What is a predictive dialer?

How predictive dialer software works, how it differs from a progressive dialer, and what a cloud setup means for your team.

Your outbound team has a list of 2,000 numbers to get through today. Each agent dials, waits, listens to it ring, gets voicemail and dials again. By lunchtime, they’ve spent more time listening to ringing than talking to customers. Sound familiar?

A predictive dialer (or predictive dialler, as it’s often spelled in the UK) is built for exactly that problem. It’s an automated outbound calling system that dials several numbers at the same time and connects answered calls to agents who are free. Predictive dialer software uses a pacing algorithm to estimate when each agent will finish their current call, and adjusts how fast it dials to match. Whether you run it on your own servers or as a cloud predictive dialer, the goal is the same: less time waiting, more time talking.

 

How does a predictive dialer work?

A predictive dialer doesn’t wait for an agent to be free before it calls the next number. It looks ahead. The algorithm keeps track of a few things in real time:

  • How many agents are logged in and available
  • How long an average call lasts
  • How long agents need to wrap up after a call, for example to add notes to the CRM
  • How many calls actually get answered by a person

Say only one in three calls gets answered. With ten agents about to come free, the system might dial around 30 numbers. Calls that ring out, get a busy tone or reach an answering machine are filtered out. Only answered calls go through to an agent, with the customer details already on screen.

The tricky part is balance. If the dialer is too slow, agents sit and wait. If it’s too fast, a customer picks up and there’s nobody free to talk to them. That’s called an abandoned call, and it’s annoying for the person on the other end. In the UK, Ofcom can treat too many silent or abandoned calls as misuse. That’s why good predictive dialer software lets you set a maximum abandoned call rate and paces itself to stay under it.

 

Choosing a dialer: predictive or progressive?

Predictive and progressive dialers both automate outbound calling. But they work in different ways, and they suit different teams.

A progressive dialer calls one number per agent, and only when that agent is free. There’s no guessing. The agent finishes a call, the dialer calls the next number and the agent hears it ring. You get almost no abandoned calls, but your agents spend more time waiting.

A predictive dialler calls several numbers per agent and predicts when each agent will be ready. You get more conversations per hour, with a small risk of abandoned calls.

So which one fits you? A rough rule of thumb:

  • Long lists, short calls and a larger team, such as appointment reminders, surveys or payment reminders: a predictive dialer makes sense.
  • Shorter lists, important contacts or calls where the agent needs to prepare, such as B2B sales or account management: a progressive dialer usually works better. A preview dialer is another option here. The agent sees the customer record first and decides when to call.

Many systems let you switch modes per campaign. So when you set up a dialer, predictive mode doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

 

Why choose a cloud predictive dialer?

Not long ago, a predictive dialler meant a server in your comms room and weeks of setup. Today, most teams pick a cloud predictive dialer instead. It’s the same move many teams have already made with their cloud call centre software. Here’s what that changes in practice:

  • No hardware to buy or maintain. Your agents log in through a browser or an app.
  • Agents work from anywhere. Office, home or another site: everyone works from the same lists and the same reports.
  • Easy to scale. Taking on a seasonal campaign? Add agents for a few weeks, then scale back down.
  • Updates happen automatically. You don’t have to plan maintenance windows.
  • Links with your CRM. Answered calls arrive with the customer details on screen, and call results go straight back into the record.
  • Live insight. Supervisors see answer rates, talk time and abandoned calls as they happen, so they can adjust a campaign on the spot.

 

What happens when customers call you back?

Here’s something a predictive dialer doesn’t solve on its own. The moment you call 2,000 people, some of them call you back. They missed your call, saw your number and want to know who rang. Or they said “not now” and changed their mind an hour later.

If that call lands in a general queue, or rings out after hours, you lose the lead. And the customer is left wondering why you called in the first place.

That’s where Xelion comes in. Xelion is a phone system in the cloud, built in house and used by more than 20,000 businesses. Its call management features make sure returning callers get a proper answer:

  • Match caller connects a returning caller with the agent who spoke to them before. Nobody has to explain everything twice.
  • Call queues and ACD send callers to the right team, based on the number they dial or the option they choose in the IVR.
  • Callers in a queue can choose to be called back instead of waiting on hold.
  • Opening hours settings decide what happens to calls outside office hours, so nobody hears endless ringing.
  • CRM integrations show customer details the moment a call comes in, so your agent knows straight away which campaign it’s about.
  • A wallboard and realtime reports show waiting callers, answered calls and missed calls. When callbacks start to pile up, supervisors can move agents from outbound to inbound.
  • Presence shows you who is available, who is on a call and who is wrapping up.
  • Call recording, listen in and call whisper help team leaders coach new agents during live calls.

All of this comes in one licence. No separate modules for queues, recording or reporting. Just the contact centre features your team needs, ready to use.

Frequently asked questions

No. “Dialler” is the UK spelling and “dialer” is the US spelling. It’s the same technology.

Ideally, they reach the agent who called them, or at least the right team. Match caller, call queues and clear opening hours settings make that happen without manual work. And with real time reports, you can see how many callbacks came in and how many you missed.

Yes, as long as you follow the rules. Ofcom keeps an eye on how many calls you abandon. When no agent is free, you need to play a short message that says who’s calling, within two seconds of the call being answered. You also need to show a number people can call back. And if you make marketing calls, PECR and GDPR rules apply to who you call. Always check the latest Ofcom guidance before you start a campaign.

It depends on how many calls get answered. The algorithm adjusts all the time. When answer rates drop, it dials more numbers per agent. When they go up, it slows down.

It’s a feature that recognises when a call reaches voicemail instead of a person. The dialer then drops that call or leaves a recorded message, so your agents only talk to real people.

Not always. Predictive pacing works best with a steady flow of calls and enough agents to spread them over. With a small team, a progressive or preview dialer often feels more natural and gives fewer abandoned calls.

In the cloud, the provider hosts and updates the software. You just log in. With a system on your own servers, you buy the hardware and your IT team looks after it.

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Ready to get a grip on your callbacks?

Your outbound campaign is only as good as what happens when people call you back. With Xelion, you see who calls, who picks up and which calls you missed. Request a demo and see how call queues, reports and the wallboard work in practice. Or contact us and we’ll put you in touch with an accredited partner near you.

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