If your business relies on a call center to keep generating sales, then it is critically important to use your dialer efficiently and effectively. There are many different types of dialers on the market, and there are ways to increase your calling abilities and save time with each of them.
A predictive dialer is a popular model because it can place an extremely high volume of calls every day. If this is your first time using a dialer like this, you may actually be surprised with how many calls it can actually make. Chances are your call center representatives will soon have more calls than they can actually handle.
With this dialer, be prepared to lose some leads. The way it works is to attempt to predict when the next phone representative will be available to make a call. By making several calls at once, the predictive dialer takes the risk that one of those calls might not be taken by a phone rep before the person on the other end answers.
This is considered an abandoned call and there are regulations in place for how many of your calls are allowed to be abandoned in a day. It also leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the person your company just called.
Power dialers are another popular option. These dialers also automate the calling process, which means you can reach a lot of people every day (up to 300 or 350 calls in some cases). It won’t make as many calls as a predictive dialer, but it will definitely help prevent so many calls from being abandoned.
These power dialers can help you increase your productivity, just like a predictive dialer, but it will require a little more of a hands-on approach. The phone representatives will have a lot more control of the dialed calls, but that also means they will be able to steer the call from the time it is placed.
The most important aspect of this is that the person you’re calling is greeted promptly and efficiently by a human voice, in a timely manner. If the call goes unanswered, the phone rep can then leave a message-a real, live person leaving a message is always better than some poorly timed, pre-recorded message.
A power dialer will help you save time and stop you from losing some leads, but a predictive dialer is also a very useful tool. It doesn’t matter which one you go with as long as you remember that your customers really need to be treated with understanding and respect.
Lisa Anderson has been an avid blogger and print journalist over the last 8 years and has been involved with InsideSales.com. She is an expert in dialers and managing of leads. Learn more here.