Successful outbound calling campaigns include more than just well-trained agents. The software tools you use also have a big effect on the profitability of your sales efforts.
Dialing software is one of the most essential tools for outbound contact call centers. Statistically, agent performance can improve by up to 300% when they use dialing software over manual dialing. However, choosing the right dialing software is important to ensure greater productivity and maintain your business reputation.
Incorrect Dialing Software Can Cause Issues
The right dialing software can boost your sales. On the other hand, if you choose poorly, it can hurt your business’s reputation. The wrong software type or configurations will cause your campaigns to suffer.
Dialing Too Heavily
For instance, contact centers should avoid using software such as power dialers in modern dialing campaigns. They may initially reach more leads, but since they may also dial three numbers at a time for a single agent, they produce a high call abandonment rate. Only one call recipient can be connected to the agent—the others are “dumped.” Cold calling and power dialing have led to consumer mistrust of unknown calls.
Since the rise of call blocking apps and STIR/SHAKEN, carriers now use analytics to monitor outbound call statistics. If a phone number places too many calls, carriers may flag it. For example, a phone number that places more than 100 calls per day can be viewed as a potential robocaller.
Misconfigurations Can Lead To Call Blocking
With a misconfigured dialer, your agents may unintentionally be placing too many calls, exceeding this threshold in call analytics. Also, your dialer may be producing a lag between the call recipient answering and the agent being connected. These calls are more likely to be blocked and ultimately flagged.
Benefits of Selecting the Right Dialer
While power dialers may work for cold calls, they expose your company to a higher risk of carrier flagging. Progressive dialers may be a better alternative, depending on the type of industry you are in and the specific outbound calling campaign you are conducting.
In most instances, the best alternatives are preview and predictive dialers. Both of these dialer types offer unique benefits that will help a particular campaign type excel.
Preview Dialer Benefits
Agents have more control with a preview dialer. Before a number is dialed, the agent can see the name of the lead. They then will either activate the call or skip the number and move on to the next lead. Because these dialers allow agents to pull up lead details before the call is launched, they can customize their pitch and make more sales.
A preview dialer is generally better for campaigns where agents have previous knowledge of a contact, like insurance sales. In addition, this dialing software works very well with campaigns that require a more personalized sales experience, such as luxury goods.
Predictive Dialer Benefits
Predictive dialers increase the contacts made by your calling campaigns, but in a more sophisticated manner than that of a power dialer. These dialers use analytics to determine which calls have a higher chance of being successful. If an outbound call gets a busy signal or incurs a long wait time, the dialer automatically skips it and lets the agent move on to a number that may bring results.
Predictive dialers work well in high-call-volume campaigns. The algorithms they use allow agents to experience less idle time while minimizing dropped call rates.
5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Dialing Software
Take some time to analyze your contact center needs before choosing your dialing software. First, consider the following factors.
1. Contact Center Industry
Your industry is important to consider when selecting the right dialing software. Not every customer is the same, and some industries require a more nuanced approach to sales than others.
Luxury sales, real estate, education, and healthcare industries generally require a more targeted sales approach than general retail sales companies. Simply cold-calling multitudes of people will not yield good results in industries with consumers who may be more knowledgeable and, perhaps, more skeptical. In fact, your contact center should have previous data on these leads. Preview dialers can help agents excel at these conversations by allowing them to quickly research the consumer before placing a call.
On the other hand, telemarketing, finance, debt collection, and political campaigns generally involve higher call volumes, in part because the calls tend to be rejected at a higher rate. These industries might benefit from a predictive dialer that produces more connected calls.
2. Target Demographic
Your target demographic also ties into the dialer type. A certain demographic might respond to a more personalized sales approach.
Surprisingly, while young people ages 18-29 may rarely answer their phones, they are more likely than older consumers to answer a call from an unknown number. A customized sales pitch, with the help of a preview dialer, can be beneficial for your sales success with this group.
You might find that switching your dialer type between campaigns is useful when you’re targeting different demographics (younger people vs. senior citizens, etc.).
3. Number of Agents
The number of agents your contact center has is a significant factor in the dialer type you use. If you have a big campaign planned but only have a dozen agents, you may need to use a predictive dialer instead of a preview version. This strategy helps smaller companies place more calls per agent.
4. Scalability
If your campaigns fluctuate in size, you should also factor in the scalability of your dialing software. Scalability is essential in contact centers, partially because most products and services have peak seasons. It is important to ensure your dialing needs can scale up and down as needed. This allows you to better hire seasonal staff for holidays or heavier outbound campaigns. Cloud-based dialing software is ideal for maximum scalability.
5. Lead Source Type
How your contact center acquires leads also plays a role in how dialers operate. If your company is spending significant sums on extensive lead lists, you can’t afford to waste this investment. Consider using a power dialer or predictive dialer.
However, if you are using lists of highly qualified leads for industries with longer sales cycles, such as real estate or car sales, a preview dialer will be a better choice.
Dialing Software Decisions
The success of your outbound calling campaigns may well depend on the type of dialing software you use. Before choosing your dialer, consider the multiple factors involved in your specific sales effort, including demographics and lead sources. Then make an educated decision. Remember, you can always alternate dialing software types to suit your current campaign.
