Being part of a dynamic sales team puts you under a lot of pressure as you're constantly on the move, reaching out to prospects, building connections, and closing deals. Despite having an impressive pitch and a winning attitude, there's one thing slowing you down—manual dialing.
In today’s sales scenario, every minute counts and each call is valuable. That’s where Auto Dialer comes in. They’ve become a game changer because they help your sales team work more efficiently, making the whole calling process smooth and hassle-free.
Businesses need to reach out to current and potential customers for all sorts of reasons, whether it's to introduce new products, promote existing services, announce deals or discounts, or conduct market research.
In this blog post, we'll dive into autodialers—what they are, their types and things to keep in mind while choosing the right fit for your business needs.
What is Autodialer Software?
It is a software, commonly found in Contact Center Solutions, is widely used for outbound sales roles, tele-marketing, customer service centers, collection agencies. It automates the process of dialing phone numbers from a contact list or database housed within CRM.
The primary goal of auto dialer software is to make as many calls as possible in short amount of time. When a call is answered, the auto dialer either connects the caller to the available agent or plays a prerecorded IVR message. These autodialers excel at managing large outbound campaigns, saving time in processing call data and minimizing cold transfers thereby leading in improved ROI and productivity for contact center.
Types of Auto dialers
-
Predictive Dialer
A predictive dialer is an outbound calling software that simultaneously dials multiple phone numbers. With inbuilt AI algorithm, it anticipates the exact time an agent will take to finish the call and places new calls to either that agent or another available agent. Here the agents do not manually dial anyone, instead the system calls clients and those who answer are connected to the available agents. Predictive outbound dialer helps in achieving high call connect rates and is particularly suitable for large teams and campaigns.
-
Preview Dialer
A preview dialer presents information about the customer to the agent, allowing them to decide whether to place the call or not. Preview dialers are typically used for running outbound marketing campaigns on a smaller scale and to make the outbound calling process more result-oriented, as they simplify the handling of more complex customer cases for agents.
-
Progressive Dialer
Progressive dialers strike a balance between agents and automation. They call numbers sequentially and connect the agent only when there is a live person on the other end. Before each call is placed, the agent has the opportunity to review information about the person who is being called, which is typically pulled from a CRM record. This approach ensures improved call quality and adds a personalized touch to interactions.
-
Manual Dialer
A manual dialer requires agents to dial phone numbers manually, one at a time, rather than relying on an automated system. This approach allows agents to have complete control over the dialing process, making it particularly suitable for situations where a personalised touch and detailed research before each call are crucial. These dialers are typically used in scenarios where the quality of interactions takes precedence over the quantity of calls made, such as in complex sales processes, high-value customer service, or in-depth consultations. While this method can be more time-consuming compared to automated dialing solutions, it ensures that each call is intentional and informed, leading to potentially higher satisfaction and better outcomes for both the agent and the customer.
Once you’ve have decided an auto dialer is right for your business, Choosing the autodialer service provider becomes the next step.
-
Assess your needs
Start by talking to stakeholders and users to get a full picture of what you need. Combine their feedback with your technical and business requirements to make a shortlist. Think about things like how many calls you need to make, agent availability, campaign goals, compliance, and your budget. Once you have a clear understanding, prioritize these needs. You can rank them as P1, P2, P3, etc., or use the MoSCoW method: Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won’t have right now. This prioritized list will help you choose the right type of auto-dialer and the best vendor. Don’t forget to consider all the ways your outbound call center will use the auto-dialer when assessing your needs.
-
Researching types of dialers
You've got a few options when it comes to auto-dialers: Predictive, Preview, Progressive, Manual.
Choosing the right one depends on how well it fits your business and your users' needs. Make sure your users are okay with and without a preview feature, check if you can upload your own data, and be sure you're not violating any telecom guidelines.
-
Compare feature and pricing
When searching for an auto-dialer, start by looking for a good deal. If you have a specific budget in mind, make sure to figure that out before. This can help you narrow down your options and avoid wasting time with providers that are out of your price range. Some providers offer dialers as part of a bigger contact center package. If you already use a contact center platform, check if your current provider offers auto-dialer software. If they don’t, see if they can integrate with other dialer options.
Besides integration, think about any special features your business might need. For instance, you might require call recording for compliance or call monitoring for quality control.
This could also be a good time to review your entire call center setup. Maybe you're considering moving to the cloud or expanding to omnichannel support? Take the opportunity to assess all the features your department or business needs.
-
Read reviews and ask for references
Check out review sites to help you decide. If you notice one vendor getting consistently bad reviews, that's a warning sign. You can cross them off your list. On the flip side, if a vendor has lots of good reviews, that's a positive sign. If you're part of an industry community or attend events where you meet others in your field, ask them about the auto-dialer they use. Also, when you're talking to vendors about their dialer options, look for case studies from businesses similar to yours. If you can't find any, ask for a reference client. Usually, vendors are happy to connect you with one of their existing customers so you can learn more.
-
Choose a reputable vendor
You don’t need to relay on the claim of the vendor’s website that they provide “the best auto-dialer software” or say, “Our customers love us.” Take your time to evaluate things that matter the most when selecting your business partner. There are many providers in india.
Things you need to look for when choosing an auto-dialer solution vendor: 24x7 customer support that matches your time zones, guaranteed SLA, outage resolution timeframes, ability to offer fully integrated service.
Wrapping Up…!
Modern dialing technology isn’t just about boosting productivity and managing information. It is designed to support call center teams, reducing their workload and helping them to achieve the best quality service. Thus, an autodialer takes care of the unnecessary and repetitive tasks so your teams don’t have to.
All you need to do is choose the right type of auto-dialer for your business. This choice often depends on the work dynamics of your agents and sales team, so make sure that it fits your needs the best.
In turn, this will make life easier for your agents by expediting their outbound calling activities, reducing the idle time, and increasing their efficiency. This boosts sales and ROI, helping you grow your business cost-effectively.
