Did you know that only 9% of outbound sales calls actually result in a conversation?

With such a low conversion rate you want to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to make it easier for your sales reps to make calls. And dialing software helps reps call an average of 47% more prospects daily.

That’s why if you’re a sales-focused call center then a call center dialer is the right solution for you. It’ll boost your connections and productivity!

But which call center dialer should you choose? We’ve got the scoop right here!

What Is a Call Center Dialer?

There’s no way around it – making sales calls all day long is hard work. But you know what can help with that?

A call center dialer. But how?

Put simply, a dialer is an application that can automatically make calls to phone numbers. A dialer is used to remove the manual work of actually entering/clicking on numbers. It also removes the need for an employee to wait and see if someone answers on the other end.

Put even more simply: a dialer makes the process of making sales calls so much faster. it integrates with your CRM system to make the whole process easier and more streamlined.

By automating outbound calls you can improve the productivity of your agent or salesperson. It drastically increases the number of calls they’re able to make each day.

What Are The Different Dialer Types?

Now that you know what a dialer is it’s time to pick the right one for you. But there are many different dialer types to choose from!

What Is a Manual Dialer?

This is the simplest type of dialer because it’s literally just your salesperson punching in the number themselves. No fancy tech here.

This is where most small to medium businesses start. Why? Because it’s hard to invest in tech until you’ve outgrown a manual dialing system.

In the beginning, it allows sales agents to choose exactly who they’re calling and gives them the autonomy that allows many salespeople to succeed.

What Is a Click-to-Call Dialer?

You need a CRM system to utilize a click-to-call dialer. A CRM system is just a Customer Relationship Management system that helps manage customer data so that you can find everything about a customer all in one place.

A click-to-call dialer allows your sales agent to just click on the phone number right there in the CRM. This is a great tool for sales because when the employee pulls up the entry in the CRM they have all the information they need to make a sale and to upsell right there at their fingertips.

Additionally, any information that they gain while on the call will go directly into the database so that your team can easily follow-up later on.

What Is a Preview Dialer?

A preview dialer is very similar to a click-to-call dialer in that it allows agents to review all of the potential customer’s information in one place so that they can best prepare for the call.

This is a great thing from a sales perspective because it allows your calls to be information-driven and personalized – which are both important things when trying to make a sale.

What Is a Predictive Dialer?

This is the best dialer for massive amounts of outbound calls. It’s often used in call centers. When you need to go through a long list of potentials a predictive dialer is one of the best ways to do it.

Basically, a predictive dialer uses an algorithm to predict agent availability and then it automatically dials from a selected database. The predictive dialer takes into account things like the nature of calls, average call length, the number of agents, time of day and the algorithm on agent availability to figure out how many calls to initiate at the same time. And once a live person answers on the other end of the line (as opposed to, say, voicemail) the call is transferred to an available agent.

The predictive dialer is great for making a bunch of calls at once, however, the algorithm can easily be screwed up if calls take longer than expected. This means you risk call abandonment if there is no available agent to take the call once someone picks up.

What Is a Progressive Dialer?

A progressive dialer, like a predictive dialer, dials automatically from your database. However, unlike a predictive dialer and its algorithm, a progressive dialer only makes a call when you indicate that you have availability.

The predictive dialer is able to filter out calls that get busy signals, modem signals, and no answers. However, the salesperson has to be the one to determine the difference between a live person answering and voicemail.

Once the call status has been updated the dialer then moves onto the next number in the database.

How Do I Choose the Right Dialer for Me?

What works best for one business may not work best for you. While outbound dialers increase productivity, it’s important to make sure you’re choosing the right one for you and your business.

If you’re making outbound calls en masse – like at a call center – then you’re probably going to want to go with something like a predictive dialer.

However, if you’re a salesperson making calls to warm leads (as opposed to cold calls) then you want something like a progressive dialer which gives you a chance to have quality calls and conversations.

In order to make the most of automated dialing you have to assess your business needs and structure.

Please Leave a Message After the Tone

Now that you know what the different call center dialer options are, it’s time to start picking one out. Contact us today to speak to an agent or to schedule a demo of our products right away.