Sales Dialer Software

What is Sales Dialer Software?

There are a range of different dialing products available for sales teams to use. Each product approaches dialing in different ways, and sometimes vendors offer multiple products with different logistics.

• Potential dialing logistic options for sales dialers are:
• Predictive dialer (multiple calls can be placed simultaneously on separate lines)
• Power dialer (calls are made one at a time)
• Call into the server with a landline (calls are made/taken via the salesperson’s landline)
• Call into the server with a VoIP “softphone” (salespeople can use VoIP telephony business phones to make/take calls)
• Call into server with mobile phone (calls are made/taken via the salesperson’s cell phone)

Auto Dialers for Sales

Automatic dialers, which may include software and hardware components, are a type of sales acceleration technology. However, products advertised as “auto dialers” may vary, since the term has multiple meanings, certain variations include:

1. Tools that automate the process of calling a list of contacts. These products save time and enhance accuracy by substituting for salespeople manually dialing individual phone numbers. This includes predictive dialers, power dialers, preview dialers, etc.
2. Robo-dialers, or computerized calling systems, operate without any actual human telemarketer on the other line. Though this practice is only legal in certain cases (see the 2015 amendment to the TCPA ruling), some vendors still provide software that supports robo-dialing.

Another distinction is between auto dialer software for sales and contact center software, although these products may have overlapping capabilities. Typically, sales dialers focus on outbound calling and contact/lead management.

On the other hand, contact center software focuses more on inbound call routing even though it may include dialer functionality. Some call center software may also have features around support tickets or customer satisfaction surveys.

What is a Predictive Dialer?

Predictive dialers call multiple (often three) phone numbers simultaneously on separate phone lines to maximize efficiency. They optimize sales calls by using information about sales rep availability and the probability of a call being answered to place calls. This allows the software to determine the dialing rate and/or which numbers to dial.

The system only connects a salesperson to the call after a live speaker answers. Sometimes there is a delay after the speaker’s greeting, called a “telemarketer delay,” while the dialer system connects a sales rep. This delay can cause customers to become frustrated, and many choose to hang-up before being connected with a sales rep - which can cause call-drop rate compliance issues.

Vendors and sales reps both acknowledge these risks and disadvantages of predictive dialing. However, because predictive dialers achieve a higher call velocity than alternatives, they remain somewhat popular.

What is a Power Dialer?

Power dialers take a slightly different approach in order to address some of the issues associated with predictive dialing. Power dialers still do not require manual dialing by a salesperson, but instead, call only one number at a time. If the call is not answered by a live speaker, the software automatically moves to the next number on the list.

When a call is answered by a live speaker the sales rep hears their greeting and can respond immediately. This helps to avoid the ‘telemarketer delay’ problem described above. One drawback to power dialers is that they cannot make calls as fast as predictive dialers can. Therefore the right software solution will depend on the user’s KPIs and business goals.

Certain vendors offer products that combine components of both the predictive dialers and the power dialers. For example, XANT has a predictive dialer that uses predictive probability to optimize dialing one number at a time.

What is a Preview Dialer?

The term “preview dialer” refers to automatic dialing software that includes sales intelligence about the contact. The salesperson can use the contact’s interaction history and background details for context during the conversation with the customer/prospect.

Contact Information may be pulled from the user’s CRM records, the contact’s social media profiles, or third-party sales intelligence databases.

Typically, preview dialer capabilities are rolled into advanced power dialing software, but some vendors offer preview dialers as individual products. Alternatively, these features may be part of a product’s dialer-CRM integration.

Sales Dialer Software Features & Capabilities

Preview Dialer Features

• Contact preview: Users can view information about the contact they’re calling; aggregated contact information pops-up to provide context for the sales call.
• Dialer-CRM integration: Dialer software integrates to users’ CRM system to pull in contact information and/or add information about calls into CRM records.
• Built-in CRM: Dialer includes some built-in CRM features.
• Social media integration: Dialer integrates to social media to pull in background info on contacts from social profiles.
• SI database integration: Dialer integrates to third-party databases for additional sales intelligence information, such as Data.com
• Notes & tags: Users can take notes and create tags based on phone conversations; used for organizing/prioritizing contacts and contributes to SI.
• Automatic call logging: Dialer automatically logs all calls (successful/attempted).

Core Dialer

These are the core features that support sales calls with automatic dialing.

• Outbound dialing: Allows reps to automatically make outbound sales calls based on call lists.
• Inbound routing: Routes inbound calls/callbacks to agents based on availability, expertise, or existing relationships.
• Custom caller ID: Users can customize the caller ID that will appear to recipients.
• Click-to-call: Allows users to call contacts by clicking a button/number on the computer.
• Recorded voicemail drop: Users can pre-record voicemails and click to drop the voicemail if a live person does not answer (this allows the dialer to call the next number without having to wait for the answering machine message to finish)
• Dialer contact import: Contacts/leads can be imported via spreadsheets, CRM systems, or lead submission forms on a website.
• Campaign & list management: Users can create and modify contact lists/calling campaigns.

Call Follow-up & Quality Assurance Features

These features allow salespeople and managers to analyze customer interactions in order to optimize sales rep performance.

• Sales emails: Emails can be sent within the dialer software interface for nurturing warm leads or contacting people who were unavailable via phone.
• Follow-up calls: Users can schedule/automate follow-up calls.
• Appointment scheduling: Users can schedule appointments from within the dialer software interface.
• Calendar sync: The dialer software syncs with electronic calendars, such as Google Calendar and Outlook.
• Dialer reporting & analytics: Includes dashboards and/or functionality for generating reports on dialer speed, call/list success rates, sales performance, etc.
• Call recording: Allows phone conversations to be recorded.
• Call monitoring: Allows phone conversations to be monitored for coaching purposes; related to sales performance management.
• Dialer compliance: Supports FTC regulations around time zones and dropped calls.

Sales Dialer Software Comparison

Before deciding to purchase one sales dialer over another, consider these key factors first:

1. Type of dialer: since there are multiple types of sales dialers available (e.g. power, predictive, and preview dialers), make sure to match the type of dialer to your primary use case. For example, predictive dialers may be better suited for BDRs/SDRs that have a very large contact list to get through and who won’t be as concerned if a few prospects drop off the call due to the ‘telemarketer delay’. On the other hand, power dialers may be a better fit for sales reps that want to minimize the chance that the prospect or customer will be frustrated by the ‘telemarketer delay’ often experienced with predictive dialers.
2. Integrations: most sales dialers have integrations with popular third-party CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce or HubSpot CRM), but there are other integrations your team may need as well. For example, if your reps want to plan out cadences that include both emails and calls, you may need to integrate your dialer software with other sales acceleration tools, email providers, and calendar software. Double-check that the sales dialers you're considering will integrate with the other sales tools your team uses.

Pricing Information

Sales dialing software prices can start anywhere between $40-$150, depending on the number of users and amount of features selected. Typically, dialers are priced on a monthly subscription model, per user.