Power Dialers: Pros, Cons & Alternatives

These days, everybody in sales uses an auto-dialer. But is everyone using theirs efficiently?

From solar sales teams to market research firms, callers use dialers to save time and reduce misdials. But sales managers say that cold calling is getting tougher.

You need more than “just a dialer.” You need a smart suite of call center software to help you fight your corner.

Enter the power dialer.

What Is a Power Dialer?

A power dialer is a type of auto-dialing software that uses sequential dialing in an intelligent way to maximize agent throughput. When you upload a list of contacts, it makes its way through the list more ruthlessly than other dialers. That’s why it’s called a power dialer.

As it works through the list, the power dialer automatically connects available sales reps to the next contact. If the call doesn’t connect, it simply moves on to the next in the list.

Key components

The main feature of power dialer software is its automated dialing. Agents can sit back and let the technology do the contact selection and dialing. There’s practically nothing to do but make sure you’ve got your headset on and you’re ready for a customer to answer.

With some power dialers, you can use click to call functionality, which pops up contact information. When integrated with your customer relationship management (CRM) system, this feature provides information about the contact you’re calling, such as their name, company name, and any previous call or transaction history.

In some dialer software, you can choose to preview the information before a call connects, so you have time to get familiar with your contact.

Voicemail drop speeds up the process for fast-paced sales scenarios. If your outbound sales process doesn’t allow for leaving voicemails on an answering machine, configure your power dialer to hang up upon detection.

Purpose of Power Dialers for Businesses

So, why would you consider a power dialer over other options?

Power dialers increase agent productivity and efficiency in environments where speed is key. If your focus is connecting agents to contacts in record time, there’s no faster option. That’s because power dialers skip the contact browsing phase and automate both contact selection and dialing.

This reduces agent idle time. The more you ask an agent to do pre- or post-call, the less time they spend making calls.

Integrating with your CRM also improves lead management and follow-up processes. When the result of the call is no connection, your dialer can automatically update your CRM and add the contact back in the to-be-called queue.

Likewise, if someone answers the calls and becomes a prospect, the power dialer removes them from the list, and your CRM gets updated as necessary.

At this point, you can also benefit from enhanced data tracking and analysis. As there’s no potential for human error (like marking contact statuses incorrectly), every data point is correct from the point of upload. Once you initiate a call, you can track everything from the answer rate to the sales conversion rate.

You can expect to implement more cost-effective, large-scale outbound calls with these efficiencies. Your only worry is where to spend all the money you’ll save.

Pros and Cons of Using Power Dialers

Pros	Cons
Time-saving through automation	Potential for dropped or abandoned calls
Higher call connect rates	Risk of violating regulations
Better management of call lists	Initial setup and training costs
Integration with other business tools	Negative customer perception if overused or misused

Pros of using power dialers

Here are four advantages of using power dialers.

1. Time-saving through automation

The main benefit of using power dialers is the time saved through automation. By removing manual tasks like dialing and contact marking, you speed up the process and remove the potential for human error.

2. Higher call connect rates

A direct result of this automated behavior is higher call connect rates. With zero misdials possible, a power dialer calls the exact number you’ve uploaded.

Note: You still need to get the phone number right when you upload your contact list. Power dialers aren’t magic!

3. Better management of call lists

As this automation removes reliance on agents, you can expect more sanitized lists. No longer will there be erroneous data or repeat calling of contacts who aren’t interested.

4. Integration with other business tools

Unlike dumb dialers, you can connect a power dialer to the line of apps in your business. The most common integration is with a CRM like Salesforce, SugarCRM, or Microsoft Dynamics.

Cons of using power dialers

And now let’s take a look at four disadvantages of using power dialers.

1. Potential for dropped or abandoned calls

When powering through a list of phone numbers, the process is to make the call, give it several rings, and then hang up if there’s no answer.

This doesn’t account for the minor delay between a call connecting and an agent being prepared to start talking. So, when a call connects and an agent doesn’t talk immediately, there’s a chance your contact hangs up because they think there’s nobody there.

2. Initial setup and training costs

Unlike dialing on any old phone system, you need to factor in some agent training on the new user interface. This is rarely a problem, thanks to the tendency of modern call center technology to focus on adoption and usability.

However, there will be some set-up costs. As with any new technology, expect a license per user and potentially some implementation costs if you’re rolling out at scale.

3. Negative customer perception if overused or misused

If someone keeps getting calls from the same number, it paints a bad picture. Some people choose not to answer calls without caller ID or numbers they don’t know.

When you continue to call but nobody answers, expect to get blocked if you don’t leave a voicemail. Or, if you call enough, it’s not uncommon to find an angry person on the other end of the phone.

4. Risk of violating regulations

For regulations like TCPA in the U.S., there are some strict guidelines you must follow. (More on this in the next section.)

Legal Considerations

When dealing with dialers and customer data, there are two main legal considerations: TCPA and GDPR. But first, please consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific legal advice. This is not legal advice.

TCPA

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts the use of automated dialers for cold calling consumers without their consent. It applies to sales-, marketing-, and advertising-related recorded messages, as well as auto-dialed or pre-recorded voicemails and calls.

TCPA is an American law to protect American customers. This means anyone from any country who is contacting an American business or person must be TCPA-compliant.

Predictive dialers can inadvertently violate the TCPA if they connect agents to live calls before they’re ready. This doesn’t just lead to dropped calls and a dip in your metrics but to potential legal consequences.

This is where power dialers are superior. They only connect to available agents.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects consumers from unwanted messages and the misuse of their data in the European Union and European Economic Area.

This means that businesses must have consent from recipients of sales calls, SMS and marketing emails, and the like. Once you do have consent and start to make cold calls in these regions, you must provide proper identification (who you are and why you’re calling) and opt-out options, such as an unsubscribe button on an email.

If you fail to adhere to these guidelines, expect penalties for non-compliance. These can vary depending on factors like size of business, potential damage of misuse, and any legal damages.

Alternatives to Power Dialers

Unsure what the right type of sales dialer is for you?

Here are the four viable alternatives to power dialers.

1. Manual dialing

Advantages:

• You keep control over pacing when you’re using your fingers. There’s less of a rush, and agents have more time to prepare for calls.
• With the removal of any dialer system, there is a lower regulatory risk. The chance of delay between call connection and an agent speaking is removed, as it’s just like a normal phone call.

Disadvantages:

• You lose all the benefits of using power dialer features. You revert back to time-consuming processes and become less productive.
• By having to manually dial every number, expect to experience higher labor costs and more agent idle time. The time spent dialing and redialing after misdials all adds up.

2. Click to dial

Advantages:

• Standalone click-to-dial technology integrates with your browser to enable calling from a number on a screen. For example, instead of dialing the next number by looking at it in your database and using a keypad, you simply click the number to trigger a phone call.
• This eliminates the chance of human error causing misdials. Your only dependency is the accuracy of the initial data entry.

Disadvantages:

• Like enabling a power dialer for the ultimate benefits, you’ll need to license integration with whichever app or CRM you’re going to click and dial from. If you choose the best contact center software, both click-to-dial and CRM integration are staple items.

3. Predictive dialers

A predictive dialer predicts real-time agent availability. Using smart algorithms to predict when an agent will be available to take a call, it auto-connects the next call when an agent is “ready.”

This involves factors such as average talk time, wrap-up time, and agent status. These all factor into the dialer algorithm to connect agents with callers in an automated fashion.

Advantages:

• When creating a predictive dialer campaign, you can maximize productivity by dialing many numbers simultaneously. This way, you gain a higher connect rates, and you can support large call volumes.
• If you have a large contact list, you can bypass unanswered calls and busy signals to find an available contact more efficiently.

Disadvantages

• When looking at an auto dialer versus a predictive dialer, there is a higher risk of dropped calls and regulatory challenges.
• Because you’re calling multiple people at once, there is a chance that two people answer but only one agent is available. Here, you’re annoying potential customers, and you’re close to violating regulatory guidelines.
• Predictive dialers can also be costly and complex to set up. You need a large amount of data to get started and a consistent stream of new incoming contacts for it to be worthwhile.

4. Preview dialers

In a preview dialer, the software pops up information about the next contact before connecting the call (via CRM integration). This allows agents to personalize their approach and prepare for the conversation ahead. It’s like call pop for incoming calls but in reverse.

Unlike a predictive dialing system, the agent has the power to start the call, allowing them enough time to prepare to fully engage with the customer.

Advantages:

• With information displayed about the next call, agents can personalize their calls. This eventually leads to a higher sales conversion or better meeting booking rate.
• It’s also easier to meet regulatory compliance, as agents must be available before initiating a new call.

Disadvantages:

• Compared to power dialers, preview dialers encourage slower-paced environments and agents make fewer calls per hour.
• As a result, many sales managers report they are less efficient than predictive or power dialers.

Make Your Outbound More Efficient with Nextiva

The best power dialers make the sales, appointment setting, and telemarketing processes more efficient.

If your focus is on connecting with more contacts in a shorter amount of time, they are the right option for your business.

Compared to predictive dialers, they safeguard your business compliance. Compared to preview dialers and manual dialing, they ensure agents are always available for calls, rather than losing idle time to dialing and admins tasks.

Nextiva’s auto dialer software comes as standard when you buy contact center software. We appreciate that finding new clients is just as important as serving existing ones.

Nextiva has a built-in auto dialer, automated outbound campaigns, and AI-powered task automation to streamline workflows.

So, if you’re looking to:

• Reach key prospects more efficiently
• Help free up agents so they’re best prepared for every call
• Automate repetitive tasks and reduce the potential of human error

Then you need a powerful cloud-based dialer from Nextiva. 👇