Sales Dialer

Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Automation is making every repetitive process obsolete, including sales. The way businesses operate has substantially changed over the years. To keep up with the changing times, the sales teams need to be armored with the best sales automation solutions.

When it comes to sales automation, the choice is usually between Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer to fill the gap created by repetitive and monotonous work involved in the sales process.

By making a choice between a predictive dialer and an auto dialer, sales reps can effectively invest more time in closing deals. This blog explains in detail how to make the right choice and puts all your doubts on the Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer debate.

What Is a Sales Dialer and Why Do You Need One?

If closing more deals is the game, mere human fingers can’t cut much of the time. Sales professionals have to complete multiple repetitive and mundane tasks, including:

  • Deciding which prospect to call and then dial numbers manually
  • Waiting for the prospect to pick up the call
  • Finding the sales script for the ongoing call
  • Remembering all the important key points and jotting down notes after the call
  • Finding notes of previous conversations with the contact
  • Recording and dropping pre-recorded voicemails
  • Adding selected leads to a new campaign
  • Wasting multiple hours each day logging calls and data entry

This simply doesn’t mean that you should be looking to fully automate the process because the human element is very important in sales. As a business, you can never understand the emotions of your prospects and have a long-term relationship with them.

Sales automation tools like a CRM Predictive Dialer and Auto Dialer act as a brain behind your sales process without losing the human touch. Companies that have a human touch and sales automation tools in their arsenal consistently outperform their peers.

Research by McKinsey shows that the sales team using automation tools has five times the growth of their peers compared to the team with almost no automation.

Auto Dialers and Predictive Dialers handle the repetitive and mundane tasks that a sales agent would have to perform. While both sales dialers handle the dialing operations for agents, there are some major differences between an auto dialer and a predictive dialer.

Auto Dialer

In an Auto Dialer, the software starts dialing numbers in a sequence after uploading the list of prospects and starting a campaign. Without missing any contact or dialing the wrong number, the call is connected to the prospect.

The sales rep also gets the option to drop pre-recorded voicemails if the call goes to answering machines.

Auto Dialer is perfect for a small business sales team or remote agent scenario, as there is a single line, and the dialer dials one line at a time. The agent cannot miss even a single prospect.

The Auto Dialer can make around 75-80 calls per hour.

Cool-off time ensures that there is plenty of time for the sales agent to quickly review the notes before the next call or to get his mind out of the previous call.

These functionalities of the Auto Dialer will increase your sales exponentially by making more phone calls per agent.

Predictive Dialer

Predictive Dialer software uses machine learning and algorithms to ensure no time for the sales reps is wasted.

The predictive dialer software dials multiple numbers at once and connects the agent with the answered calls only. The sales rep can send pre-recorded voicemails with a click, as well.

With advanced algorithms, Predictive Dialer can predict the availability of the agents as well as calculate the time in which a contact will answer the call based on the patterns observed in the previous calls.

A predictive dialer makes multiple calls at once. A team of agents should be available when you are running a predictive dialer campaign.

All the active calls will be transferred to the available agents, and if no other agent is available, the call will stay in the queue. With multiple agents handling all the calls, your business can look after each and every prospect.

Predictive dialer ensures your business can reach thousands of prospects in comparatively much lesser time than manual dialing.

Key Differences between Auto Dialer and Predictive Dialer

The differences between these major call center dialer systems are tabulated below.

Feature Auto Dialer Predictive dialer
Calling Mechanism Pulls contacts from a predefined list of contacts to place automated calls. Routes incoming calls to agents. Places outbound calls a few seconds before an agent hangs up on the previous call, saving precious minutes.
Call log Helps to optimize an entire call list by reducing queue times Helps to place more calls by optimizing dialing time.
Team size. Suitable for smaller teams Suitable for large teams.
Technologies used Requires dialer rate setup, which is manual. AI and statistical algorithms.

How Auto Dialer and Predictive Dialer Act as a Dialing Hand for the Sales Team

With the advancement in sales dialer technology, the Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer choice can be a difficult one.

Both Auto and Predictive Dialing software removes the hassle of deciding which prospect to call, manual dialing, and human errors. This saves time for sales reps that can be used to persuade high-value prospects.

There are multiple instances that show how the Auto Dialer and Predictive Dialer can increase your sales team’s productivity.

1. Saves Time on Manual Dialing Action

Dialing manually costs 15-25 seconds per number. At first, this doesn’t seem to be a big number. Now consider the thousands of calls your team makes per week. The rest is simple math.

Auto and predictive dialers ‌eliminate this manual, repetitive work. Your sales reps don’t have to decide which number to dial and in which pattern from the campaign list.

The predictive dialer will only connect you with the answered active call. You can also drop pre-recorded voicemails if you hit a call that is only receiving voicemails.

Both sales dialers ensure that your agents spend their time only on conversions and winning sales.

2. Automated Call Logging

You have just jumped off a call from a high-value prospect. Just before completing all the follow-up work after the calls: writing notes, moving the deal to the next pipeline, and others, you get an inbound call!

You start to check the contact details of the caller. But by the time you take the call, you have forgotten some key points discussed with the first lead. And the second call is lost.

Sounds familiar, right?

This situation can be tackled with robust features like creating and saving notes while you are on the call. Moreover, you can rate the call and set disposition codes after the call ends. You can then get on the next call in no time. 

With automated dialer integrations, the best part is that you can automatically save all your notes and call summaries and set disposition codes in your CRM.

3. Increased Agent Talk Time

One of the key benefits of auto and predictive dialer software is the manifold increase in agent talk time compared to a manual dialing scenario.

With minimized agent idle time and improved call connect ratio, agents spend more time talking to prospects and current customers on call.

So, with a choice between the auto dialer and predictive dialer, you don’t have to compromise quality with quantity. This ensures that all incoming calls are handled with utmost care while managing the outbound campaign.

4. Conversation Intelligence and Call Monitoring

Sales managers have to constantly keep an eye on the performance of their reps. But on a heavy outbound calling campaign, it’s pretty difficult to monitor the activities of the sales reps.

But, with real-time conversation intelligence, agents enjoy an unfair advantage. Sentiment and moment-by-moment analysis allow agents to know what’s working and what’s not, and that too in real-time.

Real-time prompts make it easier for agents to handle objections and escalation during the calls.

You can measure the performance of campaigns and agents by using comprehensive analytics and reporting. A dynamic dashboard tracks important metrics, including total dialed calls, average call duration, total call duration, and others.

These metrics assist sales managers in analyzing sales reps’ performance.

With the JustCall dashboard, you also get the option to monitor the ongoing call. This includes call monitoring-simply listening to an active call; call whispering-speak to your agent (only the sales rep will hear the voice and not the lead) and call barging or joining the call.

This helps businesses remove bottlenecks and train sales reps for more conversions and sales.

5. No More Human Error

Cold calling with a manual dialing tool can lead to errors such as dialing wrong numbers, feeding incorrect details, and so on. Moreover, when your sales reps spend most of their time in manual data entry, missing out on important key points is bound to happen.

Inaccurate information simply means a bad follow-up call and a lost deal. Also, the time spent on manual entries is the time away from valuable sales deals.

Automated dialing helps in dealing with this drawback. Also, with the note-taking feature in the sales dialer, you will never miss any important points discussed with the prospect.

CRM integrations automatically log these notes in your respective CRM. In this way, you can have a meaningful conversation with the prospects and generate a better chance of a conversion.

Features and Benefits of Auto Dialers and Predictive Dialers

Auto dialer vs. predictive dialer provide different kinds of features and benefits to your business. Let’s understand what they are.

Auto Dialer

Some important features and benefits of auto-dialer are:

Features

  • Integrations with CRM
  • Scripts for agents
  • Dynamic caller ID
  • Detection of unproductive numbers
  • List scrubbing
  • Patch-through calling

Benefits

  • Boost agent productivity
  • Reduce idle time
  • Improve operational efficiency
  • Boosts revenue

Predictive Dialer Systems

Predictive dialer software offers excellent features and benefits:

Features

  • Campaign management
  • Pacing ratio
  • Conferencing
  • Customized dial time
  • Filter-based calling and DNC management

Benefits

  • Smarter lead management
  • Lower operational costs
  • Better customer service
  • Expedited sales

Criteria for Choosing Between Auto and Predictive Dialer

Choosing between best auto dialers and predictive dialers boils down to understanding the needs of your business. The table below highlights a criteria guide to help you make an informed decision.

Business requirement Auto dialer functions Predictive dialer functions
Call waiting Available Not available
Time management Not recommended Highly effective
Agent availability Does not check for agent availability Performs the check
Calls answered Low Very high
Call wastage Some wastage No wastage
Call connection frequency Low High
Agent productivity Low High
Data mining Not available Available
Enterprise size Suitable for smaller businesses Suitable for larger-scale campaigns and organizations

Comparison of Top Auto Dialers and Predictive Dialers in the USA

Making the best selection for your business depends on aspects like customizations, integrations, and customer service levels. The table below shows the top 5 software that provides auto and predictive dialing, compared according to the features.

Parameter JustCall Nextiva Aircall RingCentral Dialpad
Pricing Plans and Packages Starts at $19/ user per month Starts at $23.95 Free trial available Available on request Starts at €20
User Reviews and Ratings 4.3/5 4.4/5 4.3/5 3.9/5 4.5/5
Benefits Close 5x more deals, auto/predictive/dynamic dialer available Full cloud-based VoIP, best business phone award Can be used on any device and is launched using browser extensions Dialer preview for research and call selection to aid with customer relationship Salesfroce native solution
Limitations None Customer service Application is buggy No predictive dialer Hidden costs
Integration with CRM and Other Tools Extensive Available Available Available Available
Customization and Configuration Options Extensive Available Available Available Available
Technical Support and Customer Service 24×7, exceptional service as rated by clients Available Available Available Available
Compliance with Regulations and Laws Compliant Compliant Compliant Compliant Compliant
Use Cases and Examples Used by Domino’s, EY, Walmart Used by Netflix, Amazon, Cisco Used by Pipedrive, Lokalise, Burton Used by Porch, TORO, Tuff Shed Used by Motorola, Stripe, Twitter

Optimize Outbound Calling with JustCall

Running an outbound sales campaign becomes easier and more efficient with JustCall’s Sales Dialer. You can start making calls directly by selecting the curated contact list from your JustCall account or uploading a list of contacts.

You can also sync contacts from different CRM platforms, completely removing the hassle of selecting and creating a list of leads/customers for the outbound calling campaign.

After selecting the contact list, you just have to opt for the auto-dialer or predictive dialer campaign, and you’re all set to run cold calling campaigns.

You can also use our conversation intelligence, JustCall IQ, to train and improve agents’ performance with each call. It serves as a collective brain for your sales team and helps uncover important insights during live calls so that agents can correct them in real-time.

You can access numerous other functionalities, such as call scripts, notes, tagging contacts, or even assigning ratings after the call.

We also offer new JustCall iQ pricing plans with AI capabilities.

justcall-ai-product-pricing

Future Trends and Innovations in Dialers

The future of call center dialer systems leans heavily towards using these communications hubs as a bridge between brands and their customers. Four key trends have emerged:

  • Opt-ins: With opt-ins being majorly employed in email newsletters, the same mechanism could benefit predictive dialer systems for more targeted marketing.
  • Cross-channel data collation: Predictive dialers could experiment with connecting customer information from digital channels with their call details to make better profiles and more touchpoints.
  • Global directory: Predictive dialers can consider listing telemarketing numbers in approved lists to sidestep getting tagged as spam.
  • Call recycling: Managers could experiment with a variety of lead recycling strategies for better pipeline movement.

The Verdict: Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer

Making a decision on the predictive dialer vs. auto dialer debate can be difficult. Both auto dialers and predictive dialers serve as the best sales dialer software. But numerous factors such as team size and the number of calls a day will ideally give you more clarity on which dialer to choose now.

That said, you can increase daily outbound sales calls manifold with both the predictive and autodialer.

If you are looking to get more clarity on an Auto Dialer vs. Predictive Dialer, book a demo with a JustCall representative today, and make your sales process more efficient!

FAQs

What are the main differences between Auto Dialer and Predictive Dialer?

Auto dialer automatically places and routes calls, while predictive dialer places a call a few seconds before an agent hangs up.

Which one is better for small businesses, Auto Dialer or Predictive Dialer?

Auto dialers are a better option for smaller businesses that do not have high call volume.

Which one is better for large businesses, Auto Dialer or Predictive Dialer?

Predictive dialer software is better for managing high call volume and large-scale campaigns.

How much does an Auto Dialer cost?

Several auto dialers like NICE CXone are free, while others can cost upwards of $10/user/month.

How much does a Predictive Dialer cost?

Depending on cloud-based or on-premises solutions, a predictive dialer can cost anywhere between $25 to $300,000.

What are some popular Auto Dialer providers in the USA?

Some popular auto dialer software in the USA in 2023 are:

  • JustCall
  • Nextiva
  • Vonage
  • RingCentral
  • CallHub
What are some popular Predictive Dialer providers in the USA?

Some popular predictive dialer software in the USA in 2023 are:

  • JustCall
  • Five9
  • Nextiva
  • Dialpad
  • TalkDesk
Can Auto Dialers comply with all regulations and laws?

Yes, all reputable auto dialers like JustCall have built-in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.

Can Predictive Dialers comply with all regulations and laws?

There are several rules for predictive dialing in the USA:

  • Early hang up
  • Abandoned calls
  • Live customers held in queue

You can read more about it here.

With a foundational role at Saas Labs, Anand has been a key player in establishing the Product Management function and spearheading the launch of our Conversation Intelligence solution. His expertise in AI innovation guides both the strategic direction of the products and a team committed to excellence.

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