Progressive Dialer: What It Is & How It Works

The average cold call conversion rate is 2%, meaning that call centers that want to close more deals need to make more calls faster. A progressive dialer allows you to do just that. 

Progressive dialer software calls one number after another, connecting your agents only when a live prospect answers, removing wait times and lowering call abandonment in the process. But is it the best solution for your outbound sales campaigns?

In this article, we’ll discuss progressive dialers in more depth, including how they work, what their best use cases are, and how they stack up against other dialing methods. So, if you’re struggling with maintaining your call volume and velocity, keep reading!

Key Takeaways:

• Progressive dialers provide a well-balanced dialing experience but can’t provide the same high call volumes that a progressive dialer vs. power dialer can or the same agent comfort that a predictive vs. progressive dialer can.
• Not all dialers are created equal. While the average progressive dialer can be bought for around $44 per user/month, its quality and features may vary from provider to provider.
• The biggest benefits of using a progressive dialer include higher agent productivity, increased call volumes, more successful contact rates, and closed deals.

What Is a Progressive Dialer?

A progressive auto dialer is specialized software often used by call centers to automate their teams’ calling processes and remove repetitive, manual work. In doing so, it helps boost your overall call volume and efficiency, as well as successful contact rates.

Under the auto dialer umbrella, progressive dialers are in the middle in terms of complexity, effectivity, and price, making them a good choice for SMB and medium-sized progressive call centers focused on call volume over personalization.

Based on the offers of several online providers, the average progressive dialer cost is around $44 per user/month, typically on an annual payment plan. However, features and quality may vary, so it’s always best to evaluate multiple offers.

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How Does a Progressive Dialer Work?

Progressive calling begins with creating and assigning a call queue to your agent or agents. Once everything and everyone is ready, the team can start calling via the progressive dialer app, which continuously dials numbers until a call goes through.

Progressive dialers are able to filter out unavailable prospects based on answering machines and busy signals. However, this carries the knock-on effect of sometimes causing higher agent idle times as your salespeople wait for someone to pick up.

Progressive Dialer Vs. Other Dialing Modes

Key Benefits of Using a Progressive Dialer

As you can see, the best progressive dialers offer a balanced approach to efficiency and personalization, making them a great option for businesses seeking an all-around solution for their auto-dialing needs. Here are a few more of their benefits:  

#1: Deliver High Call Quality

While call quality will always depend on your provider and connection (particularly with VoIP solutions), a progressive dialer is able to strike a balance between call volume, agent preparation, and customer personalization to deliver the best results. 

#2: Boost Agent Productivity

By automating call handling and dialing, progressive dialers remove large parts of the most time-consuming and repetitive tasks from your agents’ daily activities, allowing them to focus fully on what they do best – offering support and closing deals. 

#3: Maintain Regulatory Compliance

While auto-dialers are generally legal, several laws around the world moderate their commercial use. However, since progressive dialers are designed to minimize dropped calls and abandonment rates, they are much less aggressive in the eyes of regulators.

#4: Seamlessly Integrate with Your CRM

A progressive call center needs to stay up-to-date on its contact information, as well as on the technological edge. By integrating your progressive dialer with a CRM or other 3rd party system, you can do even more, faster, with less operational resistance. 

How to Choose the Right
Progressive Dialer for Your Business

Are you ready to start looking for the progressive dialer that’ll take your call operations to the next level? In that case, be careful. You need to take your time during the selection process to ensure your calling goes as fast as it can. Consider the following steps:

1. Understand Your Team’s Needs: Consider whether your focus is on maximizing call volume, ensuring personalization, or balancing both. Progressive dialers are ideal for businesses aiming for efficient, high-quality outreach without overwhelming agents.
   
2. Prioritize Ease of Use: Choose a dialer with a user-friendly interface that your agents can quickly adopt. Complicated systems can slow down productivity and create unnecessary roadblocks.
   
3. Look for CRM Integration: A good progressive dialer should integrate seamlessly with your CRM or other tools to streamline workflows, improve contact management, and enhance reporting.
   
4. Evaluate Reporting Features: Detailed analytics and reporting are crucial for tracking performance, optimizing campaigns, and making data-driven decisions. Ensure the dialer offers robust reporting capabilities.
   
5. Check for Compliance Features: Select a dialer that adheres to local regulations by minimizing dropped calls and maintaining low call abandonment rates. This will protect your business from potential penalties.
   
6. Consider Scalability: If your business is growing, opt for a solution that can scale with you. Look for features that support expanding teams and increasing call volumes.
   
7. Test the Solution: Whenever possible, request a demo or free trial. This hands-on experience will help you assess whether the dialer meets your specific needs and expectations.

Is a Progressive Dialer the Right Way Forward For You?

As we’ve discussed, there’s much to like about progressive dialers. However, they can’t do it all. That’s where providers like CloudTalk come in. Instead of limiting yourself to a single dialer, you can get both our Power and Smart Dialers for $50 per user/month.

And that’s on top of the 70+ features, 35+ integrations, and 160+ international numbers that will maximize your call center efficiency beyond anything you thought was possible. So, what are you waiting for?

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Sources:

• Close CRM