Predictive Dialers


Ever wonder how telemarketers can hit so many phone numbers in so little time?

It's simple ... they use devices known as predictive dialers. One of these devilish devices can dial more numbers than a whole roomful of retirees on a caffeine binge.

Predictive dialers are amazing devices. Without a predictive dialer, a company can only make so many connections per hour. Add one of these systems and the company can increase its telemarketing efforts by an exponential margin.

There's a huge selection of predictive dialing systems on the market today. Companies can choose from literally dozens of developers, with solutions to meet the needs of every firm--from the very smallest to the very largest. With developers including Noble Systems, Spitfire Predictives, Calltrol, Digisoft, Sundial, and Marketel, it seems like the choices are infinite.

While the trade journals may tout one system over another, it's always wise to compare apples to apples. One magazine's big fat juicy watermelon of a predictive dialing system won't necessarily fit in your company's pie.

There are a number of key points to keep in mind...

When implementing a predictive dialer, the goal is to increase agent effectiveness, as operational efficiency is enhanced. Just as importantly, a company should choose a system which easily expands to meet their needs.

Superior answering machine detection is key. You want your system to sniff out the voice mail boxes and deal with them accordingly. Anything less is counterproductive.

Make sure that the predictive dialing system you choose is customizable. An out of the box solution might work in some situations, but it won't work in all industries, and it very well might not work in your shop.

Why am I writing about this subject?

Lets just say that a little birdie asked me to look into predictive dialers. While I have no use for one (except, perhaps, for dialing into TicketMaster on a busy day), I can understand why telemarketers love them.

And I can surely, wholeheartedly, absolutely understand why consumers do not.

UNPREDICTIVE Consumers,

I always make a note of the company name for any 'cold' telephone calls of a marketing nature.
I will never, ever do any business with such companies.
Once on my list they have lost a potential customer.

The same goes for ad-mail.

My home is where I rest.
I will not tolerate being inundated by spam without taking some such 'corrective' action.

I should not have to apply to every telephone company or supplier of ad-mail to request that it not be sent to me!
I should be asked once if I want spam, and then all spam sources should consult that list.