Predictive vs progressive vs preview dialling

Predictive dialling places calls ahead of agent availability and connects a live answer to an agent. It dials more than one number and connects an agent when a person answers, using average call length and answer rates. Answerphone detection can be tuned per campaign. See AMD.

Progressive dialling places one number per agent who is already free. Progressive mode dials at a 1:1 dial ratio: one number per available agent, with an agent ready for the answered call. Some buyers call that behaviour power dialling. 626Dialler has no separate power mode.

Preview dialling shows the agent the contact first. They place the call when they are ready, after a review of contact history, lead data and CRM records. 626CRM, our own hosted CRM, is included in the Growth plan. 626Dialler can also integrate with your existing CRM.

Manual dialling is the fourth mode: the agent dials, including click-to-call, with suppression such as TPS and do-not-call screening still able to run. This guide is about the three modes buyers usually compare. Manual is named so it is not confused with preview.

Use predictive when the list is large, the conversation is similar from one record to the next, and you would rather agents talked than waited. Predictive dialling is on every plan, including Starter.

Use progressive when a live answer must reach an agent who is already waiting, and a slower pace is acceptable. Progressive mode dials at a 1:1 ratio: one number per available agent, so the dialler does not get ahead of the people who are free.

Use preview when the record changes the conversation: a high-value account, a complaint, or a case the agent should read before speaking. It is the right mode when a wrong opening costs more than an idle minute.

Predictive cuts agent idle time because the next live answer is often already on the line. The trade-off is the abandoned call rate. If more people answer than there are free agents, someone is left without an agent. You set the target on 626Dialler. Pacing eases off as the rate approaches that target.

Progressive does the opposite. The agent is idle while the number rings, goes to voicemail, or is not answered. A connected call has an agent ready, so this mode does not create abandoned calls by over-dialling. Throughput is lower.

Preview adds time before the dial, while the agent reads. Idle time is highest of the three. Abandoned calls from dialling ahead do not arise in the same way, because the agent triggers one call.

Any mode can still produce silent or abandoned calls, for example if answer-machine detection mistakes a person for a machine, or the agent is slow to speak.

Ofcom's persistent-misuse policy (published December 2016, in force since 1 March 2017) names no specific abandoned-call threshold. Your pacing, staffing, answer-machine detection and information message still decide how a campaign is run.

626Dialler runs predictive, progressive, preview and manual in one dialling engine. 626Dialler can run predictive, progressive and preview in one campaign on Growth and Enterprise.

• Starter: predictive dialling. Not progressive or preview.
• Growth: predictive, plus progressive and preview. 626CRM, our own hosted CRM, is included in the Growth plan. 626Dialler can also integrate with your existing CRM.
• Enterprise: predictive, progressive and preview, plus custom API and webhook access. On Enterprise, AI transcription and sentiment are available.

Plan limits are on the pricing page. Definitions are in the glossary.