Voice Dialler App vs. VOIP Dialer [a Comparative Guide]

“OK Alexa, call John!”

Isn't it crazy how far technology has come?

Not too long ago, you had to choose between using the internet or making a phone call.

In 2022, you can easily multitask, use voice activation, or call thirty people back to back without so much as pressing a button.

Still, one thing remains the same:

Even with all our cool new tech, 92% of client interactions still happen over the phone.

Meaning, everything about the way your reps prepare, conduct, and follow up on calls reflects on your sales bottom line.

So, what if we asked you how you're going about your daily dialing business?

Are you using a voice dialler app? A VoIP dialer? Is there a difference?

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Yep, we figured you might say that.

But don't worry. We're about to answer those questions anyway.

What is a Voice Dialler App?

A voice dialler app enables the use of voice commands to dial and respond to calls. So, instead of having to manually find each contact, sort through your CRM tags, or press any buttons, it allows you to call or answer a call from someone by saying their name.

That's not the same as VoIP. If you wanna immediately jump to that part, “Voice Dialer vs. Sales Dialer” is where you'll get your answers.

But back to voice dialler apps. What are they again?

Imagine you're a busy salesperson on a regular Tuesday morning.

You're in your car, approaching the parking lot and humming along to an Ed Sheeran song when a very important client calls. An opportunity you just can't afford to miss.

You know it could be a huge deal if you could close them.

With a voice dialler app, you could simply voice command “answer” and take the call without risking your safety or losing a sale as you rush into the office.

Okay, but wait, can't I just use Siri for this?

Fair point.

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And yeah, you literally can use Siri for this.

(Or a Google voice dialer for Android.)

A separate voice dialler app has become redundant over the past couple of years now that most smartphones support voice commands anyway.

But the service is still valuable.

And still confusing, I know.

But by the time you get to the part about the benefits of VoIP for sales, you'll be able to tell what's what and which option could help your reps sell more.

What is a BT Dialer?

A BT dialer (or Bluetooth dialer) is a device that, when connected to your tablet or smartphone, allows you to dial or receive calls like a feature phone.

It only works in a combination with another device, though.

A BT dialer alone is pretty much an accessory.

Okay, so who uses it, and what's the point?

The appeal is in its practicality.

When you're going about your day, stuck in traffic, or otherwise not hanging out in the office, a BT dialer helps you stay in touch.

You can easily do a quick call without having to reach for your tablet or make unnecessary stops.

Availability is a big client priority, so being within reach definitely has its benefits for sales.

Plus, it can help you keep work and personal life separate - something a smartphone these days definitely doesn't do.

But back to voice dialing.

2 Types of Voice Dialing Service

Speaker-dependent

Speaker-dependent voice dialing service requires voice dial entries before you can use it.

You have to pre-record the names and commands you want to use so the dialer can recognize the sounds later.

Kind of like teaching it your language.

Need to call John? You gotta teach it to recognize “John” first.

Obviously, this isn't super practical for salespeople who work with way too many leads, half of whom unavoidably are Johns.

You'd have to spend a lot of time prepping this feature and making sure you include peoples' last names or other details to reach the right person every time.

Speaker-independent

This type doesn't require voice dial entries. Instead, when you say a name, a speaker-independent dialler will check it against your existing contacts and call the closest match.

Obviously, this leaves a bit more room for error.

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It also doesn't solve the differentiation problem.

And this is no minor hurdle in sales where you need to remember the tiniest detail about your leads and prospects as it is.

What about saying the right name for starters?!

We'd suggest using it mostly to respond to calls and sticking to a limited circle of contacts with voice dialing services to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

Otherwise, you can find much more suitable dialers for sales.

Voice Dialer vs. Sales Dialer

Welcome skim-readers and people who read through the voice dialler app dilemmas alike. It's time we addressed the real questions here.

Are voice dialers and VoIP the same? What's VoIP?

Most importantly: what the hell should you get for your sales team?

For starters, voice and VoIP aren't the same.

The story with a voice dialler app pretty much ends at voice command functionality, whereas VoIP is a whole system of calling and receiving phone calls over the internet.

You can use it as you have an internet connection wherever you are, unlike landlines which can only be accessed on-premise (at your office, for example).

VoIP has a whole range of cool features designed to help you smash your sales objectives:

• Auto-dialing
• Call recording, tracking, forwarding
• Conferencing
• CRM integration
• Local caller ID
• Call coaching, etc.

Essentially, VoIP is a modern, improved telephony system in and of itself, not just a way of dialing or receiving calls. And it works on any device.

If you wanted to, you could easily combine it with Google assistant to access voice control functionalities.

To nobody's surprise, the global VoIP market is expected to reach $194.5 billion by 2024.

It's the sales calling solution of the century.

And, being such a sales powerhouse and all, VoIP of course offers a couple of dialer options you can choose from besides manual dialing.

VoIP dialer types

There are four main VoIP dialer types in use:

1. Manual dialing - no automation
2. Preview dialer - low automation
3. Power (AKA progressive) dialer - medium automation
4. Predictive dialer - high automation

We trust you know your manual dialing - pick up the phone, press some buttons, wait for the person to respond. Standard protocol.

The other three types are subtypes of auto-dialing.

Each has some pros and cons and can work wonders in different sales and customer support scenarios depending on the level of automation you need, pre-call prep time, etc.

Let's see how they work.

Preview dialer

Preview dialer is the slowest, most controlled, and most mellow dialing option.

It has a 1:1 calling ratio, meaning one call is made per available agent so there are no awkward hold times or abandoned calls.

Then, the agent either has:

1. Limited time to check client info (hence the name “preview”) before their number is auto-dialed, OR
2. Unlimited preview time and can signal whenever they're ready for the call to be made

This puts the agent in full control of each call and ensures they're prepared to provide the best possible service to each prospect.

But, this is also the least productive of all dialing options.

Power dialer

Next up with medium automation, we have power or progressive dialers.

Balanced between quality and quantity, these dialers have a 1:1 calling ratio but with one big difference: no waiting time between calls.

In other words, as soon as an agent finishes one call, the next prospect is immediately auto-dialed.

This eliminates any idle time between calls and the possibility of agents hesitating or picking who to call next.

And what if a call is unanswered?

A power dialer can do one of two things:

1. Let agents decide when to drop the call or leave a message
2. Or automatically filter out unanswered dials and only forward the answered ones to available agents

It's the safest, most well-rounded option for sales.

Like your standard diet with a little bit of all foods for good measure.

Predictive dialer

Finally, the “go big or go home” super cyborg dialer 3000.

Predictive dialer goes above and beyond to maximize your on-call time and productivity, even if it involves a little bit of dark magic to get you there.

Fine, it's just complicated math. Like there's a difference.

Anyway, your calling ratio with this dialer is 3:1 or even 5:1.

Yeah, predictive dialers don't waste time.

The next prospects are dialed before an agent has finished the current call based on automatically calculated agent availability times.

But there's more.

Unlike preview or power dialers, predictive dialer calls 3-5 prospects at the same time and then connects the first answered call to a free agent.

Sound risky? It can be.

If more than one person answers at the same time, they receive a pre-recorded message or are put on hold.

Same thing if it turns out the estimated availability turns out to be incorrect and an agent takes more time for their current call.

Not ideal for your customers.

As cool as they are if well-handled, predictive dialers are not for the faint of heart.

They can be tricky to implement successfully because of all the fine-tuning you need to do beforehand to make sure your customer experience (CX) doesn't go downhill.

Auto-dialer types' pros and cons

As you can see, there's a time and place for each VoIP dialer.

That's why it's good to have the option to switch between them depending on the circumstances instead of relying on a single one for everything.

But if you had to choose, a power dialer would probably be the safest bet.

Now, how does all that compare to voice dialler apps?

Voice dialler app vs. VoIP dialer comparative table

Woah.

That's the last time you'll ask that question, huh?

I mean, it's hardly even comparable.

VoIP dialers have everything you could get from a voice dialler app plus a whole world of sales-friendly features on top.

It's no contest.

You know what you need to do. ASAP.

But if not…

7 Reasons to Integrate VoIP Dialer in Your Sales Process

Seven reasons because the blog post can only go on for so long.

You'll get the picture though, so buckle up!

Increases productivity

VoIP gets way more done with way less work for your reps who have enough on their plate during the calls.

They shouldn't also have to:

• Manually sort through lead information and choose who to call
• Remember all previous client interactions and info on the spot
• Waste time pressing buttons when they can auto-dial
• Be in the office to do all the work right (come on now, it's 2022, we're all over it)

And with a VoIP, they don't have to.

Fewer sacrifices, happier reps, more work done.

All we see are wins here.

Improves performance

With features like call tracking, recording, coaching, etc., you get all eyes on your team so you can jump in to help them in real-time and celebrate their biggest wins.

VoIP is great for sales performance management.

It's even better for performance improvement.

1. With a better overview, you can work on problem areas
2. The focus is on team skill-building
3. You can test your approach in a controlled setting
4. Collect analytics and keep improving your tactics
5. Reward great performance to incentivize your reps
6. Stop micro-managing and employee burnout

In other words, you can sit back and watch the magic happen.

Keeps you available

Using mobile VoIP literally means your clients can reach you anywhere, anytime.

Clients go with the companies that respond first. As much as 82% of customers expect an immediate response from sales teams.

If you don't pick up quickly enough, there's nothing stopping your clients from turning to your competitors who are ready to accommodate them.

They expect you to be available constantly and they are happier with your business if you're always there when they need you.

With the right tech, this is actually attainable.

VoIP allows you to take a call remotely at any point of the day or automatically forward it to another agent if you're busy, so nothing goes to waste.

CRM integration

No need to keep double data or switch between apps as you're going through your daily workload.

Between 76% of companies offering support outside traditional hours and customers expecting seamless multi-channel communication with companies, one thing's crystal clear:

You gotta have a centralized system in place to keep up.

With a CRM service, you could have a unified database where you automatically collect the intelligence from all communication platforms…

And support it with other important client details…

And a whole range of other indispensable CRM features to optimize the hell out of your sales process.

You're always local

Without a local ID, you look fake or untrustworthy, and a lot of prospects won't even pick up the phone.

A dizzying 94% of unidentified calls go unanswered.

94 percent! Man, the frustration. The time wasted. And to think how you must feel at such high rates of instant rejection.

Your skin can only be so tough.

But not with a VoIP dialer.

With a local ID, you're always familiar.

There's no weird out-of-state number on your clients' phones when you cold call and you're much more likely to have a positive first interaction.

(Or any interaction, for starters.)

And we don't really need to stress how important first impressions are in sales, do we?

Lead data at your fingertips

So what happens when you do reach a lead, or when a client calls you?

It's a weird feeling, right?

Like, you're happy you're on the call. It's happening. You're doing your thing.

But also, you're panicking because you're on and the client expects you to know the details of your previous interactions as if they're the only person you talked with.

Imagine you didn't have to remember everything about everyone during your calls because you have a database where all the information is segmented, sorted, and regularly updated.

Imagine.

A client calls, you immediately load the entire client history and are able to slide in a reference they recognize.

Wow. What a sales rep! What a company! You really cared!

Take the flattery and thank your VoIP dialler later. 😉

Increased customer satisfaction

Well, at this point, it only makes sense. You're always available, you pay attention to what they're saying, you're being reliable and useful to them…

Of course, they're happy.

A VoIP dialler makes you look like a real sales superstar and your clients' best friend-slash-confidant.

Once you establish that connection with your clients, you've got yourself a loyal customer base that truly has no reason to leave.

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Questions?

FAQs

Do you need a special phone to use VoIP?

Short answer: nope.

VoIP can be accessed from any device as long as you have the internet, and often you'll even be able to seamlessly jump between those devices during a call.

How fancy is VoIP?

Which VoIP sales dialer is the best?

Really going for the easy answer there, huh?

We get it.

But instead of deciding on one ultimate dialer, think about the scenarios each sales dialer is designed for and you'll be able to identify a great fit.

If you're not about selling on a huge scale, a predictive dialer could be overkill.

Preview or power dialers could help you focus on providing the best possible client experience so a higher rate of your leads convert.

On the other hand, if you are dead set on improving your call productivity, burning through a large campaign, or just hate wasting time, a predictive dialer could be just the thing for you.

But on average?

If we had to answer with no other info, a power dialer would have the best shot at working out in the majority of cases. Here's why:

• Productivity is higher than preview dialing so you'd still hit decent targets
• There's no risk of abandoned calls or weird pauses in client interactions
• Your sales reps would have momentum
• Most calls are follow-ups anyway
• And if the situation called for it, you could easily insert a few manual calls here and there for high-customization and personalization

In any case…

Conclusion: VoIP + CRM = Sales Power Couple

We'd say you could use a voice dialler app but… we're not sure those even exist anymore.

The days when you needed an app for voice dialing services are long gone.

Literally, every phone nowadays has this feature!

VoIP dialers are where you actually unlock dozens of sales-friendly features.

They can:

• Cut your work in half
• Automate the boring parts
• And make you look like the most attentive sales team your clients ever met

Plugged into a CRM?

Even better.

Request a demo with Ringy if you want to experience sales from a centralized platform that ties all your loose ends into a streamlined system.