“I’ll prioritise this person first – they look more promising.”
Sound familiar? Whether you’re a debt collection specialist reaching out to contacts, a sales team pursuing leads, or a customer service team following up on enquiries, manually selecting who to call next feels like control. Many believe this selective approach makes them more productive. But what if there’s a better way to manage your outbound calls?
Transitioning from manual to automated dialling represents one of the most impactful changes a contact centre can make. It’s not just a technical upgrade – it’s a shift in mindset that can dramatically improve productivity and results. Yet like any meaningful change, it can meet resistance.
At MaxContact, we’ve guided hundreds of contact centres through this transition, and we’ve developed a streamlined approach that minimises disruption while maximising results. This guide walks you through the journey, addressing common concerns and highlighting the benefits you can expect along the way.
Contents
Understanding the Challenge
Before diving into the detail of the implementation roadmap, let’s run through why this transition can sometimes face resistance:
- Lead ownership: Agents sometimes prefer manual dialling because it gives them control over which leads they pursue
- Cherry-picking: The ability to select promising leads first can feel like a productivity advantage to agents
- Comfort with the familiar: Change, even positive change, can be uncomfortable
But what if we told you that automated dialling delivers more quality conversations, improves connection rates, and makes hitting targets easier? Let’s explore how.
Implementation Roadmap: Your Journey to Automated Dialling Success
Phase 1: Discovery & Planning
The journey begins with understanding your current dialling processes and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Key activities:
- Assess your current manual dialling processes, for example, dialling manually from a spreadsheet.
- Identify how you currently prioritise calls.
- Establish baseline KPIs (calls per hour, connection rates, conversions).
- Define success criteria for the implementation.
Pro tip: Be transparent with your team about the upcoming change. Share the ‘why’ behind the transition and how it will make their jobs easier, not harder.
Phase 2: Technical Setup
Once we understand how your team works, we can configure MaxContact to support and enhance your workflows.
Key activities:
- Develop a data import strategy
- Configure data prioritisation to dial your most valuable contacts first
- Set up campaign parameters, including dialling modes, connection rates, wrap times etc, to align with your business objectives and compliance requirements.
- Prepare reporting dashboards for real-time monitoring
Addressing team concerns: If your team currently cherry-picks contacts based on specific criteria, we can build that intelligence into the automated system. Through integrations with your CRM or data sources, we can replicate your prioritisation logic.
For example, if your team prioritises contacts based on engagement history, demographic data, or likelihood to convert, we can configure MaxContact to automatically fetch and prioritise contacts using those same criteria. This gives you the benefits of cherry-picking without the manual effort, ensuring high-value contacts are reached first while maintaining consistency across the team.
Phase 3: Training & Go-Live
This critical phase combines preparation and action as your team begins using MaxContact with our support.
Key activities:
- Train team members on how to use MaxContact
- Address resistance to change through education
- Provide on-site or remote go-live support
- Offer real-time troubleshooting and daily feedback sessions
- Monitor initial performance metrics
Message to your team: “The time you spend on the phone is going to be higher quality, your talk time will increase, instead of dispositioning another ‘no answer’ or voicemail. Instead, you’ll get through to live connections. This means more meaningful conversations and better results.”
During this phase, our experts work alongside your team to ensure a smooth transition, quickly addressing any issues that arise and making adjustments as needed. This hands-on approach helps build confidence and accelerates adoption across your organisation
Phase 4: Optimisation & Measuring Success
Once the system is operational, we focus on continuous improvement and measuring impact against your goals.
Key activities:
- Fine-tune prioritisation criteria
- Compare performance metrics to pre-implementation baselines
- Track success in progressive stages (adoption → productivity → outcomes)
- Identify opportunities for further optimisation
- Calculate ROI and long-term business impact
How Long Will This Take?
The timeline for implementation varies depending on the size of your operation and complexity of your requirements:
Small teams (up to 25 users): Typically around 2 weeks from discovery to go-live
Medium teams (up to 50 users): Approximately 3 weeks
Large teams or complex requirements: Custom timeline based on specific needs
Get in touch if you’d like to discuss your organisation’s individual needs.
Benefits That Make the Transition to Automated Dialling Worthwhile
For Team Members
- More quality conversations: Connect only with live contacts, not voicemails or no-answers
- Less wasted time: No more manual dispositioning of unsuccessful calls
- Easier target achievement: More quality conversations lead to more successful outcomes
- Better customer experience: Immediate connection when customers answer
For Team Leaders
- Real-time performance dashboards: See exactly how your team is performing
- Improved team productivity: Get more from your existing team
- Early identification of issues: Spot and address problems before they impact results
- Better resource management: More predictable call patterns mean better staffing
For the Business
- Increased productivity: Make 200-300% more calls in the same amount of time
- Enhanced scalability: Easily handle larger call volumes
- Improved reporting: Get detailed insights into performance
- Better ROI: More successful outcomes from the same team size
Real Success Stories
From Cherry-Picking to Consistent Results with Automated Dialling
A property services platform, who now use MaxContact, were previously using Salesforce with manual click-to-dial functionality. Their team would meticulously scan through records, cherry-picking leads based on subjective criteria, which created inconsistency in approach and results.
After implementing MaxContact:
- 40% more conversations with prospects
- 4 hours of pure talk time vs. previous 4 hours that included voicemails and dialling
- 80% contact rate – significantly higher than with manual dialling
- Consistent approach across the entire team
STA International: Boosting Debt Collection Performance
STA International, a leading debt collection agency with over 65 years of experience, needed a reliable contact centre solution that could maximise contact rates while maintaining compliance.
After implementing MaxContact:
- Contact rates increased from 7.5% to 18%
- 10% increase in overall contact rates
- 6% improvement in team productivity
- Year-on-year call reduction rates
The combination of predictive and progressive dialling capabilities transformed their operations, allowing them to speak with more people and collect debt more effectively.
Kandoo Car Credit: Scaling with Efficiency
Kandoo Car Credit, a UK-based car finance broker, was hampered by manual dialling limitations and inefficient call routing. After implementing MaxContact, they achieved:
- Operational efficiency by replacing manual processes with automated workflows
- 146% team scaling capacity without proportional increase in overhead
- Over 2,000 daily calls while maintaining excellent customer experience
The Bottom Line
Transitioning from manual to automated dialling isn’t just about technology – it’s about empowering your team to work smarter, not harder. When implemented with a focus on your specific needs and concerns, automated dialling can transform your outbound operation’s performance.
You can have more conversations with the right people in the best order to achieve your goals, whether that’s closing more deals, collecting more debt, or providing better customer service. All while knowing that reporting and compliance are automatically and easily covered.
The key is partnership. At MaxContact, we don’t just provide technology and walk away. We work with you to understand your unique challenges, configure MaxContact to meet your goals, and support you every step of the way.
Our platform provides:
- Progressive, predictive, and preview dialling modes to match your specific needs
- Intelligent contact strategies to target more effectively
- Skills-based routing for outbound calls
- Answer machine detection with over 90% accuracy
- Comprehensive reporting for continuous improvement
Ready to take the first step? Contact us today to schedule a discovery call and learn how we can help your team reach its full potential.
