Top 7 Progressive Dialer Market Trends in 2023

In this modern age, we live on automation.

Think about it. You have coffee that brews itself on a timer, a button on a keychain to start your car from inside the house, and two dozen alarms and reminders telling you to send birthday cards, call your mom and buy milk. And you're still busy.

If your personal life is that busy, I bet your business is even worse. Automation could very well be the only thing saving you.

Which makes auto dialers absolutely essential for your sales. Your agents are way too busy to make manual calls, so you need to have it automated.

But when a call is answered by a customer and no one's there to say hello, your call abandonment rates skyrocket.

What's the point of having great automation if you hit your call abandonment rate limit? What if your high-tech dialers have to (excuse us here) dial it back?

You're wasting time and money if your calls are dropping. You're also missing out on great customer service, and great customer service leads to long-term relationships, referrals, and overall satisfaction. And 56% of customers stop doing business with a company if they don't get good customer service.

But we have a solution.

Are you interested in a customer-minded, quality-over-quantity style of auto dialer?

Say hello to Progressive Dialers.

Wait - What is Progressive Dialing?

Let's start with auto dialers in general.

Salespeople used to have to manually make calls, but you know that the more calls you can make per hour the higher the number of calls you can potentially convert into sales.

Check out these stats:

• Only 2% of cold calls end in success, so it pays to be quick and efficient
• In a more manual setting, 75% of your agent's time is spent tediously searching for information
• That means that a lousy 25% is spent actually having meaningful interactions with clients

And that means a lot of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking can leave you fried. Your sales reps only have so many hands.

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That's where auto dialers come in - a system that automatically dials customer phone numbers for your sales reps. And having an automatic call system can help in many ways:

• Reduced idle time
• Increased agent talk time
• A better lead conversion ratio
• Real-time monitoring, reports, and analytics
• Improved operational efficiency

Auto-dialers let your agents leave the tedium to the bots, so they can concentrate on fine-tuning their pitch. 33% of call centers say they plan on investing more in process automation.

As for progressive dialing, this is a type of auto dialer that only makes a call when an agent has ended their previous call and signaled that they're ready for a new one.

Let's go deeper.

Predictive Dialer vs Progressive Dialer

The two dialers above represent different types of auto dialers with different uses. Which one you use all depends on your problems and goals.

A predictive dialer is an auto dialer that places a call before your agent is done with their last one, using technology that estimates when they'll be done based on data.

This is optimized for speed.

A progressive dialer, on the other hand, waits until an agent is finished with a call before placing a new one. Once the agent signals that they're ready, the call is made.

They both ultimately help with every sales call you make.

Compare predictive dialing vs progressive dialing in these two scenarios:

Progressive

1. The agent answers the call
2. The agent handles the call
3. Agent hangs up the call
4. Agent signals that they are ready for another call
5. Dialer makes the call
6. The agent answers the call

VS.

Predictive

1. The agent answers the call
2. While the agent handles the call, the dialer determines how long until the agent will be done
3. Dialer makes the call
4. The agent may answer the call if they're done with the last one

See the difference? And they're both pretty darn good at what they do - it just depends on your company's personal objectives.

Let's look at the benefits:

It depends on what you're looking for. A lot of businesses are opting for progressive dialers just because call abandonment is a serious issue if an agent isn't there to answer. If a customer or client has to hear an automated message instead of a representative, they might just walk.

Did you know that 71% of Americans would rather speak to a human?

Not having a live agent on the other end of that call could be a dealbreaker.

Free Predictive Dialer? Paid Progressive Dialer?

“Free” is an attractive word. It seems like every company loves offering free things and auto dialers are no exception.

Free is great at first glance - like samples at the grocery store. But when you take that tiny square of brownie, are you really satisfied? Or is that just to entice you to buy the box of brownie mix?

Usually, free dialers are just a “freemium” plan. It gives you a little taste of them, but for your company to get the most out of the service, you're going to have to pay up eventually. Often, the “upgrade” ends up being more expensive in the long run.

I mean...do you give away your services or products for free with no ulterior motives?

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This can be the case for both progressive dialers and predictive dialers. For the most part, you'll be better off finding a solid auto dialer and paying the up-front price tag.

In short, you're better off just buying the brownie mix rather than trying all the free samples in the store.

There are a lot of auto dialer systems out there that are functional, efficient, and cost-effective. That said, you'll get a whole lot of bang for your buck by going with a CRM like Ringy, which includes dialers, scheduling, drip campaigns, and more in one little package.

Yeah, we know we're talking about our own CRM, but with good reason.

1. It's only $109 a month and it scales with your business, which means unlimited users
2. If monthly isn't for you, try the pay-as-you-go option
3. Includes not only dialers, but scheduling, drip campaigns, killer automation, and so much more

A paid progressive or predictive dialer will end up being worth it in the end and it isn't even a huge investment.

To go along with your dialer, why not get the low-down on paid or free call tracking?

10 Key Considerations When Choosing a Progressive Dialer

Now, we know you're excited, but we don't want you just running off to buy the first progressive dialer you see.

After all, we care about your success.

So, we're going to list the major considerations you should put into choosing a progressive dialer. That way, you can get the best one for your business (and money).

1. Automation

This might seem obvious, but an auto dialer needs smooth automation. You want it to run like a well-oiled machine, shuttling an agent from call to call like the world's most efficient Uber.

Just because the call isn't being automatically dialed before the agent is ready doesn't mean you don't still need the automation for when your rep is ready. And you'll want a system that can pull up information on the client, notes the rep may need, take notes as the call is taking place…

You want your agents concentrating on their pitch, not sorting through stacks of information like a harried librarian.

2. Cost efficiency

You're trying to increase profits by buying an auto dialer, right?

You can't have your dialer cost you an arm and a leg if you're buying it to improve your overall revenue. You need your dialer to boost your ROI.

That doesn't mean you should go and get the cheapest product available, but there's always a middle ground. Buy something worthwhile that also won't break the bank.

It's always more efficient to get an all-in-one package deal, so consider a CRM with included dialers. You'll also want to check out how to look for the best CRM price.

3. Local ID implementation

This is a great feature for a dialer to have - local ID implementation.

It means it'll give your numbers the area code of the place you're calling, making it look like your agent's localized to that city.

Why is that important, you may ask?

People are four times more likely to pick up a call if it comes from a local ID.

Tell me, when your phone says “Call from Adamsville, Alabama” and you're in New York City, don't you immediately think it's nothing but a scam call and just let it ring?

Local ID helps to give you a foundation of trust before you even answer the phone.

4. Learning curve

Look, the software has to be easy to learn and use or the average person is just gonna “nope” right on out.

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Software that no one can get the hang of isn't any use to anyone. It'll leave your team frustrated and confused, which will only make your job more difficult than it already is.

A progressive dialer will only save you time and make you money if it isn't causing chaos within your company. Therefore, ease of use and a good learning curve are essential aspects you need to consider before making your decision.

You want agents comfortable and in control. It'll mean more work gets done and more calls made.

5. Lead distribution

The ability to help sales and marketing leaders route inbound leads to the correct agent or team is a must.

Customizable features allow you to decide how and when leads are distributed to different reps, so agents get the right leads at the right time.

Streamlined lead distribution can rank leads based on certain criteria and automate assignments to the rep who can provide the best assistance.

Making sure that your progressive dialer is doling out leads correctly means that more of said leads convert to buyers. And the key difference between leads and buyers is $$$.

6. Solid analytics

Analytics pretty much make our lil' world go round in 2021. They let you monitor employees, keep an eye on demographics, check campaign engagement rates, and more.

Progressive dialers with self-updating live leaderboards for your team let not only you observe your team's progress, but let your agents see how they're doing and if they're meeting quotas (and if they've out-performed Bob yet, but a fat chance - that guy is a machine).

A good progressive dialer could also provide admin reports for performance insights and record calls to help training, onboarding, and auditing calls for escalations or resolutions.

7. Organized leads and contacts

Having an organized contact list is a huge benefit for streamlined business processes.

A quick and efficient way to manage your leads helps your team and your company as a whole. With progressive dialers, you can add leads yourself, import them, or get them automatically. Agents can view a lead's history and info in advance and feel more confident and comfortable when making a call.

All that's missing is a cold call script...oh wait, it's right there.

Having information at your fingertips can be crucial. 86% of contact center employees feel they don't have the resources or authority to efficiently deal with customers' needs.

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8. Integrations with your tech

Integration takes away so much pain and heartache. Rather than having eighteen programs that are all up on separate tabs, with your poor frazzled brain trying to remember what goes where you could just have a progressive dialer that integrates with your other programs.

When your dialer is integrated with other software, it can make lead management simpler by helping you set up appointments or adding future calls to calendars.

For example, Ringy integrates with Google calendar, Facebook, Zapier, Boomi, and Integrately. So no more running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Simply click, drag, done.

9. Leave a message

80% of sales calls go to voicemail.

We know, it's a travesty.

So having a dialer that can drop an automatic voicemail or email for you is great when that prospect doesn't pick up.

Sometimes an agent doesn't even have to wait for the beep – they just reach a voicemail service and can immediately drop a pre-recorded message for the lead to check later.

Automatic emails are much the same. Pre-typed email templates that you can just personalize with the contact's name.

And every successful drip campaign is personalized.

10. All the bells and whistles: extra features

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once said: “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things.”

And even if you don't know who he is – he's right!

Those little extra features that a progressive dialer has really sell it. Being able to set current statuses, add notes to calls or prospect info, logging calls, adding tags, moving contacts between folders…

How about also being an all-in-one CRM?

Yes, yes, we know – another shameless plug for Ringy.

But you have to admit that your dialer also being scheduling, VoIP-enabled, customer relationship management software is a pretty awesome bonus feature.

The 5 Best Progressive Dialer Software on the Market

Alright, now you know what you're looking for, so let's make a few suggestions to get you started.

We aren't going to sugarcoat it; we listed our own CRM first.

We know you're raising your eyebrows right now but hear us out and hopefully, you'll agree why we deserve serious consideration.

Ringy

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Ringy is an excellent business platform that features a top-notch progressive dialer with click-to-call functionality. It can improve your lead engagement, shorten your sales cycle, save time, improve productivity, and increase your ROI.

Check out some of its best features:

• Cost-effective
• All-in-one CRM - not just a dialer
• Smooth automation
• Analytics, client notes, customer profiles
• Team members able to pass calls to each other
• Call tracking, call routing, and call recording

And you can grab all of that goodness for only $109 per month with unlimited users and access to all future updates.

Sounds too good to be true? We promise you it isn't.

Talkdesk

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Talkdesk is a cloud-based contact center software with preview and progressive dialers.

It offers quick, clutter-free software that holds your contacts in a large database. You also get access to customizable features and a dashboard with AI-driven processes and great call transferring.

For $75 upfront it's fairly cheap but can quickly grow more expensive if you want anything other than the most basic features.

Plus, some reviewers say it's pretty complex to navigate if you aren't an IT nerd. Especially its integrations, which some say aren't easy to use and require knowledge of coding to get properly connected.

NICE CXone

Nice CXone

Nice CXone (formerly Nice inContact) contact center solution software is a great option for progressive dialers.

Positive reviews say it has easy transferring and no lag. It's straightforward to navigate and leaders find it simple to manage multiple employees at once.

Though some people say it doesn't have the best integration with their CRM.

Pricing is not disclosed on its website. Reviews state that it starts at $90 per person and goes up from there, but Nice CXone doesn't advertise a flat rate and offers only quotes.

Also, quite a few people complain about unskippable pop-ups interrupting their calls.

Five9

Five9 is primarily a service to transfer in-office auto dialer users to cloud-based auto-dialers.

It's helped many companies take a step into the future by going into the cloud, which is pretty much essential in 2021.

People like the integration with Salesforce and are quite pleased with its international capabilities, like its international call pricing and language translation (including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish options).

That said, it's rated pretty low for ease of use, with some businesses reporting spending hours on the phone with the help desk just to get it set up.

Word-of-mouth says it starts at $100 per seat, but it only offers an option for you to get a quote through its website.

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PhoneBurner

PhoneBurner is a progressive dialer first and an “anything else” second.

Ease of use is the major point of PhoneBurner. It's user-friendly with a little-to-no learning curve. Importing leads, dialing out, and viewing reports are all pretty smooth and easy.

However, its analytics capabilities seem to be lacking, with email tracking, text engagement tracking, and phone number compiling either missing or buried and hard to find.

Also, it's rather expensive, although it does offer a “free trial”...remember freemium? Once you actually pay it's $150 per seat. Unless you get the recommended bundle -- then it's $180 per seat.

Phone Burner

7 Progressive Dialer Trends Seen In 2021

Wanna know what's going on in the progressive dialer market right now?

Here are seven trends that describe the state of the union:

1. The market is growing at a compound annual rate of 37%
2. Market size predicted to grow to $12.19 billion by 2028
3. Most desired features currently are voicemail detection, campaign, analytics, concurrent calling, and text-to-speech conversion
4. Government agencies are widely adopting progressive dialers
5. Biggest players in the market are Agile CRM, ChaseData Corporation, Convso, Five9, Inc., NICE inContact, PhoneBurner, RingCentral, Star2Billing, and VanillaSoft
6. Organizations prefer a hybrid cloud model, with 55% of revenue in the sector attributed to self-hosted platforms
7. Large enterprise makes up 54% of the market

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best auto-dialer?

Progressive dialing vs predictive dialing vs preview dialing…

Which is best?

Depending on your situation and goals, any of them can be beneficial. It's not really a game of who's best, they're all different.

Assess your needs, then do your research to find the greatest dialer for you.

What are auto dialer laws?

An auto-dialer itself is not illegal.

But there are laws surrounding them. These mainly apply to telemarketers, but always make sure your company is up-to-date on FCC and FTC rules.

You may also have unique laws depending on the state you operate in - so keep on top of it!

Is progressive dialing a good fit for my company?

It very well could be perfect for your business. But to know that we'll have to know your situation.

Let's check out your issues…

How can I get a progressive dialer?

We're glad you asked.

It's quick, easy, and affordable to grab a great progressive dialer. You can even set one up today and start reaping the benefits of reduced call abandonment, increased customer satisfaction, and more leads converted to clients.

There are tons of options to get you started, including our own CRM, Ringy.

Although we're kind of biased.

Summary

Progressive dialing is a huge asset to have in your sales arsenal.

With an easy-to-use interface, cost efficiency, awesome automation, call transferring and routing, and local ID implementation you can really start to see your sales numbers climb.

Which numbers? Customer satisfaction. ROI. Sales rep efficiency. Time spent on-call vs time spent on tedium.

We could go on.

And the benefits will only stack if you get a progressive dialer that does more than the dial. An all-in-one CRM like Ringy provides you with a click-to-call progressive dialer as well as lead management, VoIP texting, appointment scheduling, email templates, and all-around efficient automation.

Request a demo with Ringy and find out how great progressive dialing (and more) is for yourself.

Until then…don't you have a call to get back to?