunities for variety in outbound calling activities to prevent monotony and keep agents engaged and motivated.

By implementing these strategies and leveraging predictive and auto dialer technology, businesses can optimize outbound calls to drive sales and revenue while maintaining a positive team culture.

1) Set clear goals, metrics, and KPIs.

You can’t achieve success without understanding your goals and the ways you will measure your progress in achieving them. Thus, set up clear goals and choose appropriate metrics you will use to measure your KPIs – remember that metrics and KPIs aren’t the same thing, metrics are used to measure KPIs, not vice versa. Such metrics include:

• Average call handling time
• Conversion rate
• First call close or first call resolution
• Average wait times
• Average time to return a call

2) Personalize scripts.

Don’t forger about the call scripts – processing hundreds of cold calls per day can be an effortful task for agents, so to minimize the risk of human errors and to improve efficiency, provide agents with call scripts that will help them overcome customer objections and deal with difficult situations.

3) Scale your team.

Always remember, that your success depends on appropriate workforce management – even though it isn’t as critical in outbound call centers as it is in inbound call centers, yet the right number of agents can make difference when it comes to handling thousands of outbound calls.

4) Track and analyze call data.

Always measure call center analytics in order to find out whether you can find improvement areas and provide agents with additional knowledge or tools to boost their productivity and performance.

5) Use multiple channels for outreach.

Even though telemarketing is all about phone calls and phone calls is the only way to build rapport during cold sales, still use other communication channels to ensure follow-ups and provide customers with an opportunity to choose from which contact channels they prefer more. 

6) Set reasonable, attainable quotas for sales and support reps.

Sales quotas exist to be met, not to be set. Some call center managers think that setting up unreachable quotas is a way to motivate agents, but it is the direct path to burnout and frustration – don’t try to jump higher than you can. 

7) Record customer interactions and review them.

Call recordings offer opportunities to understand where your agents do well and where they need assistance and help. Thus, don’t ignore the importance of call recording feature – it is a great way to ensure proper analysis of agent performance and skills.