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Auto dialer - Call center software

Enhance agent productivity with an all-in-one auto dialer that helps maximize contact lists for phone calling campaigns

Agent using auto dialer to connect with customers

Auto dialer - Call center software

Enhance agent productivity with an all-in-one auto dialer that helps maximize contact lists for phone calling campaigns

Agent using auto dialer to connect with customers

Auto dialer - Call center software

Enhance agent productivity with an all-in-one auto dialer that helps maximize contact lists for phone calling campaigns

Agent using auto dialer to connect with customers

Auto dialer - Call center software

Enhance agent productivity with an all-in-one auto dialer that helps maximize contact lists for phone calling campaigns

Agent using auto dialer to connect with customers

When you’re running an outbound call center, you’ll want to make the most out of every lead by focusing on the customers. But when agents have to use a manual dialing approach and personally go through a contact list, that can get really challenging. That’s why an auto dialer is essential to the success of your campaigns.

So what is an automatic dialer and what can it do for your business? We have some answers that’ll help you.

When you’re running an outbound call center, you’ll want to make the most out of every lead by focusing on the customers. But when agents have to use a manual dialing approach and personally go through a contact list, that can get really challenging. That’s why an auto dialer is essential to the success of your campaigns.

So what is an automatic dialer and what can it do for your business? We have some answers that’ll help you.

When you’re running an outbound call center, you’ll want to make the most out of every lead by focusing on the customers. But when agents have to use a manual dialing approach and personally go through a contact list, that can get really challenging. That’s why an auto dialer is essential to the success of your campaigns.

So what is an automatic dialer and what can it do for your business? We have some answers that’ll help you.

When you’re running an outbound call center, you’ll want to make the most out of every lead by focusing on the customers. But when agents have to use a manual dialing approach and personally go through a contact list, that can get really challenging. That’s why an auto dialer is essential to the success of your campaigns.

So what is an automatic dialer and what can it do for your business? We have some answers that’ll help you.

What is an auto dialer?

What is an auto dialer?

What is an auto dialer?

What is an auto dialer?

An auto dialer (also called automated dialer or automatic dialer) is an outbound contact center solution designed to make outbound calls on behalf of users. It’s meant to eliminate the need for a manual dialing process in outbound campaigns, primarily for sales or marketing, leading to enhanced productivity.

Interestingly, the first automatic dialing system was originally developed to solve a completely different issue: misdirected phone calls from errors made by human operators. But this mechanical invention, created by an undertaker named Almon Brown Strowger in the late 1800s, became the foundation of large-scale phone calling.

The auto dialer has since evolved to become a specialized innovation for the outbound contact center industry. These days, it’s a staple of modern contact center software and is especially essential for dialing campaigns.

An auto dialer (also called automated dialer or automatic dialer) is an outbound contact center solution designed to make outbound calls on behalf of users. It’s meant to eliminate the need for a manual dialing process in outbound campaigns, primarily for sales or marketing, leading to enhanced productivity.

Interestingly, the first automatic dialing system was originally developed to solve a completely different issue: misdirected phone calls from errors made by human operators. But this mechanical invention, created by an undertaker named Almon Brown Strowger in the late 1800s, became the foundation of large-scale phone calling.

The auto dialer has since evolved to become a specialized innovation for the outbound contact center industry. These days, it’s a staple of modern contact center software and is especially essential for dialing campaigns.

An auto dialer (also called automated dialer or automatic dialer) is an outbound contact center solution designed to make outbound calls on behalf of users. It’s meant to eliminate the need for a manual dialing process in outbound campaigns, primarily for sales or marketing, leading to enhanced productivity.

Interestingly, the first automatic dialing system was originally developed to solve a completely different issue: misdirected phone calls from errors made by human operators. But this mechanical invention, created by an undertaker named Almon Brown Strowger in the late 1800s, became the foundation of large-scale phone calling.

The auto dialer has since evolved to become a specialized innovation for the outbound contact center industry. These days, it’s a staple of modern contact center software and is especially essential for dialing campaigns.

An auto dialer (also called automated dialer or automatic dialer) is an outbound contact center solution designed to make outbound calls on behalf of users. It’s meant to eliminate the need for a manual dialing process in outbound campaigns, primarily for sales or marketing, leading to enhanced productivity.

Interestingly, the first automatic dialing system was originally developed to solve a completely different issue: misdirected phone calls from errors made by human operators. But this mechanical invention, created by an undertaker named Almon Brown Strowger in the late 1800s, became the foundation of large-scale phone calling.

The auto dialer has since evolved to become a specialized innovation for the outbound contact center industry. These days, it’s a staple of modern contact center software and is especially essential for dialing campaigns.

What does an auto dialer do?

What does an auto dialer do?

What does an auto dialer do?

What does an auto dialer do?

Auto dialers—also known as auto dialer software—boost productivity in contact centers by eliminating unproductive activities from the entire sales process. By removing the manual dialing approach from the workflow, it allows call center professionals to concentrate on perfecting their approach to sales and marketing instead.

Auto dialers—also known as auto dialer software—boost productivity in contact centers by eliminating unproductive activities from the entire sales process. By removing the manual dialing approach from the workflow, it allows call center professionals to concentrate on perfecting their approach to sales and marketing instead.

Auto dialers—also known as auto dialer software—boost productivity in contact centers by eliminating unproductive activities from the entire sales process. By removing the manual dialing approach from the workflow, it allows call center professionals to concentrate on perfecting their approach to sales and marketing instead.

Auto dialers—also known as auto dialer software—boost productivity in contact centers by eliminating unproductive activities from the entire sales process. By removing the manual dialing approach from the workflow, it allows call center professionals to concentrate on perfecting their approach to sales and marketing instead.

Types of auto dialer

3 Types of Auto Dialer - Predictive, Progressive, Preview

Auto dialing software has three main types, and each of them behaves a little differently:

  • Predictive dialer
  • Progressive dialer
  • Preview dialer

Predictive dialers

This type of auto dialer is programmed to anticipate the availability of contact center agents for interactions with customers. It makes the appropriate number of simultaneous phone calls based on statistical information like:

  • average agent talk time
  • the size of the dialing campaign
  • the average number of answered calls at any given time

In predictive dialing, the system calls multiple customers even before an agent is finished with a call and connects calls answered by a live customer to the first agent who’s free to take it. It has the most aggressive dialing rate out of all automated dialer modes.

Sales representative using predictive dialer to connect with prospects
Sales representative using predictive dialer to connect with prospects

Progressive dialers

This type of auto dialer is less aggressive than the predictive system in the sense that it’s programmed to wait for the marketing and sales staff to finish their interactions with customers before it starts dialing numbers. It also only dials one number at a time.

Much like the predictive dialer, progressive dialing connects the first available agent to calls picked up by contacts in the list.

Call center agent using a progressive dialer to reach customers
Call center agent using a progressive dialer to reach customers

Preview dialers

This type of auto dialer is quite different compared to the predictive and progressive dialing systems. While the previous two are focused on agent availability, the preview dialer is designed to optimize the interaction between the customer and call center representatives. In other words, its strength is in boosting personalized customer experience.

In preview dialing, agents are provided important information about the person they’ll be interacting with before the number is dialed. Depending on the provider’s offerings, the call can be initiated by either the agent (they can decide if the lead is viable based on the information) or the system (the information is used purely to improve close rates and sales team performance).

Pro-tip: The 8x8 Auto Dialer supports adjustable dialing modes so businesses can customize their campaigns based on their needs. You can set the dialer to Predictive, Progressive, and either of two Preview dialer modes - Preview, wherein the agent chooses to call the customer, and Preview Plus, wherein the system makes the call. Check out the 8x8 all-in-one cloud contact center solution for more details and understand why it's an industry leader in CCaaS.

Contact center agent using preview dialer to close deals effectively
Contact center agent using preview dialer to close deals effectively

Table: Summary of differences between predictive dialing, progressive dialing, and preview dialing

Predictive dialing Progressive dialingPreview dialing
What does this dialer prioritize?It prioritizes quick and efficient completion of campaignsIt prioritizes high productivity and success rate of agents and, by extension, the efficiency of the contact centerIt prioritizes personalized customer experience
When will it start outbound dialing?It will start calling prospects even before call center representatives are done with their previous call, based on algorithmic predictions made using the organization’s workforce and workflow data (almost no unproductive gaps between calls)It will start calling the next prospect on the contact list as soon as a member of the marketing or sales staff finishes up an interaction (allows for a few seconds up to a minute between calls)Depending on the solution, it will either rely on the agent to manually make the call or dial the number automatically once the agent shows a status of being ready for another customer interaction (allows for several minutes between calls)
How many calls does this system place per available agent?It will place multiple simultaneous calls for every agent that’s almost ready to talk to another personIt will place one phone call for every agent that’s ready to talk to another customerIt will make one call for every agent indicating they’re prepared for another call (if automatic dialing is activated)
When should I use this dialer?Use this when you have large-scale, limited-time sales or marketing campaigns requiring you to get through long calling lists - works best if your marketing or sales reps are using a standard script or prerecorded messages ( voice broadcasting )Use this when you have large sales or marketing campaigns that need some level of customization - works best if your lead list is primarily composed of businessesUse this when you’re running smaller campaigns that need to focus on personalized customer experience - best used for activities concentrating on a seamless customer journey like appointment reminders or appointment scheduling

Table: Summary of differences between predictive dialing, progressive dialing, and preview dialing

Predictive dialing Progressive dialingPreview dialing
What does this dialer prioritize?It prioritizes quick and efficient completion of campaignsIt prioritizes high productivity and success rate of agents and, by extension, the efficiency of the contact centerIt prioritizes personalized customer experience
When will it start outbound dialing?It will start calling prospects even before call center representatives are done with their previous call, based on algorithmic predictions made using the organization’s workforce and workflow data (almost no unproductive gaps between calls)It will start calling the next prospect on the contact list as soon as a member of the marketing or sales staff finishes up an interaction (allows for a few seconds up to a minute between calls)Depending on the solution, it will either rely on the agent to manually make the call or dial the number automatically once the agent shows a status of being ready for another customer interaction (allows for several minutes between calls)
How many calls does this system place per available agent?It will place multiple simultaneous calls for every agent that’s almost ready to talk to another personIt will place one phone call for every agent that’s ready to talk to another customerIt will make one call for every agent indicating they’re prepared for another call (if automatic dialing is activated)
When should I use this dialer?Use this when you have large-scale, limited-time sales or marketing campaigns requiring you to get through long calling lists - works best if your marketing or sales reps are using a standard script or prerecorded messages ( voice broadcasting )Use this when you have large sales or marketing campaigns that need some level of customization - works best if your lead list is primarily composed of businessesUse this when you’re running smaller campaigns that need to focus on personalized customer experience - best used for activities concentrating on a seamless customer journey like appointment reminders or appointment scheduling

Table: Summary of differences between predictive dialing, progressive dialing, and preview dialing

Predictive dialing Progressive dialingPreview dialing
What does this dialer prioritize?It prioritizes quick and efficient completion of campaignsIt prioritizes high productivity and success rate of agents and, by extension, the efficiency of the contact centerIt prioritizes personalized customer experience
When will it start outbound dialing?It will start calling prospects even before call center representatives are done with their previous call, based on algorithmic predictions made using the organization’s workforce and workflow data (almost no unproductive gaps between calls)It will start calling the next prospect on the contact list as soon as a member of the marketing or sales staff finishes up an interaction (allows for a few seconds up to a minute between calls)Depending on the solution, it will either rely on the agent to manually make the call or dial the number automatically once the agent shows a status of being ready for another customer interaction (allows for several minutes between calls)
How many calls does this system place per available agent?It will place multiple simultaneous calls for every agent that’s almost ready to talk to another personIt will place one phone call for every agent that’s ready to talk to another customerIt will make one call for every agent indicating they’re prepared for another call (if automatic dialing is activated)
When should I use this dialer?Use this when you have large-scale, limited-time sales or marketing campaigns requiring you to get through long calling lists - works best if your marketing or sales reps are using a standard script or prerecorded messages ( voice broadcasting )Use this when you have large sales or marketing campaigns that need some level of customization - works best if your lead list is primarily composed of businessesUse this when you’re running smaller campaigns that need to focus on personalized customer experience - best used for activities concentrating on a seamless customer journey like appointment reminders or appointment scheduling

Table: Summary of differences between predictive dialing, progressive dialing, and preview dialing

Predictive dialing Progressive dialingPreview dialing
What does this dialer prioritize?It prioritizes quick and efficient completion of campaignsIt prioritizes high productivity and success rate of agents and, by extension, the efficiency of the contact centerIt prioritizes personalized customer experience
When will it start outbound dialing?It will start calling prospects even before call center representatives are done with their previous call, based on algorithmic predictions made using the organization’s workforce and workflow data (almost no unproductive gaps between calls)It will start calling the next prospect on the contact list as soon as a member of the marketing or sales staff finishes up an interaction (allows for a few seconds up to a minute between calls)Depending on the solution, it will either rely on the agent to manually make the call or dial the number automatically once the agent shows a status of being ready for another customer interaction (allows for several minutes between calls)
How many calls does this system place per available agent?It will place multiple simultaneous calls for every agent that’s almost ready to talk to another personIt will place one phone call for every agent that’s ready to talk to another customerIt will make one call for every agent indicating they’re prepared for another call (if automatic dialing is activated)
When should I use this dialer?Use this when you have large-scale, limited-time sales or marketing campaigns requiring you to get through long calling lists - works best if your marketing or sales reps are using a standard script or prerecorded messages ( voice broadcasting )Use this when you have large sales or marketing campaigns that need some level of customization - works best if your lead list is primarily composed of businessesUse this when you’re running smaller campaigns that need to focus on personalized customer experience - best used for activities concentrating on a seamless customer journey like appointment reminders or appointment scheduling

Which dialer should I get?

While you might be tempted to limit yourself to just one type of auto dialer as you move away from the manual dialing approach to contact center processes, it’s better to invest in a dialer with adjustable dialing modes. A comprehensive cloud-based call center software often comes with an all-in-one auto dialer option as part of its outbound dialing solution.

Of course, you can always get separate dialing solutions; but that would come at the cost of efficiency—in both the financial and operational sense.

Which dialer should I get?

While you might be tempted to limit yourself to just one type of auto dialer as you move away from the manual dialing approach to contact center processes, it’s better to invest in a dialer with adjustable dialing modes. A comprehensive cloud-based call center software often comes with an all-in-one auto dialer option as part of its outbound dialing solution.

Of course, you can always get separate dialing solutions; but that would come at the cost of efficiency—in both the financial and operational sense.

Which dialer should I get?

While you might be tempted to limit yourself to just one type of auto dialer as you move away from the manual dialing approach to contact center processes, it’s better to invest in a dialer with adjustable dialing modes. A comprehensive cloud-based call center software often comes with an all-in-one auto dialer option as part of its outbound dialing solution.

Of course, you can always get separate dialing solutions; but that would come at the cost of efficiency—in both the financial and operational sense.

Which dialer should I get?

While you might be tempted to limit yourself to just one type of auto dialer as you move away from the manual dialing approach to contact center processes, it’s better to invest in a dialer with adjustable dialing modes. A comprehensive cloud-based call center software often comes with an all-in-one auto dialer option as part of its outbound dialing solution.

Of course, you can always get separate dialing solutions; but that would come at the cost of efficiency—in both the financial and operational sense.

What kinds of activities benefit the most from automatic dialers?

What kinds of activities benefit the most from automatic dialers?

What kinds of activities benefit the most from automatic dialers?

What kinds of activities benefit the most from automatic dialers?

While it’s easy to assume that auto dialers primarily serve activities focused on getting customers to spend money (part of the sales and marketing funnel, supporting the collections industry, etc), that’s not entirely true. You can also use them to:

  • Support political campaigns - help spread information about platforms, programs, and the like, and invite citizens to provide feedback; in doing this, community and civic engagement is boosted
  • Service customers - instead of relying on inbound calls to help customers, embark on a proactive campaign to follow up on their experience with your brand; when you exceed customer expectations, you get happy customers

There are other use cases and call center applications that you can explore with auto dialing.

While it’s easy to assume that auto dialers primarily serve activities focused on getting customers to spend money (part of the sales and marketing funnel, supporting the collections industry, etc), that’s not entirely true. You can also use them to:

  • Support political campaigns - help spread information about platforms, programs, and the like, and invite citizens to provide feedback; in doing this, community and civic engagement is boosted
  • Service customers - instead of relying on inbound calls to help customers, embark on a proactive campaign to follow up on their experience with your brand; when you exceed customer expectations, you get happy customers

There are other use cases and call center applications that you can explore with auto dialing.

While it’s easy to assume that auto dialers primarily serve activities focused on getting customers to spend money (part of the sales and marketing funnel, supporting the collections industry, etc), that’s not entirely true. You can also use them to:

  • Support political campaigns - help spread information about platforms, programs, and the like, and invite citizens to provide feedback; in doing this, community and civic engagement is boosted
  • Service customers - instead of relying on inbound calls to help customers, embark on a proactive campaign to follow up on their experience with your brand; when you exceed customer expectations, you get happy customers

There are other use cases and call center applications that you can explore with auto dialing.

While it’s easy to assume that auto dialers primarily serve activities focused on getting customers to spend money (part of the sales and marketing funnel, supporting the collections industry, etc), that’s not entirely true. You can also use them to:

  • Support political campaigns - help spread information about platforms, programs, and the like, and invite citizens to provide feedback; in doing this, community and civic engagement is boosted
  • Service customers - instead of relying on inbound calls to help customers, embark on a proactive campaign to follow up on their experience with your brand; when you exceed customer expectations, you get happy customers

There are other use cases and call center applications that you can explore with auto dialing.

How does an auto dialer work?

Automatic dialers that come as part of cloud-based call center solutions work through a computerized setup connected to a phone system. In many ways, it can be considered as a type of computer telephony integration (CTI).

How do I set up an auto dialer?

In order for automated dialers to work, you need the following:

  1. A computer on which auto dialer software can be installed and/or run *
  2. Contact center agents who will be handling calls
  3. Active telephone or VoIP phone lines

Bonus note: If you’re using a standard phone system and not VoIP, you’ll also need a voice modem to get the auto dialer to work.

How to set up an auto dialer on 8x8
How to set up an auto dialer on 8x8

Once you’ve set these up, you can upload or connect a database of phone numbers. From there, you’ll be able to program the auto dialer software to tell the phone systems which leads to call as well as what to do when they encounter unanswered calls for each campaign. This makes the entire sales process much easier.

What’s cool is that, if you’re using modern contact center software that uses a cloud phone system to work, you can even have agents use their cellular phones as they support phone calling campaigns. In other words, your outbound dialing solution can let you leverage a hybrid or remote work environment for employees if it’s supported by cloud technology.

* Depending on the software provider, the solutions may either be accessed as contact center applications stored on a computer or as cloud-based platforms (software as a service / SaaS)

Adjusting auto dialer setup for outbound calls
Adjusting auto dialer setup for outbound calls

Benefits of auto dialer software

Using an automated dialer system for your contact center operations provides your outbound calling teams the following benefits:

  1. Increased efficiency of both contact center agents and operations
  2. Enhanced productivity and success rates of phone connections
  3. Improved adaptability in the face of changes

Let’s get into each of these.

Increased efficiency

As previously mentioned, auto dialers are designed to minimize (if not completely phase out) the manual dialing process. This means more of the operational resources can be focused on seamless customer journey management because the most basic task—calling the customers—is automated.

With less time spent going down a list of leads and waiting for live phone connections, your outbound engagement teams can involve themselves in more calls per hour. Plus, with advanced dialers that can tell the difference between productive and unproductive numbers (numbers that are more vs less likely to result in connected calls based on data), your company can avoid wasting thousands of dollars on leads that don’t work out.

And if it just so happens that your automatic dialer also has adjustable dialing modes and works well with your workforce management tools, you can optimize results for any given situation. This results in better marketing and sales team performance.

Call center manager planning for efficiency
Call center manager planning for efficiency

Enhanced productivity

Along with the increase in efficiency comes heightened productivity. Having more time and manpower focused on activities that really matter boosts agent performance in terms of successful engagement with prospects.

For example: because agents won’t need to worry about initiating the call (not to mention accidentally dialing the same number a colleague would) and waiting for an actual person to answer it, they can concentrate on customizing the experience. The more personalized the interaction, the better the chances of inspiring customer satisfaction that leads to conversions.

Add to this more minutes’ worth of calls per hour as well as better chances of getting live phone connections, and that translates to better results for lead nurturing.

Agent experiencing enhanced productivity through an automated dialer
Agent experiencing enhanced productivity through an automated dialer

Improved adaptability

Another benefit to taking the dialing process out of the daily sales workflow is the wiggle room it gives the organization to accommodate sudden strategic and tactical changes.

Consider a scenario in which teams are reorganized and given new responsibilities. Because agents won’t need to concern themselves with managing different lead lists, they can focus on training for the new phone calling campaigns.

And if your contact center tools also happen to include advanced reporting and coaching features, the organization can more quickly and effectively adapt to abrupt shifts in circumstances. Contact center management has never been easier.

This works even better if you get a dialer that works with the sales engagement platform of your choice on top of an intuitive interface.

Visualization of agent adapting to new workflow
Visualization of agent adapting to new workflow

Key features of automatic dialers

While automated dialers may have different capabilities depending on their providers—this is especially true for providers that offer this as part of an all-in-one cloud contact center solution—there are some features that can be considered essential.

Below are examples of valuable capabilities your business may want to have:

Contact list management

Common in cloud-based call centers that want to maximize their sales funnel through marketing automation, this feature ensures that the organization’s contacts database can be filtered to identify prospects that qualify for campaigns. A more advanced version of this, dynamic list management, automatically updates the lists whenever there’s a change in the leads’ information.

When you’re able to rely on contact center applications rather than people to generate a list of promising leads based on segments and criteria you’ve set for a campaign, your agents can concentrate more of their efforts toward making a connection with the customers.

Manager using automatic dialer to maximize contact list
Manager using automatic dialer to maximize contact list

CRM integrations

Because auto dialer solutions perform activities that require access to customer information, having a built-in CRM (customer relationship management) or outbound sales engagement platform integration feature is a must.

The CRM will be able to provide the software information that’s crucial to campaign and contact list management—this includes customer interaction history, customer preferences, and the like. It also makes updating customer records during and immediately after a conversation easy. And if the CRM comes with detailed reporting, you can also use this to evaluate calling scripts.

Having this in your suite of contact center tools doesn’t just make things more convenient in your daily sales workflow; it also contributes to seamless customer journey management—ensuring campaigns are promoted to the right people at the right time, with the right pitch. In other words, this plays a critical role in marketing and sales team performance.

CRM Integrations for 8x8
CRM Integrations for 8x8

Integrations with other business apps

Customer relationship management is just one aspect of an effective campaign. If you want to optimize your funnel through marketing automation and an automated sales machine, you’ll want to be able to use your dialer with the other applications you use for business.

You can expect a good contact center software offering to include pre-designed integrations for common business apps. But if you want something that works seamlessly with your own tech ecosystem, consider a provider that lets your software development teams play around with APIs.

Agents using business apps alongside CCaaS solutions
Agents using business apps alongside CCaaS solutions

Localization and time zone capabilities

Localization and time zone features increase the chances of customers picking up calls made to them. These include but are not limited to:

Using a local caller ID that matches the customer’s address so they’d be more likely to trust the source of the call

Temporarily excluding or deprioritizing contacts who live in time zones where it’s too late at night or too early in the morning

Having a smart automated sales machine like this means customers will be less likely to perceive agents as nuisance callers. It’s especially important when your campaign strategy features national or international elements.

Clock being adjusted to local time zone
Clock being adjusted to local time zone

Answering machine detection

Answering machine detection (sometimes called voice activity detection) allows the system to make a distinction between calls picked up by machines and calls picked up by people.

This is especially useful in the context of daily sales workflow automation for your contact center operations. Depending on the protocols you have set up, calls that reach answering machines and voice mail inboxes can be either dropped, provided prerecorded messages, or connected to marketing or outbound sales agents who can leave brief audio messages.

Answering machine being detected by automated dialer
Answering machine being detected by automated dialer

Message or voice broadcasting

This particular feature gives the system the ability to play recorded messages to customers who pick up the calls. It’s used primarily for campaigns focused on disseminating information that needs little to no action from the lead. Examples of these campaigns include product launch notices, notifications for upcoming bill collections, and “in case you might be interested” types of advisories.

In the case of bill reminders, a more advanced contact center software offering can set up the message so it connects to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu that can guide the customer through the bill payment process. This is exceptionally useful for companies operating in financial services and the collections industry.

Having this as part of your auto dialer protocols allows your marketing and sales staff to put more of their time and energy into more complex campaigns.

People receiving broadcast message
People receiving broadcast message

Call back features

This isn’t always part of dialer solutions offered by providers; nevertheless, it’s good to have this in any dialer for sales organizations. With it, calls that weren’t picked up by a real person (either unanswered or only reaching a voice mail inbox) are rescheduled.

Instead of being removed from the list of leads, the phone number will be re-added to the campaign so the prospect will not be wasted in the automated sales machine process.

This contributes to outbound sales team performance since it improves their chances of making phone connections with possible customers. By extension, it bolsters the lead nurturing funnel through marketing automation.

Customer receiving a call back from a support agent
Customer receiving a call back from a support agent

Coaching capabilities

For businesses that need to make sure their outbound call team is delivering the best performance possible, contact center tools that give supervisors and managers the ability to provide guidance to teams are a must.

This is why auto dialers with features that allow administrators to evaluate agent performance data—through real-time reports and detailed reporting—are especially valuable. It helps call center employees to stay aligned with organizational standards.

Other examples of coaching capabilities you’ll want your dialer to support typically focus on call monitoring features like:

  • Call listening - leaders can listen in on a call
  • Call barging - leaders can participate in the interaction
  • Call whispering - leaders can send an audio or text message to guide the agent
  • Call recording - instead of listening to calls in real-time, the leader reviews recordings of the interactions in order to provide feedback
Call center manager coaching agents
Call center manager coaching agents

Advanced reporting and call analytics

Being able to gather and interpret data based on phone call activity is a powerful way to determine how well campaigns are performing during sales cycles—and what needs to be done to improve operations or replicate successes.

The thing is, what you’ll be able to measure relies heavily on what your solutions are capable of measuring. So it’s best to determine your organization’s key productivity indicators (KPIs) before looking into dialers that have advanced reporting and call analytics capabilities.

The best options tend to offer the ability to generate real-time reports as well as custom reports that can influence the tactics your campaign strategy features. In most cases, you’d want detailed reporting that helps you drill down to the most helpful insights for your sales and marketing funnel.

Screenshots of Call Center Analytics Tools by 8x8
Screenshots of Call Center Analytics Tools by 8x8

Compliance features

Another important consideration when using automated dialing technology is ensuring that it doesn’t go against regulations like:

  • The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US and Canada
  • Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) for the UK
  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for protecting sensitive information about patients—only important if you’re supporting the healthcare industry

With this, agents won’t be worried about accidentally dialing phone numbers registered on national Do Not Call (DNC) registries. It also guarantees that calls requiring disclosure of patient data are protected, recorded, and saved to ensure cases are legally and properly handled.

List of Regulatory Compliance Badges - HIPAA, FISMA, NIST, SOC 2
List of Regulatory Compliance Badges - HIPAA, FISMA, NIST, SOC 2

Customization features

All automated dialing solutions are, to a certain extent, customizable. But for businesses whose campaign strategy features a whole lot of flexibility, this can make the difference between success and failure.

Aspects of your dialer you’d want to make sure are adaptable to your needs include:

  • The dialer’s dialing rate or mode
  • How long the system will wait for the call to be answered
  • How many unsuccessful attempts (instances of busy signals, call not answered, the customer dropping the call, etc) it will take before excluding a lead
  • How much time it will take before the system retries calling a number

The better you can tailor your automation to your needs, the better your results. And more often than not, you can only find this with an industry leader for modern contact center software.

Collage showing customizable contact center capabilities of 8x8
Collage showing customizable contact center capabilities of 8x8

Looking for an auto dialer for your contact center? Why not try out an all -in-one cloud contact center solution with 8x8, an industry leader in CCaaS?

FAQs about automated dialers

What is the difference between an auto dialer and a power dialer?

An auto dialer is a dialing technology that not only makes calls on behalf of your agents but also systematically adjusts its call-to-agent ratio based on available resources. A power dialer, on the other hand, relies solely on human contact center management to manually dictate that ratio.

Both types of dialer have benefits for contact center operations. But in terms of giving personnel fewer things to do outside of having conversations with customers, auto dialers provide more value.

Are auto dialers illegal?

Most modern auto dialer solutions are not illegal because they typically come with compliance features. These features guarantee that they’re only contacting customers who are open to telemarketing calls and the like.

This is, of course, in response to regulatory mandates that protect consumers like the TCPA (for North America) and the TPS/TCPS (for the United Kingdom).

These regulations also protect individuals from receiving unsolicited calls that deliver messages using a computer-generated voice.

If you don’t have the necessary compliance features, you run the risk of calling people who don’t want to be contacted for commercial purposes—a violation that can cost the organization anywhere from $500 to $1500 per offense in the US and Canada and up to £500,000 in the UK.

How much does an automatic phone dialer cost?

How much an auto dialer costs can depend on a few things. But the biggest factor may very well be whether you’re getting a standalone dialer (separate dialing solutions) or a dialer that’s already part of a cloud-based call center software.

A provider may charge you on an annual, monthly, per call, or up-front basis for standalone software, and that can start at a few hundred dollars. This works fine for smaller operations that don’t rely heavily on phone calling campaigns for their marketing and sales. But this can shoot up to several thousand dollars as your needs evolve. It's even worse if you want the dialer to work with an old-school phone system—you'll have to invest in at least one voice modem for that.

If your contact center operations are going to be a big part of your business strategy, it’s much more cost-effective to partner with a provider that offers comprehensive cloud-based call center solutions that already include an all-in-one auto dialer. For example: 8x8’s X6 charges you $125/user/month for a service that not only offers cloud-based call center software with an adjustable dialer but unified communications features as well.

How to choose the best auto dialer software for your business

To get the best auto dialer for your business, you have to be absolutely clear on what you need it for and how you’re going to be using it today and in the future. With that in mind, here are three questions you need to ask yourself:

  1. What kinds of campaigns will my company run? This gives you an idea of what features you need your dialer to have.
  2. How big is our outbound calling workforce now and how big will it be? If you don’t have a lot of manpower and have no plans on growing it, you’ll probably want to avoid solutions that only offer predictive dialer modes.
  3. How easily can we deploy this software? When looking into automated dialer options, make sure you check reviews for user-friendliness (For example: Does it have an intuitive interface?) and implementation support. That way, you know that the outbound dialing solution will help rather than hinder your entire sales process.

FAQs about automated dialers

What is the difference between an auto dialer and a power dialer?

An auto dialer is a dialing technology that not only makes calls on behalf of your agents but also systematically adjusts its call-to-agent ratio based on available resources. A power dialer, on the other hand, relies solely on human contact center management to manually dictate that ratio.

Both types of dialer have benefits for contact center operations. But in terms of giving personnel fewer things to do outside of having conversations with customers, auto dialers provide more value.

Are auto dialers illegal?

Most modern auto dialer solutions are not illegal because they typically come with compliance features. These features guarantee that they’re only contacting customers who are open to telemarketing calls and the like.

This is, of course, in response to regulatory mandates that protect consumers like the TCPA (for North America) and the TPS/TCPS (for the United Kingdom).

These regulations also protect individuals from receiving unsolicited calls that deliver messages using a computer-generated voice.

If you don’t have the necessary compliance features, you run the risk of calling people who don’t want to be contacted for commercial purposes—a violation that can cost the organization anywhere from $500 to $1500 per offense in the US and Canada and up to £500,000 in the UK.

How much does an automatic phone dialer cost?

How much an auto dialer costs can depend on a few things. But the biggest factor may very well be whether you’re getting a standalone dialer (separate dialing solutions) or a dialer that’s already part of a cloud-based call center software.

A provider may charge you on an annual, monthly, per call, or up-front basis for standalone software, and that can start at a few hundred dollars. This works fine for smaller operations that don’t rely heavily on phone calling campaigns for their marketing and sales. But this can shoot up to several thousand dollars as your needs evolve. It's even worse if you want the dialer to work with an old-school phone system—you'll have to invest in at least one voice modem for that.

If your contact center operations are going to be a big part of your business strategy, it’s much more cost-effective to partner with a provider that offers comprehensive cloud-based call center solutions that already include an all-in-one auto dialer. For example: 8x8’s X6 charges you $125/user/month for a service that not only offers cloud-based call center software with an adjustable dialer but unified communications features as well.

How to choose the best auto dialer software for your business

To get the best auto dialer for your business, you have to be absolutely clear on what you need it for and how you’re going to be using it today and in the future. With that in mind, here are three questions you need to ask yourself:

  1. What kinds of campaigns will my company run? This gives you an idea of what features you need your dialer to have.
  2. How big is our outbound calling workforce now and how big will it be? If you don’t have a lot of manpower and have no plans on growing it, you’ll probably want to avoid solutions that only offer predictive dialer modes.
  3. How easily can we deploy this software? When looking into automated dialer options, make sure you check reviews for user-friendliness (For example: Does it have an intuitive interface?) and implementation support. That way, you know that the outbound dialing solution will help rather than hinder your entire sales process.

FAQs about automated dialers

What is the difference between an auto dialer and a power dialer?

An auto dialer is a dialing technology that not only makes calls on behalf of your agents but also systematically adjusts its call-to-agent ratio based on available resources. A power dialer, on the other hand, relies solely on human contact center management to manually dictate that ratio.

Both types of dialer have benefits for contact center operations. But in terms of giving personnel fewer things to do outside of having conversations with customers, auto dialers provide more value.

Are auto dialers illegal?

Most modern auto dialer solutions are not illegal because they typically come with compliance features. These features guarantee that they’re only contacting customers who are open to telemarketing calls and the like.

This is, of course, in response to regulatory mandates that protect consumers like the TCPA (for North America) and the TPS/TCPS (for the United Kingdom).

These regulations also protect individuals from receiving unsolicited calls that deliver messages using a computer-generated voice.

If you don’t have the necessary compliance features, you run the risk of calling people who don’t want to be contacted for commercial purposes—a violation that can cost the organization anywhere from $500 to $1500 per offense in the US and Canada and up to £500,000 in the UK.

How much does an automatic phone dialer cost?

How much an auto dialer costs can depend on a few things. But the biggest factor may very well be whether you’re getting a standalone dialer (separate dialing solutions) or a dialer that’s already part of a cloud-based call center software.

A provider may charge you on an annual, monthly, per call, or up-front basis for standalone software, and that can start at a few hundred dollars. This works fine for smaller operations that don’t rely heavily on phone calling campaigns for their marketing and sales. But this can shoot up to several thousand dollars as your needs evolve. It's even worse if you want the dialer to work with an old-school phone system—you'll have to invest in at least one voice modem for that.

If your contact center operations are going to be a big part of your business strategy, it’s much more cost-effective to partner with a provider that offers comprehensive cloud-based call center solutions that already include an all-in-one auto dialer. For example: 8x8’s X6 charges you $125/user/month for a service that not only offers cloud-based call center software with an adjustable dialer but unified communications features as well.

How to choose the best auto dialer software for your business

To get the best auto dialer for your business, you have to be absolutely clear on what you need it for and how you’re going to be using it today and in the future. With that in mind, here are three questions you need to ask yourself:

  1. What kinds of campaigns will my company run? This gives you an idea of what features you need your dialer to have.
  2. How big is our outbound calling workforce now and how big will it be? If you don’t have a lot of manpower and have no plans on growing it, you’ll probably want to avoid solutions that only offer predictive dialer modes.
  3. How easily can we deploy this software? When looking into automated dialer options, make sure you check reviews for user-friendliness (For example: Does it have an intuitive interface?) and implementation support. That way, you know that the outbound dialing solution will help rather than hinder your entire sales process.

FAQs about automated dialers

What is the difference between an auto dialer and a power dialer?

An auto dialer is a dialing technology that not only makes calls on behalf of your agents but also systematically adjusts its call-to-agent ratio based on available resources. A power dialer, on the other hand, relies solely on human contact center management to manually dictate that ratio.

Both types of dialer have benefits for contact center operations. But in terms of giving personnel fewer things to do outside of having conversations with customers, auto dialers provide more value.

Are auto dialers illegal?

Most modern auto dialer solutions are not illegal because they typically come with compliance features. These features guarantee that they’re only contacting customers who are open to telemarketing calls and the like.

This is, of course, in response to regulatory mandates that protect consumers like the TCPA (for North America) and the TPS/TCPS (for the United Kingdom).

These regulations also protect individuals from receiving unsolicited calls that deliver messages using a computer-generated voice.

If you don’t have the necessary compliance features, you run the risk of calling people who don’t want to be contacted for commercial purposes—a violation that can cost the organization anywhere from $500 to $1500 per offense in the US and Canada and up to £500,000 in the UK.

How much does an automatic phone dialer cost?

How much an auto dialer costs can depend on a few things. But the biggest factor may very well be whether you’re getting a standalone dialer (separate dialing solutions) or a dialer that’s already part of a cloud-based call center software.

A provider may charge you on an annual, monthly, per call, or up-front basis for standalone software, and that can start at a few hundred dollars. This works fine for smaller operations that don’t rely heavily on phone calling campaigns for their marketing and sales. But this can shoot up to several thousand dollars as your needs evolve. It's even worse if you want the dialer to work with an old-school phone system—you'll have to invest in at least one voice modem for that.

If your contact center operations are going to be a big part of your business strategy, it’s much more cost-effective to partner with a provider that offers comprehensive cloud-based call center solutions that already include an all-in-one auto dialer. For example: 8x8’s X6 charges you $125/user/month for a service that not only offers cloud-based call center software with an adjustable dialer but unified communications features as well.

How to choose the best auto dialer software for your business

To get the best auto dialer for your business, you have to be absolutely clear on what you need it for and how you’re going to be using it today and in the future. With that in mind, here are three questions you need to ask yourself:

  1. What kinds of campaigns will my company run? This gives you an idea of what features you need your dialer to have.
  2. How big is our outbound calling workforce now and how big will it be? If you don’t have a lot of manpower and have no plans on growing it, you’ll probably want to avoid solutions that only offer predictive dialer modes.
  3. How easily can we deploy this software? When looking into automated dialer options, make sure you check reviews for user-friendliness (For example: Does it have an intuitive interface?) and implementation support. That way, you know that the outbound dialing solution will help rather than hinder your entire sales process.