Before dialing technology emerged, every number had to be dialed one at a time.
Sore dialing fingers, mental exhaustion, wasted time—it was an arduous process.
Making 80 calls in just one hour without dialing even one digit? That seemed impossible.
Luckily, new technology makes the cold calling process much more efficient. You can reach many more contacts per hour, keep prospects better organized, and eliminate the finger fatigue and mental fatigue that comes with misdials, dial tones, and wasted time.
This has been a game changer for sales professionals.
However, there are several types of dialing technologies—and in order to maximize your results and leave the best impression on prospects, you need to choose the right one.
Today, we’ll cover two of the most popular dialing technologies: Power Dialers and Predictive Dialers.
Overview of Power and Predictive Dialer Phone Systems
A Power Dialer eliminates the need for manual dialing. It uses software to handle repetitive tasks such as dialing, listening to and leaving voicemails, sending customized emails, and managing contacts and workflows. The software maximizes live interactions. It moves from one contact to the next calls as are completed, and performs predefined actions depending on the outcome of the call (ie. voicemail reached, no answer, prospect is interested, appointment set, etc.).
A Predictive Dialer software is quite different. It calls large lists of contacts on multiple lines at the same time. As calls are answered by a human, they are transferred to live agents who are available. They can reach a very high number of prospects in a short period of time.
Both Power and Predictive Dialing Systems offer CRM integration or have integrated CRMs so that agents and managers can keep detailed contact records.
While both of these dialers can significantly increase your cold calling efficiency, they have some stark differences that can impact your success in generating sales.
With that, let’s look at the differences in Power Dialers vs Predictive Dialers…
The Awkward “Delay”
Have you ever answered a call from a random number, and said “Hello,” only for there to be a small delay before you hear a human response? You probably assumed it was a telemarketer, and either hung up, or put your guard up by the time you heard a response.
This is one of the dangers of using Predictive Dialer software.
The technology “listens” and has to make a determination as to whether the phone is answered by a person or by voicemail. If answered by a person, it will transfer the call to an available agent, and send information about the contact to the agent’s screen. No agent is present when the contact says “Hello,” so they experience an audible delay as an agent comes on the line and is able to respond.
In some cases, the person answering the phone may have to say “Hello” multiple times before they get an answer. That kind of interaction can negatively impact the success of the call, especially when the goal of the campaign is to generate sales.
One of the benefits with Power Dialer Systems, the agent is always there, so contacts are unaware that technology is being used. The agent is there to hear “Hello” and can respond immediately with no awkward delay or pause.
Legality and Dropped Calls
Did you know that it’s a violation of federal law to have more than 3% dropped calls in the USA? This legal issue poses another risk for users of Predictive Dialer phone systems, with the TSR imposing fines of up to $43,762 per violation.
These fines are levied not only on large call centers, but also on small and medium sized businesses who are often unaware of the regulations or the fact that they are in violation.
What causes a dropped call?
Predictive software uses an algorithm to predict how many simultaneous calls it should make. It factors in live answer rates, the number of total and available agents, etc. to determine the number of contacts to dial at any given time. Naturally, it’s not a perfect system. Sometimes a human answers the phone and there is no agent available to take the call. This results in a dropped call.
Since a Power Dialer is not a multi-line dialer, and an agent is always available and on the line when a prospect answers, there is no risk of TCPA fines and penalties for dropped calls.
Further, you can implement specific tactics and strategies with PhoneBurner's power dialer software that help improve live answer rates, resulting in more calls that get answered and higher quality conversations.
Which Dialer System is Right for You?
Both kinds of dialer software dramatically improve cold calling efficiency. In terms of sheer efficiency, a Predictive Dialer has the edge. However, this advantage can quickly evaporate as live answers become hangups when contacts hear that telltale delay.
A Power Dialer offers sales professionals more control and results in better connections with prospects. It’s also blends phone and email follow-up, and presents greater opportunities to build relationships and convert sales.
Experience the difference for yourself. Accelerate your prospecting and cold-calling success with PhoneBurner. Our power dialer software can help you reach up to 80 contacts per hour with powerful suite of features to help you build a bigger, happier, more engaged sales pipeline.
Take a free test-drive of our software, without a credit card. Our friendly and attentive support team is here to help.
