Operating and Optimizing Predictive Dialers for Ultimate Productivity

Thanks to the latest technological advancements, predictive dialers are making call centers’ jobs a lot easier. When call centers are properly set up and running, you can be certain that there is virtually no downtime, as agents get routed smoothly to a new call that’s just starting as soon as they finish an old one. To get the most from your system, though, you need to know how to use and optimize it.

Know your objectives

Before you even start choosing (let alone using) a predictive dialer for your business, you need to know exactly what you want from it. What is the nature of your call center? How are you measuring success? How do you anticipate a dialer helping you to achieve your goals? What information will you need to get started?

Create a call list

You need a list of numbers for your new software to call, and there are three ways to get these.

Save campaign results: If you’ve already done some kind of campaign and have a list of follow-up numbers, you can use these to create your call list. Many types of predictive dialer software will let you automatically generate such a list if you have a campaign.

Use search profiles: Use profiles of the various people you want to reach out to and upload these profiles into your predictive dialer.

Import a file: In most cases, this will be a CSV file. Your software will automatically read and use this to make calls.

Start your campaign

You don’t necessarily have to use the same metrics for everything your predictive dialer does. The software is adjustable, so you can change things up for different campaigns.

To start your campaign, you need to choose a call list that pertains to it. Then you select the agents you want actively making calls for this particular campaign. If you choose “any agent” then the system will automatically send calls to the first available or randomly chosen available agent.

Finally, you have some options to adjust and optimize the dialer for your particular campaign. You can tell the system to do something particular if it has a failed call, gets a machine answer, if a customer requests to opt out or have you call back later, or if the customer is interested.

Optimizing predictive dialing

Limitations: Obviously, predictive dialers are most useful for outbound calls, and you need to be able to justify the expense for what it can give you. Some small teams can see a real boost in productivity by using a predictive dialer, but the more calls you make, the more efficient it becomes.

Of course, the danger of using predictive dialers is that they’ll make the call too early. The person will pick up and have to wait before an agent comes on, which is not a good way to get a sale. Another issue is the possibility of too many dropped calls. Any more than three percent and you could get hit with sizable government fines.

Making the most of your software: There are ways to overcome these issues and minimize the chance of experiencing problems. For one thing, much will depend on having a good call list uploaded to the system. The more accurate and relevant the call list, the better your predictive dialer will perform.

The other key is having the right number of experienced agents at the right time. It could even be smart to over-schedule at first, until you have the full hang of the system and how it works. Then you’ll be able to change things around to make the best use of your system.

A predictive dialer can make all the difference to your productivity, and that means your bottom line, too. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it.