What‘s a Sales Dialer and 13 of the Best Dialer Software in 2024

If your sales team is still manually dialing numbers, you‘re leaving money on the table. Research shows that sales reps spend over 15% of their time just entering digits – time they could be spending engaging prospects and closing deals. That‘s where sales dialers come in.

What is a Sales Dialer?

A sales dialer is software that automatically dials prospect phone numbers for reps. Instead of punching in numbers by hand, reps can simply click a button and the dialer will call the next contact. Dialers save reps hours of tedious labor each week.

But modern sales dialers go far beyond just automating number entry. Top solutions come packed with productivity-boosting features like:

• Click-to-Call: Dial a contact directly from your CRM with a single click
• Power Dialing: Automatically dial a pre-loaded list of numbers in sequence
• Voicemail Drop: Leave a pre-recorded voicemail if a prospect doesn‘t answer
• Local Presence: Display a local area code to increase connection rates
• Call Recording: Log and review calls for training and compliance
• Real-Time Coaching: Listen in on live calls and provide reps feedback
• Analytics & Reporting: Track key performance metrics like dials and talk time

The Impact of Dialer Software on Sales Teams

The impact of deploying a dialer across a sales org can be transformational. Industry studies have found that dialer software can provide:

• 300% increase in call volume
• 30-50% improvement in live chat rates
• 3 hours per day in time savings per rep
• 20-30% lift in appointments set

In one case study, a team using a dialer made 46,000 dials and had 3600 conversations in just one week – a 7.6% connect rate that generated over 700 new opportunities. Needless to say, this is a game changer.

How to Choose the Best Sales Dialer for Your Team

With so many dialer solutions on the market, choosing the right one for your org can be daunting. Having implemented dialers for dozens of B2B sales teams, here are the key features I always look for:

1. CRM Integration: The dialer should sync seamlessly with your CRM to eliminate manual data entry. Look for options with out-of-the-box integrations with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive.

2. Dialing Modes: Different dialing modes (power, preview, predictive, progressive) fit different use cases. Have your top 2-3 providers walk through which modes fit your team‘s workflow.

3. Coaching Tools: Call whispering and barging allow managers to listen in and coach reps in real-time. Call recording and scoring make it easy to review conversations for quality assurance.

4. Automation: The best dialers automate mundane tasks like leaving voicemails, sending follow-up emails, and dispositioning calls. This keeps reps focused on live conversations.

5. Reporting & Analytics: Robust reporting is a must-have to track performance metrics like dials, talk time, and conversions. Look for customizable dashboards that highlight the KPIs that matter most for your team.

6. Compliance: Avoid costly fines by ensuring your dialer is compliant with TCPA, GDPR, and other telemarketing regulations. Ask about features like DNC list scrubbing.

Comparison of Top Sales Dialer Solutions

To jumpstart your evaluation, here‘s a side-by-side look at the key features and pricing of some of the leading sales dialers on the market:

Dialer	Power Dial	Predictive Dial	Voicemail Drop	Local Presence	CRM Integration	Pricing
PhoneBurner	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	$149/user
Kixie	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	$65/user
RingCentral	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	$50/user
Aircall	✓	✕	✓	✓	✓	$50/user
Zendesk Sell	✓	✓	✕	✕	✓	$50/user
Five9	✓	✓	✓	✕	✓	$100/user
Dialpad	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	$95/user
VanillaSoft	✓	✕	✓	✓	✓	$100/user
CrazyCall	✓	✕	✓	✓	✓	$45/user
Mojo Dialer	✓	✕	✓	✕	✓	$99/user
Talkdesk	✓	✓	✓	✕	✓	$65/user
ConnectAndSell	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	$3995/mo
HubSpot	✓	✕	✕	✕	✓	Free!

*Pricing as of February 2024 for standard packages

These are just a handful of the 100+ dialers on the market. I always recommend starting a list of 5-10 that appear to meet your core criteria, then setting up demos to click through the interface and ask detailed questions.

5 Tips for Successfully Deploying a Sales Dialer

Having the right sales dialer is just the first step. To achieve the productivity gains you‘re after, you need to nail the implementation. Here are some lessons I‘ve learned rolling out dialers with sales teams:

1. Develop call scripts: Work with your top reps to map out talk tracks for different prospect personas and buying scenarios. Load these into your dialer for easy access.

2. Set activity goals: Establish targets for key metrics like dials per day, talk time, and conversions. Monitor progress daily and coach reps who are falling short.

3. Continuously train: Schedule regular training sessions to reinforce dialer best practices and call handling techniques. Make call recordings easily accessible for self-study.

4. Automate workflows: Use your dialer‘s automation features to streamline prospect follow-up. Set up voicemail drops, email sequences, and SMS tasks to trigger based on call outcomes.

5. Monitor compliance: Regularly scrub your call lists against DNC registries. Monitor calls to ensure reps are following approved scripts. Document your compliance policies.

When in doubt, lean on your dialer provider‘s onboarding and success teams for guidance. Most offer white-glove support to ensure you‘re getting the most from the tool.

The Future of Sales Dialer Software

As I look ahead to the rest of 2024 and beyond, there are a few key trends I believe will shape the sales dialer category:

Conversational intelligence goes mainstream: AI that analyzes calls for keywords, sentiment and next steps will become a standard feature. Reps will get real-time guidance while managers identify coaching opportunities at scale.

Further unification of communication channels: Dialers will serve as command centers to orchestrate multi-channel campaigns across phone, email, SMS, social, and video. Native integrations with tools like Outreach and Salesloft will be critical.

Renewed focus on rep experience: Time-saving features that reduce post-call work, automate list management, and improve data capture will drive evaluation. At the same time, streamlined UIs will make dialer software more accessible for non-technical reps.

In-dialer coaching becomes essential: Real-time rep assistance will go beyond whispers to include AI call scoring, battlecards, and video coaching. Predictive analytics will identify which reps need coaching when.

The sales dialer has come a long way from just being "the thing that dials numbers for you." As innovations in AI and automation accelerate, these tools will only become more essential for go-to-market teams of all stripes looking to boost performance and efficiency.

If you take one thing away from this guide, it‘s that a sales dialer is one of the highest-ROI tools your team can invest in for 2024. By automating the grunt work, your reps will have more time to do what they do best – connect with prospects and bring in revenue. So get out there and start dialing!