Dialers

Calling your list of sales leads is what I would call "Monkey work", this is any task that can be automated with technology, or outsourced to a team of highly-skilled monkeys ;) Dialers are used to automate the calling process for sales reps. They make calling a long list of contacts by using computer software to go from one call to the next. All an agent needs to do is load a list of contacts that can be sorted by any number of variables: such as location of contact, time of day, cell phone, land line, etc. They are often used in call centers to increase productivity. Depending on the type of dialer used you can double to quadruple the number of calls made each day compared with manual dialing.
There are several types of dialers available today.
Hosted Dialers- General Term used to categorize Dialers that are hosted on servers and can be used to run multiple campaigns at once.
Auto Dialers- Make automated calls using pre-recorded messages. The dialer takes a call list dials each contact and plays the recorded message to them or leaves a message on the answering machine. Often contacts have the option to switch to a live agent using their keypad. Also used for surveys and polls using push button technology.
Predictive Dialers- Used in call centers to keep agents talking to live prospects as much as possible. They work on the principle of calling ahead. The software uses mathematical formulas to “guess” when the next live person will pick up the phone and the next agent will be available to speak with them. Using the averages of how long agents spend with each contact, the number of calls to someone picking up, etc. Then the dialer makes calls appropriately to match up agents with live people as soon as they finish their current call. Usually keep your agents taking 70-80% of the time.
Power Dialers- Similar to Predictive Dialers, used in call centers and for sales teams. Where they differentiate from predictive dialers is organization, they don't call anyone until an agent is available and each agent can have their own personal list of contacts where as with a predictive dialer call list is shared by several agent. Agents take a call list and whenever an Agent is “available” in the dialer it calls the next person and the list to keep the agent busy. They usually make anywhere from 300-350 calls a day.