Best Outbound Call Center Software [Reviewed by Experts]

Outbound call center software facilitates customer engagement by helping agents reach out to as many customers, leads, and contacts as possible.

As customer expectations increase, so do demands on call center agents. Businesses use outbound call center software to automate many aspects of outbound campaigns, reduce human error, and alleviate pressure on live agents.

In this article, we'll review the most popular outbound call center software that can help you automate repetitive call center processes and free up agents' time to focus on high-priority customer interactions.

 

Our Research Methodology

There are several factors we take into account when comparing outbound call center software providers:

• Reliability: We looked at how reliable the service is and considered whether there is an uptime guarantee, redundancy, etc.
• Security: We considered whether the provider offered advanced security features such as data encryption, multi-factor authentication, etc. And whether the provider has compliance certifications
• Customer Support: We looked at what the customer support hours were, whether onboarding support is offered, premium packages etc. We also looked at what customers said about the effectiveness of customer service.
• Pricing and plans: We considered whether the provider was offering a value at the price point, whether they offered different pricing plans for different budgets, etc.
• Included features: We looked at whether advanced features were offered and whether they were included or had to be purchased separately.

 

Best Outbound Call Center Software

• Five9 - Best for blended inbound and outbound call centers
• Talkdesk - Best for healthcare and retail call centers
• NICE CXone - Best for telemarketing and cold calling
• Nextiva - Best for workforce optimization
• Dialpad -Best for omnichannel contact centers
• CloudTalk - Best for startups and low volume call centers
• RingCentral - Best for large enterprises and high volume centers
• Aircall - Best for small and medium sized businesses

 

Provider	Pricing	Outbound Features	Channels
Five9	$119-$159+/user/month	Power, predictive, and progressive dialers, voicemail drop, click-to-dial, AI Agent Assist	Voice, SMS/MMS, email, live chat, social media, WhatsApp
Talkdesk	$85-$225/user/month	Power, predictive, and progressive dialers, voicemail drop, click-to-dial, AI-powered Autopilot	Voice, SMS, email, live chat, social media, video, WhatsApp
NICE CXone	$110-$249/user/month	Power, predictive, and progressive dialers, voicemail drop, click-to-dial, AI routing, outbound campaign management	Voice, SMS, email, live chat, social media, WhatsApp, messaging apps
Nextiva	$15-$75+/user/month	Power and predictive dialers, click-to-dial, voicemail drop, AI transcription	Voice, SMS, video, team chat, email, live chat, social media
Dialpad	Dialpad Connect - $15-$25/user/month Dialpad Sell - $39-$150/user/month	Power dialer (Salesforce only), click-to-dial, voicemail drop, real-time AI coaching	Voice, SMS/MMS, video, team chat
CloudTalk	$19-$49/user/month	Power, predictive, parallel, and progressive dialers, click-to-dial, voicemail drop, local numbers in 160+ countries	Voice first with SMS
RingCentral	RingEX- $20-$35/user/month RingCX - $65+/user/month	Power/predictive/progressive dialers (RingCX only), click-to-dial, voicemail drop	Voice, SMS/MMS, video, team chat, live chat, social (RingCX)
Aircall	$30-$50/user/month	Power dialer, click-to-dial, voicemail drop, local numbers, AI assist	Voice first with SMS/MMS and WhatsApp (add-on)

 

Five9

 

 

Five9 is a call center software solution combining voice, email, SMS/MMS, and social media messaging functionality with AI-powered workforce engagement tools. Five9's robust platform includes advanced WEM features like employee forecasting, live agent shift bidding, and real-time adherence monitoring to eliminate bottlenecks, optimize available agents, and reduce waste.

Five9's WFM and WEM tools also make it a great platform for agent training. Supervisors have user friendly dashboards that display agent performance metrics and analytics.

 

Why We Picked Five9

Five9 offers a number of tools that benefit outbound call centers such as auto dialing, call recording, and advanced analytics. Five9's platform heavily supports outbound agents with six different types of auto dialers including preview, predictive, and TCPA compliant.

Five9's AI-powered workflow automation tools are also beneficial to outbound call centers specifically as they decrease instances of agent burnout and allow agents to focus on converting leads and building relationships while automating tedious tasks such as after-call work.

 

Pricing

Five9 offers five paid plans starting at $119 monthly, per user for the Digital plan. The Digital plans includes chat, email, social media, SMS/MMS, and no voice functionality. The Core plan costs $159 monthly per user and adds on voice functionality with call recording and auto dialing.

The Plus plan includes AI Knowledge and Agent Assist, the Pro plan does not include Agent Assist but adds on Workforce Management. Enterprise plans have both AI Agent Assist and WFM. AI Agents can be purchased as an add-on.

For more information, read our review of Five9 pricing and plans.

 

Standout Features

• Workflow automation: Users build low-code cross-platform workflows to update the CRM with conversions, send confirmations to customers, and more
• Interaction analytics: Automatically analyzes voice and digital conversations for sentiment, topic identification, etc.
• Auto Dialer: Includes six different types of auto dialers
• Integrations: Includes access to a library with over 50 pre-built integrations to popular business applications
• AI Agent Assist: Includes real-time transcription, custom call summarization, auto-generated summaries and automated after-call work
• AI Knowledge: Understands a customer’s request and uses contextual data to search across the company’s data for the most relevant information

 

What We Like and Dislike About Five9

 

Five9 is Best for:

• Blended inbound/outbound call centers: Five9 offers a number of advanced features that benefit both inbound and outbound call centers
• SMBs: Five9 offers 24/7 customer support and advanced features such as automations to all users, making it a solid choice for SMBs
• Sales teams: Five9 includes 6 types of auto dialer in all plans, and offers gamification tools, making it perfect for sales calls

 

Talkdesk

 

 

Talkdesk is a cloud based contact center software solution that combines voice and digital engagement channels with performance management, business intelligence, and custom reporting.

Talkdesk's user-friendly platform includes a security suite with threat detection and compliance management, making Talkdesk a solid option for heavily regulated industries like finance and healthcare.

Talkdesk's live-agent dashboards can be customized with CRM integrations, databases, and various languages and agents can switch between channels easily.

 

Why We Picked Talkdesk

Talkdesk works well for outbound call centers due to its customizability, easy to use platform, and proactive outbound engagement tools. Outbound call centers can integrate almost any CRM to Talkdesk's AI-powered predictive dialer, as Talkdesk offers over 70 integrations.

Talkdesk offers an intuitive campaign management dashboard that enables agents to track campaign progress and customize the number of attempts per record, calling hours, and more. Talkdesk outbound campaigns can be voice or digital with options for bulk text messaging.

 

Pricing

Talkdesk offers three paid plans ranging from $85 to $165 monthly, per user, along with industry specific "Experience Clouds" for $225 monthly, per user. The economical Digital Essentials plan ($85/user/month) includes email, chat, SMS, and social messaging channels but no voice functionality. The Voice Essentials plan ($105/user/month) adds on voice engagement, speech recognition, voicemail transcription, and APIs.

The Elite plan ($165/user/month) adds on workforce management and custom reporting. The Industry Experience Clouds ($225/user/month) add on industry specific automated workflows and integrations. Companies can choose from the following industries:

• Financial services
• Insurance
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Travel/Hospitality
• Utilities
• Commercial/Residential
• Government

Add-ons include AI-driven autopilot, copilot and Talkdesk Navigator- and AI-powered router that uses natural language processing and real time context.

For more information, check out our review of Talkdesk pricing.

 

Standout Features

• Industry AI Agents: Virtual agents built for specific industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare, etc. with the ability to deliver life-like self-service across both voice and digital channels
• Screen recording: Users have access to a full view of agent desktop activity while agents are handling phone calls
• Predictive dialer: Uses AI to intelligently place outbound calls while filtering out unproductive calls, such as voicemail, busy signals, and no answers for maximum productivity
• Bulk SMS: Users configure rules and create content for event-triggered SMS notifications
• Integrations: Talkdesk offers over 70 out-of-the-box integrations as well as access to APIs for all users

 

What We Like and Dislike About Talkdesk

 

Talkdesk is Best for

• Healthcare providers: Talkdesk is HIPAA compliant and includes integrations with EHRs
• Financial services sector: Offers a banking and insurance package with 100% uptime SLA, pre-built workflows and integrations with core banking systems
• Retail call centers: Customer experience analytics and agent assist make Talkdesk a great choice for retail businesses

 

NICE CXone

 

 

NICE CXone is a contact center solution with flexible pricing and advanced features like quality management, AI forecasting, and omnichannel analytics. With over 40 communication channels, NICE offers more options for customer interaction than most competitors. NICE also enables companies to create intelligent self-service bots.

NICE CXone's AI-powered omnichannel routing and advanced analytics enables administrators to monitor IVR options chosen, seconds saved per interaction, and a myriad of other metrics across channels.

 

Why We Picked NICE CXone

NICE CXone includes a number of features for outbound call centers including call recording, proactive dialing, and quality management. NICE leverages AI to support live outbound agents, providing analysis of all omnichannel customer interactions in real-time. The large number of communication channels allows outbound contact centers to further customize interactions.

NICE CXone includes a number of auto dialers such as predictive, preview and progressive, to increase agent productivity. Additionally, NICE offers campaign management tools such as lead qualification and profile segmentation, designed to increase the effectiveness of outbound campaigns.

 

Pricing

NICE CXone offers five paid plans ranging from $110 to $249 monthly per user as well as industry specific plans for $249 monthly per user or $0.25 per session. The Omnichannel Suite plan ($110/user/month) includes voice and digital channels as well as omnichannel routing.

The Essential Suite plan ($135/user/month) adds on screen recording and quality management. The Core Suite plan ($169/user/month) adds on workforce and performance management. The Complete Suite plan ($209/user/month) adds on voice of the customer and interaction analytics, and the Ultimate Suite plan ($249/user/month) adds on Copilot, customer facing virtual agents, and AutoSummary.

Industry specific plans include tailored AI agent assist and are available for banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, and government sectors.

Learn more about NICE CXone pricing and plans in our detailed review.

 

Standout Features

• Omnichannel analytics: Includes prebuilt data visualization, dashboards, and reports​ for Voice and digital channels
• AI forecasting and scheduling: Predicts call center demand and schedules agents accordingly
• Proactive dialer: No pause predictive, preview, and progressive dialing
• Outbound campaign management: Helps managers optimize engagement strategies with real-time dashboards and compliance controls
• AI Routing: Matches calls to agents using holistic CX data to improve customer experience and reduce costs

 

What We Like and Dislike About NICE CXone

 

NICE CXone is Best for:

• SMBs: NICE CXone’s intuitive platform and flexible pricing model makes it a great choice for SMBs
• Telemarketing and cold calling: Outbound campaign management tools and guided customer journeys make NICE CXone a great solution for telemarketing call centers
• International companies: NICE offers carrier grade solutions available in more than 130 countries

 

Nextiva

 

 

Nextiva is a UCaaS and CCaaS provider that offers reliable and secure service for both VoIP and digital channels such as chat, SMS, and email. Nextiva's contact center software integrates seamlessly with Nextiva business communications, allowing businesses to quickly scale and implement additional options for customers such as live chat.

Netiva users can choose a voice only or full service omnichannel solution. Users can also purchase add-ons such as social media monitoring, which allows administrators to track the company's mentions and online reputation.

 

Why We Picked Nextiva

Nextiva offers many features for outbound and blended contact centers such as workforce optimization, call recording, and interaction analytics. Nextiva also includes native CRM tools and screen pops which display customer data to agents while they are on calls. This feature helps outbound call center agents to have more personalized interactions.

Nextiva also includes a robust auto dialer and a Sales add-on which helps agents monitor leads through the conversion pipelines, with customer journey history.

 

Pricing

Nextiva offers three UCaaS plans ranging from $15 to $75 monthly, per user. All plans include inbound/outbound calling and SMS plus video meetings, team chat, and routing. The Scale plan ($75/user/month) adds on skills based routing and journey orchestration, making it a possibility for small outbound contact centers.

Nextiva also offers three CCaaS plans starting at $75 monthly, per user. The CCaaS Essential plan is nearly identical to the UCaaS Scale plan. The Professional and Premium plans which are both quote-based add on secure payment, predictive and progressive dialing, and the Premium plan adds on workforce management and advanced analytics.

For more information, check out our detailed review of Nextiva pricing and plans.

 

Standout Features

• Interaction analytics: Includes real-time and historical data on contact center performance (response and hold times, abandoned calls, resolution time, call transfer rate, etc.)
• Customer surveys: Users automatically send satisfaction surveys to gauge net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)
• Call coaching: Managers are able to review agent scorecards that display real-time call data for each user
• Predictive dialer: Places a call a few seconds before an agent completes the previous call by estimating the agent’s call duration and availability
• AI transcription and summary: Automatically transcribes and takes call notes during interactions and generates a summary

 

What We Like and Dislike About Nextiva

 

Nextiva is Best for

• Small businesses: Nextiva’s focus on customer support and user friendly interface make it a great choice for small businesses
• Healthcare providers: Nextiva is HIPAA compliance and offers advanced security features including 99.999% uptime and call encryption
• Remote teams: Nextiva has a mobile app that enables agents to make and receive calls from anywhere

 

Dialpad

 

 

Dialpad is a full service UCaaS and CCaaS platform that combines telephony with video conferencing, team messaging, email, web chat, social media messaging, chatbots, and virtual agents. Dialpad has invested heavily in researching AI, machine learning, and natural language processing, and as a result offers some of the most dynamic and cutting edge AI support tools of any CCaaS solution.

Dialpad's AI-powered tools include call transcription, live-agent assistance, automated coaching, customer sentiment scoring, and video meeting transcription.

 

Why We Picked Dialpad

Dialpad’s AI Contact Center platform is an excellent choice for outbound call centers due to their intelligent contact center tools such as transcription and real-time analytics. Dialpad offers an AI Sales add-on which provides outbound auto-dialing with CRM integrations, custom reporting and analytics, voicemail drop, automated post-call notes, and AI-powered real-time agent speech recommendations.

Dialpad's AI CSAT tool automatically analyzes conversations in real-time and delivers CSAT scores, predictive analytics, agent assist, performance reports, and post-interaction SMS surveys. These tools increase agent efficiency and effectiveness while streamlining outbound call center operations.

 

Pricing

Dialpad Sell, which is Dialpad's outbound engagement platform offers three pricing plans ranging from $39 to $150 monthly per user. All plans include call recording, IVR, video meetings and company directory.

The Advanced plan ($95/user/month) adds on local dial, voicemail drop, power dialer, and AI live coaching. The Premium plan ($150/user/month) adds on screen recording, AI scorecards, and AI CSAT.

Learn more about Dialpad pricing and plans in our review.

 

Standout Features

• AI Live Coach Cards: Automatically triggered pop-ups with suggestions and feedback for human agents in real time and during calls
• AI Playbooks: GenAI analyzes user responses and post-call analytics to help supervisors build a customizable training manual that features techniques that have consistently driven conversions
• Call monitoring: Includes silent monitoring, whisper coaching, and barge-in capabilities
• Custom moments: AI-powered feature that notes when a preset word or phrase comes up in a phone conversation
• AI scorecards: Out-of-the-box templates that supervisors use to evaluate customer conversations
• Call recording: Users are able to monitor and record calls and also make a “playlist” of customer calls

 

What We Like and Dislike About Dialpad

 

Dialpad is Best for

• Omnichannel contact centers: Dialpad users can select to purchase one digital channel as an add on or they can add all available channels (Facebook messenger, SMS, WhatsApp, etc.) depending on the needs of the business
• SMBs: Dialpad has a user friendly interface with live customer support available to all users
• Agent training: Dialpad includes a lot of features for agent coaching and training such as scorecards, call monitoring, playlists, screen recording, etc.

 

CloudTalk

 

 

CloudTalk is an automated dialing software solution and phone system that includes popular CCaaS features. CloudTalk allows companies to purchase phone numbers from over 140 countries, making it a great choice for global teams. CloudTalk users can choose to port their original phone number or select a new local or toll-free phone number.

CloudTalk integrates with a wide variety of CRMs and other applications, and includes features such as call recording, call queuing, skills-based routing, SMS/text messaging, conference calls, call flow designer, automated call distribution, real-time dashboards, and call monitoring.

 

Why We Picked CloudTalk

CloudTalk is a low price option for startup call centers with several outbound calling features. CloudTalk's smart dialer gives agents a high amount of control over outbound call campaigns while workflow automations increase agent efficiency and productivity.

Although CloudTalk pricing plans start at just $25 per month per user, a custom plan is necessary for unlimited outbound calling. Custom plans include unlimited outbound calls at a flat rate. For this reason, CloudTalk is best for startups and small contact centers that don't conduct regular high volume outbound campaigns and want the flexibility to pay only for what they use.

 

Pricing

CloudTalk offers three pricing plans ranging from $19 to $49 monthly, per user. All plans include unlimited calling in the US and Canada and local numbers in 160+ countries. The Essentials plan ($29/user/month) adds on call queues, queue callback, and auto outbound number. The Expert plan ($49/user/month) adds on power, preview, and smart dialer, as well as live monitoring and real-time analytics.

Add-ons include power dialer ($15/user/month), parallel dialer ($39/user/month), AI conversation intelligence ($9/user/month), AI voice agents ($99/month for 200 minutes), branded caller ID ($0.07/call), and spam remediation (custom plans).

For more details see our review of CloudTalk pricing.

 

Standout Features

• Smart dialer: Populates a call queue with numbers from a website, CRM, etc. Users can customize number order and time between calls
• Call monitoring: Includes call whisper, call listening and call barge capabilities
• Mobile App: User-friendly app includes click-to-call, choice of which outgoing phone number will appear on caller id, and CRM integrations
• AI Voice Agents: Conduct inbound lead intake and can handle warm transfers, appointment booking, returns, FAQs, etc.

 

What We Like and Dislike About CloudTalk

 

CloudTalk is Best for:

• International companies: CloudTalk includes phone numbers in over 160 countries
• Startup call centers: CloudTalk offers some of the lowest prices in the CCaaS space
• Low volume call centers: Because CloudTalk charges per minute on outbound calls in most plans, it is an affordable solution for low volume call centers

 

RingCentral

 

 

RingCentral is one of the oldest and most experienced UCaaS and CCaaS brands out there. Their focus is on innovation and security, and they offer end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and HIPAA compliance, along with a suite of agentic AI-powered features such as AI Receptionist and Agent Assist.

RingCentral also offers large scale video conferencing, webinars, toll-free calling, and dynamic conference room setups with one-touch join, digital signing, and more. RingCentral customers can start out with a basic UCaaS system for about $20 per user, per month, and scale up to a full service CCaaS suite with voice and over 20 digital channels.

 

Why We Picked RingCentral

RingCentral's RingCX platform is an omnichannel system that integrates voice, video, email, messaging, social media, and webchat, allowing outbound centers to reach out on whatever communication channel their customers are most comfortable with.

For voice, RingCentral offers three modes of outbound dialers- preview, predictive, and progressive. The preview dialer supports both timed and untimed modes, and the predictive dialer can handle both inbound and outbound calls, and switch agents between the two depending on call volume peaks.

Agents also have access to script guidance and screen pops that provide context on calls such as disposition and agent notes, allowing them to personalize every interaction

 

Pricing

RingCentral's UCaaS platform ranges from $20 to $35 per user, per month. It includes voice, SMS, call queues and analytics, but doesn't offer advanced contact center capabilities.

The RingCX platform ranges from $65 to $145 per user, per month. RingCX includes ACD, IVR, skills-based routing, agent screen recording, and 20+ channels in every plan. The higher tiered plans add on AI-powered Agent Assist, workforce management, and interaction analytics.

AI Receptionist is purchased as a standalone product with pricing starting at $59 per month (100 minutes included).

 

Standout Features

• AI Receptionist: RingCentral's AI Receptionist can not only respond to incoming calls and texts but can capture leads and conduct intake in order to work with high volume outbound campaigns
• AI Supervisor Assist: Real-time insights are displayed to supervisors including live transcripts, AI notes, etc. for every agent interaction
• Predictive dialer: Rule setting and data integration capabilities enable admins to choose who to call, when, and how often

 

What We Like and Dislike About RingCentral

 

RingCentral Is Best For

• Large enterprises: RingCentral is able to scale to any number of calls or agents, with advanced insights, WFM/WFO, and automations
• Healthcare and Financial industry: RingCentral offers a high level of security with MFA, SSO, E2EE, HIPAA compliance etc., plus automated appointment booking
• Remote teams: RingCentral offers advanced collaboration tools including digital whiteboards and one of the best video conferencing platforms, as well as supervisor analytics

 

Aircall

 

 

Aircall is a CCaaS platform designed specifically for SMBs. It offers call recording, transdtiptions, power dialers, call transfers, and AI-powered tools. The Aircall workspace is a centralized hub that integrates voice, SMS, voicemail, and WhatsApp interactions into one threaded conversation for each customer.

AI-powered tools include sentiment analysis, call summaries, automated email follow up, and more. AI Voice Agent minutes are included in ever plan, and can also be purchased a la carte.

 

Why We Picked Aircall

Aircall includes several features that are tailored specifically toward outbound call centers such as power dialer, click-to-dial, voicemail drops, and analytics. Aircall also enhances outreach with local numbers, which improves answer rates.

Live call monitoring and call whispering enables supervisors to take an active role in every interaction, and more quickly and effectively train new agents.

Aircall is also one of the most affordable platforms in the CCaaS space, making it accessible to SMBs that are on a tight budget.

 

Pricing

Aircall offers two paid plans ranging from $30-$50 per month as well as custom, quote-based plans. The basic plan (Essentials) includes 50 minutes of AI Voice Agent per agent, per month, as well as 100 minutes at sign up. IVR, click-to-dial, call recording, SMS, and unlimited calling in the US and Canada is also included in every plan.

The Professional plan adds on AI Assist features, Salesforce integration, power dialer and voicemail drop. Custom plan users can choose to include unlimited international calling, SLAs, and single sign on. AI Assist and the Salesforce integration can also be purchased as an add-on. There is also an analytics add-on that includes advanced live monitoring, heat maps, and more.

AI Voice Agent minute bundles can also be purchased with per minute pricing starting at $0.19 per minute.

 

Standout Features

• Analytics+: Allows supervisors to drill down and export with unlimited history, charts, heatmaps, advanced filters, live monitoring, and dashboards built for specific areas of interest such as outbound activity
• WhatsApp in Aircall: Enables users to message numbers in over 180 countries with unified interactions, shared inboxes, auto logging, and branded templates
• Salesforce integration: Gives users full call control in the omnichannel widget with intelligent routing and call pops with relevant context in real time
• AI Voice Agent: Handles live transfers to humans with context, atomatic CRM logging, appointment scheduling, FAQ answering, and more

 

What We Like and Dislike About Aircall 

 

Aircall Is Best For

• Teams that use Salesforce: Although the Salesforce integration is not included in the Essentials plan, it is a deep integration that is user friendly and will save companies time and money in the long run
• SMB outbound teams: Aircall is affordable, quick to set up, and easy to customize making it very accessible to small teams that need a solution immediately
• Businesses that use voice and messaging primarily: Aircall has a lot of options for voice, SMS/text, and WhatsApp messaging without the complications of other channels such as video conferencing

 

What is Outbound Call Center Software?

Outbound call center software is a platform that lets sales and contact center teams run high-volume outbound calling without dialing every number manually. It handles the dialing, routing, agent workflow, compliance, and reporting that come with scaled outbound operations.

Core capabilities include automated dialers (predictive, power, and progressive), list and campaign management, an agent interface for note-taking and call dispositions, CRM integrations, and analytics on agent performance and campaign outcomes. Most modern platforms also include voicemail drop, local presence dialing, conversation intelligence, and built-in SMS and email so agents can run multi-channel outreach from one tool.

Outbound call center software is built for teams whose business model depends on dial volume and agent productivity. Sales teams use it to scale outbound prospecting, debt collection agencies use it for recovery campaigns, healthcare organizations use it for appointment reminders and patient outreach, and political and nonprofit groups use it for fundraising and voter contact.

 

Key Features of an Outbound Call Center Software

Every outbound call center software will look a little different depending on the industry, number of available agents, and business goals. Still, there are some features that are essential to every outbound call center.

The list below describes which features increase agent efficiency and customer satisfaction.

 

Call Monitoring

Call monitoring is a CCaaS feature that enables supervisors to listen in on agent calls with the goal of improving communication and training agents.

Call monitoring generally allows supervisors to listen to an agent call without interfering (call listen), to speak to the agent without the customer or prospect hearing them (call whisper), to convert the agent call to a conference call between the supervisor, agent, and prospect (call barge), or to disconnect the agent and speak with the prospect directly (call takeover).

 

CRM Integrations

A CRM system collects, organizes, and stores customer data like geographic location, previous purchases, and past interactions. Integrating CRM systems with outbound call center software provides important information to agents when they are on calls, allowing them to personalize every interaction.

CRM integrations such as Salesforce, Hubspot, and Zendesk provide agents with lead lists and call scripts, while CTI screen pops display contextual helpdesk and client data. Agents can also input post-call notes and follow-up details directly into the CRM.

 

Agent Scripting

Agent call center scripting is a call center tool that allows managers to build a comprehensive plan for agents to follow when reaching out to customers and prospects. Using cold calling scripts helps agents to move the conversation along without getting flustered.

Some call scripting tools allow managers to build a dynamic interactive flow chart using drag and drop tools. The agent script may include customer details pulled from third-party websites or public social media profiles to further personalize the interaction.

 

AI-Powered Virtual Agents

AI Agents are fully automated virtual agents that make calls, qualify leads, set appointments, conduct surveys, and handle collections at scale. The AI converses in natural language using either voice or text and hands off to a human when appropriate.

AI Agents also conduct pre-call research, automate text or call follow-ups, generate call summaries, and display context for warm transfers.

 

AI Agent Assist

Agent Assist has AI running during each interaction to assist agents in real time with next best action suggestions, talking points, purchase/service history, or compliance alerts. Automated screen pops (or coaching cards) display objection-handling scripts, competitive talking points, or product information when relevant topics are detected in the conversation.

Agent Assist may also display sentiment coaching cues if the prospect's tone is turning negative so they can adjust and fill in CRM fields in real time so agents aren't typing during the conversation.

 

Auto Dialers

An auto dialer is a software that automatically dials numbers from a preset lead list or phone number database. Auto dialers filter out busy or disconnected numbers and can even automate after-call work and TCPA compliance. Many also automatically update Do Not Call lists and assign customer dispositions.

There are several different types of auto dialers:

• Parallel dialer: Calls multiple numbers simultaneously for each individual agent, when a call connects the agent is bridged in and the other calls are dropped. The goal is to eliminate idle time and increase productivity.
• Predictive dialer: Uses AI to predict when an agent will be available and starts dialing before agents are available. Best for improving sales rep contact rates.
• Progressive dialer: Immediately dials as soon as the next agent is available. Best for contact centers where quality contact is more important than quantity.
• Preview dialer: Displays contact history and information to the agent before the number is dialed. Best for high value interactions.
• Power dialer: Automatically dials numbers on a list, one after another. If there is a disconnect or no answer the next number will be immediately dialed without input from the agent.
• Dynamic dialer: Adjusts dialing behavior in real time based on agent availability, call queue depth, and time of day. Leverages AI to continuously recalibrate in order to optimize connect rates.
• TCPA Safe dial: Manual dialing with built-in compliance. Best for safely calling customers that have not opted in to a campaign.

 

Reporting and Analytics

Contact center reporting and analytics track agent activity and key performance indicators (KPIs). AI-powered analytics can be used to gain insights from voice and digital interactions such as trends, frequently asked questions, etc. Reporting can be historical or in real-time and supervisors can choose which metrics to focus on using customizable templates.

Outbound KPIs include:

• Call pickup rate
• Average call duration
• Average handle time (AHT)
• Answering machine detection rate
• Rejection rate
• Agent wait time between calls
• Conversion rate
• Hold time
• After call work rate

Modern platforms use AI to transcribe interactions in real time, analyze 100% of interactions to uncover insights and trends, automate scorecard completion, ensure compliance, and monitor agent performance.

AI tools will also track consumer sentiment and emotion in order to flag difficult calls in real time and surface common pain points or training opportunities.

 

Customer Surveys

Outbound call center software collects critical feedback via Voice of the Customer (VoC) surveys. Customer surveys are the perfect tool for gathering unique perspectives about the quality and effectiveness of the service received. Post-call survey data helps contact center supervisors improve customer loyalty, CSAT rates, and NPS scores.

Many CCaaS providers include customer survey templates such as:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey: Determines how likely the customer is to recommend the product/service to a friend.
• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) survey: Determines how satisfied the customer was.
• Customer Effort Score survey: Determines how easy it was for the customer to have their issue resolved.
• Open-ended questions: Includes open-ended questions such as “How did you decide to use our product/service?”

 

Automations

Call center automations are processes that happen according to preset rules, conditions, and triggers. AI has largely transformed automation software in that AI is able to evaluate 100% of calls against a defined rubric, analyze call patterns, conduct outreach and follow up, qualify leads, and more.

There are nearly countless processes that can be automated using outbound call center software including:

• Drafting after call summaries
• Analyze and score customer interactions
• Screen pops with agent assistance and scripts
• Appointment follow-ups
• Share reports and analytics with certain teams/departments
• Share posts on social media outlets

 

Voicemail Drop

Voicemail drop is an outbound call center feature that allows agents to pre-record a voicemail message and simply drop it into a prospects voicemail box.

Voicemail drop enables agents to use the same pre-approved message every time they reach someone’s voicemail without having to repeat the message over and over for each call. This saves time and greatly reduces human error and agent turnover.

AI is also used to deliver dynamic voicemail scripts personalized to the individual contact using conversational AI-generated speech.

 

Local Presence

Local Presence is a feature that enables a local phone number to display on Caller ID regardless of where the agent is calling from. Local Presence pulls a number from a pool of available numbers with the same area code as the number being dialed. Phone numbers are dynamically assigned to each outbound call.

Prospects are more likely to answer a call from a local number, as toll-free numbers and out of state numbers seem more likely to be spam. Some platforms also offer number health scoring, automatic number rotation, and call-back routing.

 

TCPA Compliance Tools

Outbound call centers need to ensure that they are in compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) which regulates robocalls and unsolicited telemarketing. Compliance tools include:

• DNC list management: Matches campaign call list to national and local do-not-call lists in order to remove DNC numbers
• Consent tracking: Tracks and documents when a consumer gives prior express written consent in compliance with the TCPA's core requirement for autodialed/prerecorded calls to cell phones
• Automated compliance monitoring: Ongoing monitoring of dialing behavior, call frequency, and flagging potential violations before they become legal exposure
• Time zone and call attempt controls: Address-based time zone lookup with automated configuration to ensure call attempts only occur between 8am and 9pm in the recipient's time zone in compliance with TCPA

 

Benefits of Using Outbound Call Center Software

Outbound call center software is more than just a nice thing to have. It has become essential to provide the personalized and efficient service that customers expect.

Here are some of the benefits this type of software offers.

 

Lower Costs

Outbound call center software helps companies cut costs in a number of ways. With call center software, businesses can easily transition agents from on-premise to work from home setups. This saves the business money on overhead, equipment maintenance, sick days, and more.

Additionally, automation and forecasting/scheduling features save companies money by streamlining operations and reducing billable hours.

 

Improved Agent Efficiency

Outbound call center software is made to improve agent performance. Automating after call work and follow-ups frees agents up to focus on converting leads and gathering data.

Reporting and analytics tools show supervisors exactly where inefficiencies are so they can be corrected. And auto dialers eliminate the chance of a misdial while connecting agents with as many prospects as possible.

 

Increased Conversion Rate

While auto dialers improve agent productivity, tools such as screen pops, agent scripting and CRM integrations facilitate outbound sales calls and increase overall conversion rates.

When agents have information about who they are talking to in front of them they can personalize every call to meet the prospect’s needs. Agent scripting tools prepare agents to handle any situation and skillfully address any pain point.

 

Improved Customer Experience

More personalized customer service with the help of CRM integrations, screen pops, and preview dialers leads to a better overall customer experience and increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Consistently tracking KPIs such as average handle time and hang up rates will also lead to improved CX over time. Finally, customer survey features provide valuable insights on where improvements can be made in the customer journey.

 

Improved Scalability

Outbound call center software makes it easy and affordable for companies to scale. Because all software and data is held in the cloud, dozens or even hundreds of agents can be added in minutes without disrupting call center operations or incurring expensive equipment costs.

 

Use Cases of Outbound Call Center Software

Not every company will need an outbound call center, but they have more uses than you might think.

Here are some of the ways to use an outbound call center software.

 

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of cultivating business prospects for a company’s products or services. Outbound call center software helps to streamline operations so that agents can focus their efforts fully on lead generation, which often requires time, patience as a personalized touch.

Lead generation is about building relationships with prospects, and this cannot happen if agents are bogged down with pre and post call work, repetitive tasks, and combing through knowledge bases.

 

Customer Surveys

Outbound call centers are perfectly situated to conduct customer surveys.

Agents can leverage CRM integrations, preview dialers, and survey building tools to create contact lists, reach out to customers, and administer surveys soon after a purchase is made.

 

Market Research

Market research is a strategy used to test out or determine the viability of a new product or service and outbound call centers are in a unique position to obtain this information. Call center agents can use AI-powered analytics to find out which customers to call and then conduct interviews or distribute surveys.

Features such as sentiment analysis and call recording are helpful to ensure that the company can obtain as much insight from the market research as possible while keeping the data organized, safe and accessible on the cloud.

 

B2B and B2C Sales

B2B companies can utilize CCaaS features such as call monitoring, lead scoring, and gamification to convert more business prospects.

Call monitoring features such as whisper and barge helps agents learn how to close faster, while gamification motivates employees to convert as many leads as they can.

 

How to Choose the Right Provider

Here is what you should consider when choosing an outbound call center software provider:

• Pricing and plans: Does the platform provide the features that your business needs at a price you can afford? Pay close attention to any fees such as add-on features, initial set-up costs, etc.
• Features: What features are the most important for your business and which can you do without? What communication channels are a must to have in your contact center?
• Reliability and security: How important is reliability and security? Some providers offer a 99.999% uptime guarantee while others don’t.
• Customer support and onboarding: It is important that you are able to contact someone if there is an issue, particularly if there is an issue with service.
• Integrations and customizations: Keep in mind the software that your company already uses and make sure that your CCaaS provider will be able to integrate with it.

Once you have determined the needs and wants of your business when it comes to a CCaaS provider, research the providers out there (we will provide a list below) and narrow it down to a few that you can call and ask for quotes.

 

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