Do Predictive Dialers Lead To More Sales?

Ring, ring.

No answer. That was your 23rd call. You have 77 more dials to go for the day.

No one misses that nightmare. Now, sales teams have predictive dialers doing the tedious stuff for them. But it begs the question: how effective are these predictive dialers? Do they actually lead to more sales for everyone?

At Myphoner,we believe in empowering sales teams to take the right approah to cold calling.

In this article, we're going to cover everything you need to know about predictive dialers (like their effectiveness) and suggest power dialers as an alternative cold calling system so you can decide the best way to automate your sales workflow.

What is a predictive dialer?

A predictive dialer sometimes referred to as a robo-dialer or an auto-dialer, is an outbound call processing and managing system that connects leads with agents.

This cold calling software automatically dials multiple phone numbers simultaneously. Then, it directs the answered calls to live agents based on machine learning about when an agent will likely be available to take the call.

It may seem like a good idea on paper, but predictive dialling systems have made it easier to make 'robocalls'.

With this amount of these users being bad faith actors (scammers and the like), the traditional automated cold call has become synonymous with being disingenuous.

All of this means that predictive dialers have become a hotly contested product in the world of cold-calling, with lots of people asking "Is this an efficient way to generate more sales, or has it taken automation too far?"

Why do people use predictive dialers?

Predictive dialers do have their benefits. In the right hands, they can unlock a brilliant level of efficiency.

Without having to manually call your prospects and wait for new calls to come through, sales agents can dramatically improve their utilization.

Since the advent of predictive dialers, cold callers can contact more people, with less stress about manually determining if leads are active or not.

There's no question as to why it's been the industry standard. There has been a massive shift, however, as prospects are getting tired of robocalls and such.

With tools such as Myphoner's Power Dialer, the flaws of the archaic predictive dialer are now shining through more than ever.

Pros & cons of a predictive dialer

As discussed previously, the time of predictive dialers is under scrutiny. The benefits once provided by such a system now may not be of value as much as they once were.

So, let's weigh the upsides and downsides. By clearing this out, you'll have a better understanding of how exactly predictive dialer software can help you, and what may be at stake.

Pros

• Shorter wait times. Sales representatives don't have to waste time waiting between calls, since the predictive dialer forwards active calls for them.
• Higher productivity. With a predictive dialer service, thousands of prospects can be called at once and immediately forwarded to available agents. No dialing numbers, no ringing, and no waiting for an answer. This allows sales teams to get more done in a shorter amount of time.
• Reduce ghost calls. Predictive dialers redirect calls to sales agents waiting on the other side. This way, when someone answers the cold call, they're not left hanging while an agent is away and you don't lose a closing opportunity.
• Detect dead-end numbers. A predictive dialer can detect no-answer calls, voicemails, answering machines, and fake or busy numbers. It can skip those and then only route the live calls to agents, thereby saving time.

Cons

• Your office may lose that human touch. 80% of customers say an organization's experience is just as important as its products or services. When prospects are met with a computer instead of a human, it can come off less personal and genuine. So companies may struggle in delivering that premium customer experience, especially if they’re selling high-value items, where conversation quality and call center etiquette are important.

• You'll need a bigger team to cover large chunks of time & provide training. Predictive dialers are most effective with larger teams of more than ten agents ready to receive the incoming live calls. Otherwise, you'll lose potential business. A predictive dialer system is also complex so users will need extensive training to fully take advantage of it.

• You may need to reevaluate your costs. It's easy to see that predictive dialers can help boost productivity by reducing idle time for agents and increasing opportunities for them, but the software isn't free - there are costs involved in using these services. The average on-site predictive dialer (PD) can run from $5k to 250k, while a hosted PD can start at $350 to $500 per agent.

• The technology needs a lot of data to work properly. The efficiency of predictive dialers relies on machine learning. This means it can take a long time to get the perfect ratio between connected calls and available agents. Customers will quickly drop a call if they have to wait to be connected to an agent.

• Sales reps can't prioritize or analyze leads. 76% of B2B buyers expect businesses to know their unique needs and expectations. But due to its highly automated nature of dialing multiple numbers at once, predictive dialers don’t give agents or sales reps the opportunity to target and nurture specific leads—it would have to be done manually.

Predictive dialer use is not illegal. But, according to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), calls placed from auto-dialers to wireless telephone numbers, including from predictive dialers, without pre-established consent from the call recipient, are against the law. It should be noted that laws are different depending on countries and different jurisdictions as well as purpose such as B2B & B2C.

Also, the dubious nature of predictive dialers can often be detrimental to your company. Losing that human connection and using a system with lots of stigma around it can make your success rate dwindle.

Though the benefits of a predictive dialer are great, they may not be the best option for every business when considering the cons. Overall, you'll often find that alternative automated cold calling systems like power dialing are better suited for you.

A healthier alternative to predictive dialing: power dialing

High-level automation produces around 16% more leads than low- or no-level automation. And both predictive and power dialers are automated cold calling dialers your sales team can benefit from.

However, a predictive dialer is more suited to low-quality databases with large volumes. As explained above, it will dialmore than one contact per agent in the hopes of connecting someone (anyone) with an answered call. This makes predictive dialers not ideal for personalized B2B sales, as a predictive dialer hopes to get hold of anyone they can to create a potential lead.

Myphoner's power dialer, on the flip side, enables agents (not an algorithm) to look at leads one by one, develop an understanding of them, and the system automatically distributes leads among multiple agents in a queue. Though the overall call volume may not be as large compared to a predictive dialer, it’s a better CRM solution for smaller teams, freelancers, sales agents, and B2B campaigns.

Tools that improve agents’ efficiency include auto-dial and intelligent retry as well as CRM software that enables:

• Lead tracking
• Scheduling to organize follow-ups
• Email communication
• Campaign management
• Call-time monitoring

All the information is in one place, making cold calling easier and more effective than ever.

It's easy to see why companies are opting for this approach too. Whilst not giving such high volumes of leads, the leads you'll receive will largely have much higher potential — which is especially crucial for B2B.

How does the Myphoner Power Dialer work?

At Myphoner, our top priority is making sure that cold calling is as easy and effective as possible. Our lightweight tool focuses on efficiency and is incredibly powerful while being easy to use.

Our workflow uniquely serves top-of-the-funnel users where multiple touchpoints are often needed to turn leads into prospects and customers.Gone is the day that finding leads would be tumultuous work — Myphoner's Power Dialer works in tandem with other features such as our Lead Routing.

A tailored workflow with a world-class integrated dialer

Explore Myphoner →

Below are how the Power Dialer's top features (the pros) can help sales professionals manage sales calls better.

• Boost agent efficiency. More than 30% of sales-related activities can be automated. With power dialers like Myphoner, agents can automate tedious tasks like dialing numbers, leaving voicemails, rescheduling no-answer calls, archiving invalid calls to move on to the next lead much faster.

• Never miss follow-ups. Did you know that 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls before the close? Agents can flexibly schedule follow-up meetings, have them auto-prioritized, and get reminder notifications so they never miss a follow-up call with a client or lead.

• Handle inbounds elegantly. On Myphoner's power dialer you can choose how to route calls (like redirecting to active agents or playing music or menu instructions that you can set). Sales managers can also group agents to answer certain call flows, and agents can opt out of getting inbound calls when they're on an active call to avoid clutter and unprofessional wait times.

• Train agents in real-time calls. The live monitor will show all agents and their current status changes (e.g. on-call, call duration, switching between leads, etc). Sales managers or supervisors can listen in on any calls and enablewhisper to advise the agent in real-time without being overheard by the lead.

• Understand your performance better. Power dialers like Myphoner offer insights into agent performance and campaign activity so you can analyze your team's current trajectory, troubleshoot weaknesses, and offer proper training and pointers to agents to ultimately optimize your sales strategy. A data-driven sales approach can make a company 6% more profitable than competitors.

Finally, Myphoner allows you to connect to over 5,000 apps and services through cutting-edge point-and-click API integration. These include Outlook, Gmail, and Zapier integrations, which help to automate workflows.

Our CRM is incredibly lightweight and comes with lead routing systems and other useful tools to boost your business’s cold-calling potential.

Level up your telesales with Myphoner voice

Your competitors are improving operational efficiency with automation. But at the same time, customers are frustrated with the typical robo-style cold calling techniques employed by predictive dialers. This necessitates a more human-centered approach.

At the end of the day, it's clear that something has to change. To take your business to the future, a better alternative needs to be in place.

That's why you'll find that power dialer software is more modern and in line with refined service for customer satisfaction and a personalized experience — all with the ultimate aim of growing an organization’s sales. Moving away from impersonalized and automated calls, power dialers are a strong personal cold calling solution for small businesses everywhere.

So, are you ready to supercharge your business to the next level?

Myphoner's lightweight and world-class CRM features our top-tier Power Dialer, letting you leave the world of dubious, stiff robocalls behind.

Check out our solutions today!

Explore Myphoner →