Auto dialers are incredibly helpful software solutions for outbound call center teams. In fact, if your sales agents typically make hundreds of sales calls per day, using auto dialer software isn’t just a privilege but rather a necessity. But with so many dialer solutions out there in the market, choosing one that would best fit the needs of your sales team might be a challenge, at least unless you know exactly what you should be looking for. Here’s what auto dialing solutions are all about and what to look for when choosing the best dialer solution for your call center team.

 

What is Auto Dialer Software?

 

Auto dialer software allows you to automate and optimize the process of making outbound phone calls to your prospects or customers by automatically dialing numbers from your lead lists and eliminating the need for your sales reps to do it manually. It enables your sales team to make more outbound calls in less time and ultimately helps you increase the efficiency of your outbound calling campaigns. Auto dialers are often part of outbound contact center software solutions.

 

Features to Look for When Selecting the Best Dialer for Call Center

 

 

Whether you’re looking to switch from your current dialer software provider or want to choose the first auto dialing solution, it all comes down to figuring out what features are critical for your team. While you might not necessarily need all of them, below are the list of features and capabilities to look for when selecting the best auto dialer for your call center.

 

Predictive dialing

 

Auto dialers typically operate in several dialing modes, including power dialing, predictive dialing, and preview dialing – and many dialer providers allow you to choose between multiple dialing modes based on the specifics of your calling campaign and your goals. But predictive dialing is the most advanced. Predictive dialers (also known as AI dialers) use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to automatically adjust the dialing rate and ensure each sales rep is connected to the next call right after they complete their previous interaction. With an AI Dialer, you can minimize idle time between calls and increase agent talk time, which means your reps can handle more calls and convert more prospects in a shorter amount of time.

 

Intelligent lead distribution

 

With intelligent lead distribution, your sales reps aren’t just connected to random leads when running outbound calling campaigns. The dialer software that supports intelligent lead distribution can automatically score your leads, prioritize them, and connect them to the most relevant sales agents based on agent skills and other criteria. That helps you ensure that higher-priority leads are taken care of first, enabling you to increase the efficiency of your calling campaigns.

 

Local caller ID

 

Low call answer rate has always been one of the biggest challenges for sales teams, especially when running cold calling campaigns. This is because most people simply don’t want to answer calls from unknown numbers and often consider them spam. With local caller ID, the dialer software can dynamically display numbers with local area codes on your prospects’ caller ID. Research from Software Advice found that people are four times more likely to answer calls from local numbers, making local caller ID a valuable feature to look for in dialer software.

 

Automated voicemail drop

 

Considering that nearly 80% of all cold calls end up going to voicemail, and a typical sales rep leaves around 70 voicemails per day on average, automated voicemail drop might be a critical feature for your sales team. With automated voicemail drop, the dialer system can automatically leave pre-recorded messages in your prospects’ voicemail inboxes when they don’t pick up. That means your sales team doesn’t have to leave voicemails manually each and every time, saving them a bunch of time and effort.

 

Number reputation management

 

Maintaining a good number reputation improves call answer rates and helps protect you from regulatory penalties, which makes number reputation management an extremely helpful feature. It constantly monitors the health and reputation of the phone numbers used in your outbound calling campaigns and alerts you when a number’s reputation is at risk. Some dialer systems can automatically cycle through a pool of numbers to avoid overuse of any single number, helping you reduce the risk of your numbers being flagged as spam. And when the system detects a number that is flagged or blocked by carriers, it automatically replaces it.

 

DNC list compliance

 

This feature makes it easy for call centers to comply with applicable DNC regulations by preventing calls to contacts on Do Not Call lists. With automated DNC list scrubbing, the dialer software can automatically compare your contacts against national and regional DNC lists (e.g., the U.S. National Do Not Call Registry) and prevent any numbers listed on these registries from being called, helping you ensure compliance. In addition, many dialer solutions also allow you to create custom DNC lists specific to your organization.

 

Call summary

 

With call summarization, the dialer system can automatically generate accurate and concise summaries of every outbound call that include interaction insights, such as key points discussed, products/ solutions offered, customer sentiment, call outcome, action items, next steps, and more. Agents can review call summaries to better prepare for follow-up calls. And for managers and supervisors, it’s a great way to assess the quality of interactions and agent performance without having to listen to the entire recording of every call or go through call transcripts.

 

Reporting and analytics tools

 

Reporting and analytics features of auto dialing software enable you to stay on top of your call center operations and your sales team’s performance. With reporting tools, you can track the number of calls per agent, call answer rates, dropped call rates, average handle times, conversions, and other critical metrics and KPIs. Many dialer providers will also allow you to track certain metrics in real time, so you’ll know exactly how your calling campaigns are performing.

 

CRM integration

 

The dialer’s ability to integrate with your CRM system is essential. With an integrated solution, your sales reps can run outbound calling campaigns right from your CRM without having to constantly switch between the two systems, while data will be automatically synced between the platforms. What’s more, your sales agents will have instant access to all the available customer data from your CRM right as they are handling calls. That enables them to deliver more personalized experiences.

 

Wrapping up

 

Auto dialers are must-have tools for modern outbound sales teams. When choosing a dialer software provider for your call center, make sure it offers all the features and capabilities that are critical to your sales team. With the right auto dialing solution, your sales team will be empowered to make more outbound calls in less time with less manual effort, connect with prospects more strategically, and convert more leads, generating revenue for your business.