Predictive dialing software — it’s the underlying system for many powerful phone banking tools.
But predictive dialing can be a foreign term for those who aren’t very familiar with phone banking. What is predictive dialing software, and what are the benefits of using this system? Read on to get the essential information about predictive dialing software:
What is predictive dialing software?
Predictive dialing software is a system that automatically dials a list of phone numbers and weeds out unresponsive connections, like voicemails, busy signals, and disconnected lines. This means the software system connects responsive lines to available callers.
In other words, predictive dialing software means that callers only speak with those who have picked up their phones and are ready to have a conversation. The best predictive dialing software calls both landlines and cellphones to reach the maximum number of phone numbers.
What are the benefits of using a predictive dialer?
The biggest benefit of predictive dialing software is that it maximizes active connections for callers, saving time and energy for volunteers.
Without predictive dialing, volunteers typically need to hand dial every number on a list. As one can imagine, this can take a lot of time. Callers will have to wait as the phone rings, and they might only be connected to a voicemail or will have dialed a disconnected line. In the end, they may only speak with a few callers per hour. A predictive dialer eliminates the whole process of manual dialing, so volunteers can connect with more voters and supporters in a given time.
Additionally, it’s not unusual for organizing groups to face lower answer rates during phone banks. Young Americans aged 18 to 29 are more likely to pick up a call from an unknown number, but answer rates aren’t always predictable. Groups may have to attempt a lot of calls just to talk to a few dozen people. Predictive dialers sift through numbers at a much faster rate, so volunteers can reach more voters and supporters during a phone bank.
Before campaigns and advocacy groups use predictive dialing software, they should confirm that the dialer in question follows TCPA guidelines. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) aims to protect call recipients from unwanted telemarketing calls. But this isn’t difficult — there are plenty of TCPA-compliant predictive dialing software options available that organizing groups can choose from.
How can I use a predictive dialer for my campaign?
Organizers can leverage Impactive’s Phone Banking tool, which is powered by predictive dialing software. (Plus, it’s TCPA-compliant!) When volunteers phone bank with Impactive, they call into a line that connects active contacts to the caller. After the conversation ends, the call recipient can exit the connection, but the volunteer remains on the line. Whenever they're ready, they can connect to another call.
Phone Banking with Impactive allows organizing groups to set up phone banks after uploading contact lists directly to Impactive; they can even upload lists as large as a million contacts.
While setting up their phone bank, organizing teams will have a chance to set up custom scripts in a user-friendly script builder: input the first scripted prompt and add response options for callers to follow. During the phone bank, callers can move through the script by selecting appropriate response options based on the conversation flow.
Predictive dialing software allows organizing teams to arrange the most efficient and volunteer-friendly phone banks. This software is especially useful for larger campaigns and advocacy groups that host large and frequent phone banks — volunteers will appreciate the ease and efficiency that predictive dialers provide!
To find out more about Impactive’s Phone Banking tool, schedule a demo now.
