FAQs About Koncert AI Dialer

How does parallel dialing work and how many calls can be made at once?

Parallel dialing, as offered by Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer, is a multi-line power dialing approach for outbound calling. It works by simultaneously calling multiple prospects while using AI to identify live pickups.

Here's how it generally functions:

• Simultaneous Dialing: The system places multiple calls at once. Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer allows you to set the number of parallel lines, with a default and recommended setting of 4 lines, and options to increase the lines if needed.

• AI for Live Connects: AI intelligently filters through busy tones, fax tones, bad phone numbers, phone trees, and voicemails, connecting to a sales representative when a live person answers.

• Instant Information: As soon as a live person answers, CRM data on the prospect is instantly displayed to the sales rep.

• Efficient Workflow: If the AI is unable to connect with a prospect (e.g., failed or busy number, voicemail, phone tree), it will hang up the call and log an appropriate call disposition. For voicemails, it can automatically send a pre-recorded message.

• Anti-Call Blasting: Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer specifically avoids dialing multiple phone numbers associated with a single prospect (known as "Call Blasting"), which improves the customer experience and leads to more conversations and better outcomes.

In essence, parallel dialing significantly enhances productivity by increasing the number of prospects a sales rep can engage with each day, allowing for faster and more productive calling. Compared to manual dialing, Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer can increase productivity by 10 times. 

How does an AI dialer improve call answer rates?

Koncert's AI dialer is engineered to improve call answer rates by addressing common challenges in outbound calling. It features Automated Local Presence, which automatically dials from numbers localized to the recipient’s area code, making calls appear familiar and increasing pickup likelihood. Furthermore, Koncert's exclusive Heat Map technology actively manages caller ID reputation. This system detects and cleans or removes numbers that might be flagged as spam, ensuring your prospects receive calls from reputable numbers and are more inclined to answer. This unique capability prevents prospects from avoiding calls due to spam alerts. 

Can an AI dialer filter out spam and robocalls?

Yes, an AI dialer like Koncert's can help filter out unwanted calls such as voicemails, busy signals, and phone trees, allowing sales representatives to connect with live prospects more efficiently. This intelligent filtering helps ensure that sales reps are primarily connected to actual human voices, avoiding unproductive dialing.

Does the AI dialer integrate with my CRM?

Yes, Koncert's AI dialer offers automatic, bi-directional integration with leading CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot, giving sales reps freedom and ensuring call results and follow-up activities are synchronized. It also integrates with other tools such as Salesloft, Outreach, Gong, Apollo.io, and Slack.

What are the benefits of using local numbers for outbound calls?

Using local numbers for outbound calls significantly improves call pickup rates. Prospects are more inclined to answer calls they perceive as local, as they might expect them to be from doctors, schools, or mechanics. Koncert's AI dialer automatically selects local caller IDs based on the prospect's area code, leading to true local presence and better connection rates than competitors. This strategy is now an industry standard for improving customer experience and yielding better outcomes. 

Does the AI dialer provide pre-call insights or research on prospects?

Koncert's AI dialer platform focuses on efficient connection and immediate access to CRM data.

As soon as a live person answers, the platform allows you to "Instantly see CRM data on your prospect." Koncert platform also offers "Automatic CRM Integration" with Salesforce and other leading CRMs, giving sales reps freedom. This suggests that any insights or research would come from your integrated CRM, not directly from the AI dialer's pre-call analysis.

Can the AI dialer automatically log calls and update CRM records?

Yes, Koncert's AI dialers are designed to automatically log calls and update CRM records. 

Specifically:

• All dialers in Koncert platform have features "Automatic CRM Integration" with bi-directional sync to Salesforce and other leading CRMs. 

• The Agent-Assisted Dialer allows for "Easy Data Capture" to synchronize call results and follow-up activities with Salesforce and other leading CRMs

• The Click Dialer allows users to "Capture call results and follow-up activities easily".

• Koncert platform also has AI transcripts feature which collects call summary details that can be synched to CRMs. 

This functionality gives sales reps freedom from manual data entry and ensures that call outcomes are accurately recorded.

Are call summaries and notes generated automatically after each call?

Yes, Koncert's AI dialers can automatically generate call summaries and notes after each call. The platform offers "Automatic generate AI Call Summary notes" as a feature. Additionally, it provides "Call recording transcription with two-party consent state compliance", and AI can "identify call objections", allowing managers to coach reps at scale. These features contribute to comprehensive post-call insights without manual effort.

How do I handle objections during a cold call?

Koncert's platform offers features that can indirectly help with handling objections during a cold call, primarily through coaching and review of call recordings, or by having manager also on the call coaching in "whisper” mode. Real-time AI objection handling scripts and AI-driven responses to the sales rep during the live call feature are expected to be available within the platform in the near future.

Here's how Koncert can assist:

• Remote Coach®: Managers can monitor ongoing calls in real time and use a "Whisper Mode" to coach the sales rep without the prospect hearing. This allows managers to provide immediate guidance on how to handle objections as they arise. Managers can also "Coach reps on how to handle common objections".

• Call Recordings and Library: Koncert allows you to generate and save call recordings. These recordings can be accessed via a link, filtered by various criteria (like disposition or rep), and reviewed

• Conversation Intelligence: The AI can scan and detect objections within call recordings. This feature allows managers to analyze common objections at scale and use these insights to train reps. You can also "Store specific calls in a call library, allowing reps learn from examples".

In addition to having the "Call Scripts”and "Battle Cards” option to assist the reps in handling objections, it provides powerful tools for training, real-time coaching, and post-call analysis to improve a sales team's ability to handle objections over time.

What challenges do AI dialers solve for sales teams?

AI dialers like Koncert's solve several critical challenges for sales teams, primarily by boosting efficiency, improving connection quality, and providing valuable insights.

Here are some key challenges they address:

Low Connection Rates & Wasted Dials:

• Filtering out unproductive calls: AI dialers intelligently filter through voicemails, busy tones, fax tones, bad phone numbers, and phone trees, connecting sales reps only with live prospects. This prevents reps from wasting time dialing numbers that won't result in a conversation.

• Spam Flagging & Poor Caller ID Reputation: Koncert's Automated Caller ID Health and Heat Map technology continuously monitor caller ID usage and manage their reputation. This identifies and quarantines numbers about to be overused or flagged as spam, ensuring calls are more likely to be picked up.

• Non-Local Caller IDs: By automatically selecting local caller IDs based on the prospect's area code, AI dialers increase the likelihood of calls being answered, as people are more inclined to pick up calls they perceive as local.

Inefficiency and Manual Tasks:

• Time-consuming manual dialing: AI dialers automate the dialing process, replacing manual dialing to allow reps to make more calls and convert more leads in less time.

• Voicemail & Phone Tree Navigation: The AI automatically detects and can either leave voicemails or skip them and move to the next contact. It can also navigate phone trees to reach prospects or skip them if preferred.

• CRM Data Entry: Bi-directional CRM integration with platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, automatically synchronizes call results and follow-up activities, freeing sales reps from manual data capture.

Lack of Real-Time Coaching & Performance Insights:

• Post-Call Analysis: AI dialers can generate call summaries and notes automatically, create call transcripts, and identify call objections through AI. This provides valuable data for managers.

• Live Coaching: Features like Remote Coach® allow managers to monitor live calls and provide real-time, in-call coaching to reps without the prospect hearing (whisper mode). This helps managers address issues or provide guidance on the fly.

• Performance Visibility: Managers gain immediate access to analytics and reports, seeing results on dials, conversations, talk time, and more. This allows for quick identification of issues and opportunities to improve team performance.

Geographical Gaps & Team Collaboration:

• Remote Team Collaboration: Koncert's Remote Salesfloor brings the traditional salesfloor experience into a virtual environment, allowing remote sales teams to collaborate, connect, and engage. This facilitates real-time audio, video, and content collaboration.

• On-the-Job Learning: Junior reps can learn from experienced reps by monitoring or joining live calling sessions on the virtual salesfloor.

Lag in Call Connection:

• Ultra-low latency connects: Unlike other parallel dialers that suffer long lags, Koncert's AI-powered Quick Connect provides seamless, ultra-low latency connections by embedding its own phone tech and AI in one network. This gives reps a better chance at setting meetings when connected.

By tackling these challenges, AI dialers like Koncert enable sales teams to power up more conversations and pipeline, accelerating sales success and productivity.

How can I reduce wasted time on unqualified leads?

AI dialers like Koncert's solve several critical challenges for sales teams, primarily by boosting efficiency, improving connection quality, and providing valuable insights.

To reduce wasted time on unqualified leads, Koncert's AI dialer offers several solutions primarily by enhancing the efficiency of the dialing process and providing tools for better lead management and team performance.

Here is how:

Low Connection Rates & Wasted Dials:

• Intelligent Filtering of Unproductive Calls: Koncert's AI dialer automatically filters through elements that typically waste a sales rep's time:

  • Voicemails: It automatically detects voicemails and can either leave a pre-selected voicemail or skip it and move to the next contact, based on your settings.

  • Phone Trees (IVR): The AI can detect phone trees and either skip the call or, if enabled, navigate through them to reach the prospect. 

  • Busy/Failed Calls: It automatically skips calls to busy or unreachable numbers. 

  • Bad Phone Numbers: The AI Power Dialer automatically filters out bad phone numbers.

• Parking Lot Feature: Koncert's "Parking Lot" feature quarantines "bad numbers" (e.g., fax machines, persistently unanswered lines) so your team doesn't waste dials repeatedly calling them. This ensures reps focus on legitimate prospects.

• Agent-Assisted Dialings: For more complex filtering, the Agent-Assisted Dialer uses trained human dialing agents to filter through receptionists, gatekeepers, and IVRs, connecting sales reps only with live prospects. This offloads non-productive activities from sales reps, ensuring they only engage with qualified connections.

• Automated CRM Integration: Bi-directional sync with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot allows for seamless data capture of call results and follow-up activities. This helps in quickly updating lead statuses and dispositioning unqualified leads, preventing them from re-entering the active dialing pool unnecessarily.

• Analytics and Reporting: Koncert provides analytics and reports that allow managers to quickly identify issues and opportunities to improve team performance. This visibility can help identify if specific lead lists or sources are consistently yielding unqualified leads, allowing for course correction in prospecting strategy.

By automating the filtering of unproductive calls and providing tools to manage "bad numbers" and analyze performance, Koncert helps sales teams maximize their time spent on actual conversations with potentially qualified leads, thereby reducing wasted effort.

How do I ensure my sales team only connects with high-value prospects?

AI dialers like Koncert's solve several critical challenges for sales teams, primarily by boosting efficiency, improving connection quality, and providing valuable insights.

Koncert's platform helps your sales team connect with high-value prospects by optimizing the connection process and ensuring reps spend their time on genuine, qualified engagements:

• Intelligent Filtering to Reach Live Prospects: Koncert's AI dialer intelligently filters out unproductive elements like voicemails, busy signals, bad numbers, and phone trees. This ensures that your sales reps are connected primarily to live individuals, maximizing the time spent in actual conversations.

• Agent-Assisted Dialing: For a more refined filtering process, the Agent-Assisted Dialer employs trained human dialing agents to navigate receptionists, gatekeepers, and complex IVRs. This means your sales reps are connected directly to a live, qualified prospect, allowing them to focus on selling rather than administrative tasks or initial screening.

• Automated Caller ID Health: By actively managing and cleaning caller IDs, Koncert ensures your calls are answered, preventing high-value prospects from avoiding calls due to spam warnings.

• Immediate CRM Data Access: As soon as a live prospect answers, Koncert's dialers provide instant access to CRM data. This allows your reps to quickly contextualize the conversation and tailor their pitch based on existing information about the high-value prospect.

• "Parking Lot" Feature for Bad Numbers: Koncert's "Parking Lot" quarantines consistently bad or unproductive numbers (e.g., faxes, perpetually busy lines). This prevents your team from repeatedly dialing low-value or non-existent contacts, ensuring their efforts are directed towards potentially high-value leads.

• Cadence for Multi-Channel Engagement: While not directly filtering, Koncert Cadence, a multi-channel sales sequencer, can integrate your calling efforts within a broader, targeted outreach strategy. This allows for a more personalized and strategic approach to engaging high-value prospects across phone, email, video, and social channels. 

By leveraging these features, Koncert helps ensure that your sales team's efforts are concentrated on reaching and engaging with prospects who are more likely to be high-value.

How can I increase my cold call answer and conversion rates?

To increase your cold call answer and conversion rates, Koncert's platform offers several key features and strategies:

Increasing Answer Rates:

• Automated Local Presence: Koncert's dialers automatically select caller IDs that match the prospect's area code. People are more likely to pick up calls they perceive as local. This leads to industry-leading pickup rates.

• Automated Caller ID Health (Heat Map): Koncert continuously monitors caller ID usage with a unique "Heat Map". This feature helps identify and manage numbers that are about to be overused or flagged as spam, quarantining bad numbers and ensuring your best prospects aren't avoiding your calls.

• Ultra-Low Latency: Koncert's AI-powered Quick Connect minimizes the lag when a call is connected, providing seamless conversations that give reps a better chance at setting up a meeting. This is achieved by embedding Koncert's own phone tech and AI in one network, avoiding delays of third-party telephony APIs.

• Filtering Unproductive Calls: AI dialers intelligently filter through voicemails, phone trees, busy tones, fax tones, and bad phone numbers, connecting sales reps only to live calls. This ensures reps spend more time talking to actual prospects.

• Anti-Call Blasting: Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer dials only one phone number for a given prospect at a time, unlike competitors who might dial multiple numbers (call blasting). This improves customer experience and yields more conversations.

Increasing Conversion Rates:

• Focus on Live Conversations: By automating the dialing process and filtering out unproductive calls, Koncert's dialers enable reps to have "more conversations and effortlessly achieve your sales goals". This directly translates to more opportunities for conversion.

• Real-Time Coaching (Remote Coach®): Managers can monitor live calls and use "Whisper Mode" to coach reps in real time without the prospect hearing. This immediate feedback can help reps refine their pitch, handle objections effectively, and guide conversations towards conversion.

• On-Demand Learning and Collaboration (Remote Salesfloor & Call Library): The Remote Salesfloor allows for call blitzes, team activity, and on-the-job learning, where junior reps can learn from experienced reps. Additionally, Conversation Intelligence helps identify call objections and allows specific calls to be stored in a call library, enabling reps to learn from examples and improve their conversion techniques. 

• Automated CRM Integration: Bi-directional CRM sync ensures that call results and follow-up activities are easily captured and synchronized. This helps sales reps manage their pipeline effectively, ensuring timely follow-ups and better conversion tracking.

• Increased Sales Productivity: Koncert's dialers significantly increase dials and connect rates, allowing reps to complete a day's worth of activities much faster. For example, the Agent-Assisted Dialer offers a 10x productivity increase, while the AI Power Dialer provides 5x, and the AI Parallel Dialer offers 10x compared to manual dialing. This frees up sellers' time for high-value activities like follow-ups and closing deals.

How do I personalize my cold calls to improve engagement?

To personalize your cold calls and improve engagement, Koncert's platform facilitates efficiency and provides data visibility, which are crucial for effective personalization. While this may not offer direct advice on what specific personalized messages to use, it highlights tools that enable a more personalized approach:

• Instant CRM Data Access: Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer instantly displays CRM data on your prospect as soon as a live person answers. This immediate access allows sales reps to quickly review relevant information about the prospect, such as their company, role, previous interactions, or any notes, enabling them to tailor the conversation on the fly.

• Targeted Outreach with Cadence: Koncert Cadence is a multi-channel sales sequencer that includes phone, email, video, and social channels. By using a sequencer, you can integrate your cold calls into a broader, more personalized outreach strategy that incorporates insights from other channels, making each touchpoint feel more relevant to the prospect.

• Intelligent Filtering: Koncert's AI Dialer intelligently filters through voicemails and phone trees, connecting reps only to live calls. This ensures that when you do connect, you're speaking with a real person, giving you the opportunity to personalize the conversation from the outset, rather than wasting time on unproductive connections.

• Local Presence Dialing: Koncert automatically selects local caller IDs based on the prospect's area code. Calls from a local number are more likely to be picked up because they appear familiar and less like a generic cold call. This initial feeling of familiarity can increase the likelihood of engagement.

• Visibility into Prospect Info: Features like "Dialing Visibility" allow you to "See prospect info immediately". This real-time access to prospect details is fundamental for personalizing your opening and subsequent conversation points.

By leveraging these features, sales reps can quickly gather context and make their cold calls more relevant and engaging to the prospect, moving beyond generic pitches.

What are the main barriers to scaling outbound sales, and how can technology help?

Scaling outbound sales faces several significant barriers, primarily related to efficiency, effectiveness, and team management. Technology, particularly AI-powered dialers and sales platforms like Koncert, plays a crucial role in overcoming these challenges:

Main Barriers to Scaling Outbound Sales:

• Low Live Connection Rates & Wasted Time:  

  • Challenge: Sales reps spend a vast amount of time dialing numbers that go to voicemail, encounter busy signals, reach fax machines, or get stuck in complex phone trees. Manual dialing is inefficient, leading to fewer actual conversations.

  • Challenge: Calls from unknown or flagged numbers are often ignored by prospects, leading to low pickup rates and difficulty establishing initial contact.

• Inefficient Manual Processes & Data Entry:

  • Challenge: Reps waste valuable selling time on non-selling activities like manually dialing numbers, waiting for connections, leaving voicemails, and logging call details into CRM systems. This reduces overall productivity, and the number of prospects contacted.

• Lack of Real-Time Coaching & Performance Visibility: 

  • Challenge: Managers struggle to effectively monitor calls, provide immediate feedback, and identify skill gaps or bottlenecks in real-time, especially with remote teams. This hinders the ability to improve team performance at scale.

• Team Collaboration & Onboarding for Remote Teams:

  • Challenge: Maintaining a cohesive and productive sales environment for remote teams can be difficult, impacting team morale, knowledge sharing, and quick problem-solving. Onboarding new reps and bringing them up to speed efficiently can also be a hurdle.

• Call Quality & Latency Issues: 

  • Challenge: Delays or poor audio quality during call connections can lead to awkward starts, frustrate prospects, and reduce the chance of a successful conversation, especially with multi-line dialers.

How Technology (like Koncert) Helps Overcome These Barriers:

• Accelerating Live Conversations & Improving Pickup Rates:

  • AI-Powered Filtering: Koncert's AI dialer intelligently filters out unproductive calls (voicemails, phone trees, busy signals, bad numbers), connecting reps only to live prospects. This maximizes talk time and conversation rates.

  • Automated Local Presence: The platform automatically selects local caller IDs based on the prospect's area code, significantly increasing the likelihood of calls being answered due to perceived familiarity.

  • Automated Caller ID Health (Heat Map): Koncert continuously monitors and manages caller ID reputation, quarantining numbers at risk of being flagged as spam. This ensures your calls reach prospects with clean, trusted caller IDs.

  • Ultra-Low Latency Connects: Koncert's unique AI-powered Quick Connect minimizes lag during call connections, providing seamless transitions to live prospects, which improves the rep's chance of setting a meeting.

  • Agent-Assisted Dialing: For even deeper filtering, trained human agents can navigate gatekeepers and IVRs, ensuring reps are only connected to qualified, live individuals.

• Boosting Sales Productivity & Streamlining Workflows:

  • Automated Dialing: AI dialers enable reps to make a day's worth of dials in just one hour, offering 5x to 10x productivity increases over manual dialing.

  • Automatic CRM Integration: Bi-directional integration with leading CRMs (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) automatically logs call results, updates records, and captures follow-up activities, freeing reps from manual data entry.

  • AI Voicemail Drop: Allows reps to leave pre-recorded voicemails automatically when encountering an answering machine, saving significant time.
    

• Enhancing Coaching & Performance Management:

  • Remote Coach®: Managers can monitor live calls and provide real-time coaching via a "Whisper Mode" without the prospect hearing, enabling immediate guidance on objection handling and pitch refinement.

  • Conversation Intelligence: AI can analyze call recordings to identify objections, generate call summaries, and transcribe conversations, providing managers with data-driven insights to coach reps at scale. 

  • Call Recording Library: A library of recorded calls allows for on-demand learning, enabling reps to learn from successful interactions.

• Facilitating Remote Team Collaboration & Learning:

  • Remote Salesfloor: Koncert brings the traditional salesfloor experience to remote teams, fostering collaboration, team activity, and on-the-job learning through shared call sessions. 

• Multi-Channel Engagement:

  • Koncert Cadence: Integrates phone calls into a multi-channel sales sequencer (email, video, social), allowing for a more comprehensive and cohesive outreach strategy to nurture prospects effectively.

By addressing these core barriers, technology like Koncert's AI dialer platform empowers sales teams to have more conversations, generate more pipeline, and ultimately accelerate sales success at scale.

How do I compare different AI dialer solutions for my business needs?

When comparing different AI dialer solutions for your business needs, consider the following key aspects, many of which Koncert highlights as its strengths:

• Core Functionality & Efficiency:  

  • Live Connect Rate: How effectively does the dialer filter out voicemails, busy signals, and phone trees to connect reps with live prospects? Koncert, for example, emphasizes its intelligent filtering for live calls.

  • Dialing Speed & Productivity: How many dials can a rep make per hour compared to manual dialing? Look for claims of 5x or 10x productivity increases.

  • Latency: Does the dialer offer ultra-low latency connections, ensuring seamless transitions when a call is connected?

  • Parallel vs. Power Dialing: Understand the different dialing modes (e.g., Koncert offers AI Parallel, AI Power, Agent-Assisted, and Click-to-Call) and which best fits your team's workflow and volume needs.

• Call Quality & Deliverability:

  • Caller ID Health: Does the solution actively monitor and manage caller ID reputation to prevent numbers from being flagged as spam? Koncert uses a "Heat Map" for this purpose.

  • Local Presence Dialing: Can the dialer automatically select local caller IDs to increase pickup rates? 

  • Anti-Call Blasting: Does it prevent dialing multiple numbers for a single prospect simultaneously, which can negatively impact customer experience? 

• Integration & Workflow:

  • CRM Integration: Is there seamless, bi-directional integration with your existing CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Salesloft, Outreach)? This is crucial for automatic call logging and data synchronization. 

  • Multi-Channel Capabilities: Does it integrate with a broader sales cadence platform that includes email, video, and social outreach for a holistic engagement strategy?

• Coaching & Analytics:

  • Real-time Coaching: Can managers monitor live calls and provide immediate feedback to reps (e.g., "Whisper Mode")?

  • Call Recording & Transcription: Does it record calls, provide transcripts, and offer a call library for training and review? 

  • Conversation Intelligence: Can the AI analyze calls to identify objections, generate summaries, and provide insights for coaching at scale? 

  • Reporting & Analytics: What kind of dashboards and reports are available to track performance metrics like dials, conversations, and talk time? 

• Team Management & Scalability:

  • Remote Team Support: Does it offer features for remote team collaboration and on-the-job learning (e.g., a "Remote Salesfloor")?

  • Data Management: How does it handle bad numbers or quarantine unproductive contacts ("Parking Lot" feature)?

• Compliance:

  • Call Compliance Features: Does it help ensure adherence to regulations like DNC lists and consent requirements? (Always consult legal counsel regarding specific compliance.)

To make the best decision for your business, create a checklist based on these criteria, then research how different AI dialer providers, including Koncert, address each point. Consider checking several solutions to see how they perform in practice.

How to improve cold call conversion rates with AI

To improve cold call conversion rates with AI, platforms like Koncert leverage intelligent automation, real-time insights, and enhanced call quality to ensure more productive conversations.

Here's how Koncert's AI capabilities specifically contribute to higher conversion rates: 

• Maximizing Live Conversations: AI dialers intelligently filter out unproductive calls (voicemails, busy tones, fax tones, bad numbers, and phone trees), ensuring your sales representatives are connected directly with live prospects. By eliminating wasted time on non-human connections, reps get more opportunities to engage and convert.

• Ultra-Low Latency Connections: Koncert's AI-powered Quick Connect minimizes any lag when a call is connected. This provides seamless, natural conversations, giving your reps a better chance to build rapport and set a meeting, a crucial step towards conversion.

• Real-Time Coaching & Guidance (Remote Coach®):Managers can monitor live calls and use "Whisper Mode" to coach sales reps in real time without the prospect hearing. This immediate guidance helps reps refine their pitch, handle objections effectively, and steer the conversation towards a positive outcome or conversion.

• Data-Driven Conversation Intelligence: Koncert's AI can analyze call recordings to identify common objections and provide insights. Managers can use this information to coach reps on how to handle these objections, improving their ability to navigate challenging parts of a conversation and guide prospects towards conversion. Specific successful calls can also be stored in a call library for reps to learn from.

• Seamless CRM Integration: Automatic, bi-directional integration with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot ensures that call results, dispositions, and follow-up activities are automatically logged and synchronized. This streamlines the post-call process, enabling efficient follow-ups and pipeline management, which are critical for nurturing leads to conversion. 

• Increased Overall Productivity: By significantly increasing the number of quality conversations per day (e.g., 5x to 10x productivity increase compared to manual dialing), AI dialers enable reps to engage with a larger pool of qualified prospects. More meaningful interactions naturally lead to more conversion opportunities.

By focusing on connecting reps with qualified, live prospects efficiently, providing real-time coaching, and leveraging call insights, AI dialers empower sales teams to refine their approach and significantly boost their cold call conversion rates.

How does an AI dialer improve call answer rates and lead qualification

Koncert's AI dialer significantly improves both call answer rates and lead qualification through a combination of intelligent automation and streamlined processes

How an AI Dialer Improves Call Answer Rates

• Automated Local Presence: The dialer automatically selects local caller IDs that match the prospect's area code. This makes the call appear familiar and trustworthy, significantly increasing the likelihood of a pickup compared to an unrecognizable or distant number.

• Automated Caller ID Health (Heat Map): Koncert uniquely monitors and manages caller ID reputation using a "Heat Map" technology. This system identifies and quarantines numbers that are at risk of being overused or flagged as spam, ensuring your calls reach prospects with clean, healthy caller IDs and are not avoided due to spam warnings.

• Ultra-Low Latency Connections: Koncert's AI-powered Quick Connect minimizes any delay from the moment a live person answers to when the call is connected to your sales rep. This seamless transition provides a more natural experience for the prospect, improving the initial engagement and increasing the chance of a successful conversation.

• Intelligent Filtering: The AI dialer efficiently filters out unproductive connections such as voicemails, busy tones, fax tones, and non-human entities like phone trees. By connecting reps only to live voices, it ensures that every answered call is a potential conversation, contributing to higher effective answer rates. 

How an AI Dialer Improves Lead Qualification

The AI dialer enhances lead qualification by ensuring sales reps connect with the right people efficiently and have the necessary information at their fingertips

• Connection to Live Prospects: By automatically filtering out voicemails and phone trees, the AI dialer ensures that reps are connected directly to actual individuals. This is the foundational step for any meaningful qualification process, as reps are always speaking to a human.

• Agent-Assisted Dialing: Koncert's Agent-Assisted Dialer uses trained human agents to navigate complex obstacles like receptionists, gatekeepers, and difficult IVRs. This pre-screening ensures that sales reps are connected directly to decision-makers or relevant contacts, improving the quality of the connection for qualification.

• Instant CRM Data Access: As soon as a live person answers, the AI dialer instantly displays relevant CRM data about the prospect. This immediate access to information allows your sales reps to quickly contextualize the conversation, tailor their questions, and perform real-time qualification based on the prospect's profile, history, and needs.

• Automated CRM Integration and Data Capture: Bi-directional integration with leading CRMs (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Salesloft, Outreach) means that call results and follow-up activities are automatically logged and synchronized. This streamlines the process of updating lead statuses (qualified, disqualified, etc.) and dispositions, making the qualification process more efficient and accurate.

• "Parking Lot" Feature: Koncert's "Parking Lot" feature quarantines "bad numbers" (e.g., non-existent lines, persistently busy numbers). This ensures that your sales team doesn't waste valuable time repeatedly dialing unqualified or unreachable leads, allowing them to focus on productive qualification efforts.

• Conversation Intelligence (Indirectly): While not direct qualification, the ability to analyze call recordings for objections and provide coaching helps reps refine their questioning and qualification skills over time, leading to more effective lead assessment in future calls.

By optimizing the connection process and providing immediate, relevant information, Koncert's AI dialer empowers sales teams to engage with more qualified leads efficiently and effectively.

What are the top features to look for in an AI dialer?

When looking for an AI dialer, several key features are essential to maximize sales productivity and effectiveness. Based on the capabilities highlighted by platforms like Koncert, here are the top features to consider

Intelligent Call Filtering

• Voicemail & Phone Tree Detection: : The AI should automatically detect and either bypass or handle voicemails and phone trees, connecting your reps only to live prospects.

• Busy/Bad Number Filtering: It should efficiently filter out busy signals, fax machines, and disconnected numbers to avoid wasted dials.

Advanced Caller ID Management

• Automated Local Presence: The dialer should automatically select local caller IDs matching the prospect's area code to increase answer rates.

• Caller ID Health Monitoring: Look for features that actively monitor and manage caller ID reputation (e.g., "Heat Map" technology) to prevent numbers from being flagged as spam.

Ultra-Low Latency Connection

• The system should minimize the delay between a live pick-up and connecting the call to the sales rep, ensuring a seamless and natural conversation flow.

Robust CRM Integration

• Bi-directional Sync: Essential for automatic call logging, updating prospect records, and synchronizing follow-up activities with your existing CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Salesloft, Outreach). This eliminates manual data entry.
  

Real-Time Coaching & Monitoring Tools

• "Whisper Mode": Allows sales managers to monitor live calls and provide private, real-time coaching to reps without the prospect hearing.

• Call Recording & Transcription: Automatic recording and transcription of calls for quality assurance, training, and compliance purposes.

Conversation Intelligence

• AI Call Summaries & Notes: Automatic generation of call summaries and notes to save time post-call.

• Objection Identification: AI capabilities that can scan calls to identify common objections, providing insights for targeted coaching.

Productivity-Boosting Dialing Modes

• Support for various dialing modes like AI Parallel Dialer (simultaneously calls multiple prospects), AI Power Dialer (sequential automatic dialing), and Agent-Assisted Dialer (where human agents pre-qualify calls by getting past gatekeepers).

• Automated Voicemail Drop: The ability to leave pre-recorded voicemails automatically when an answering machine is detected. 

Team Collaboration & Management Features

• Virtual Salesfloor: Features that facilitate collaboration and on-the-job learning for remote sales teams (e.g., the ability for reps to listen in on calls).

• Lead Management & Filtering: Tools like a "Parking Lot" to quarantine bad numbers, ensuring reps focus on viable leads.

Multi-Channel Engagement (Cadence)

• Integration with a sales sequencer that incorporates phone calls into a broader multi-channel strategy (email, video, social) for comprehensive prospect engagement.

These features collectively ensure that an AI dialer not only automates the dialing process but also enhances the quality of connections, streamlines workflows, and provides valuable insights for continuous improvement, ultimately leading to higher sales productivity and better outcomes.

How does parallel dialing increase sales productivity?

Parallel dialing significantly increases sales productivity by maximizing the time sales representatives spend in live conversations with prospects, rather than performing manual or unproductive dialing tasks.

Here's how it boosts productivity:

• Simultaneous Dialing: Parallel dialers, like Koncert's AI Parallel Dialer, simultaneously call multiple prospects (e.g., 4 lines at once). This drastically reduces the idle time reps would spend waiting for a single call to connect or for prospects to answer.

• AI-Powered Filtering: The AI intelligently filters out unproductive elements such as voicemails, busy tones, fax tones, bad phone numbers, and phone trees. This ensures that the sales rep is connected when a live person answers. This eliminates wasted effort on non-human interactions.

• Maximized Talk Time: By automating the dialing process and filtering out unproductive calls, reps move immediately from one live conversation to the next. This allows them to have significantly more conversations per day, which directly translates to more opportunities to qualify leads and set meetings. Koncert, for instance, claims a 10x productivity increase compared to manual dialing with its AI Parallel Dialer.
  

• Instant Prospect Information: As soon as a live connection is made, relevant CRM data on the prospect is instantly displayed to the sales rep. This immediate context allows the rep to engage effectively without delays, further enhancing the productivity of each conversation.

• Efficient Workflow for Unanswered Calls: If the AI doesn't connect with a live prospect, it automatically hangs up, logs the appropriate call disposition, and moves to the next set of dials. For voicemails, it can even automatically leave a pre-selected message, saving the rep more time.

• Reduced Manual Effort: The entire process of dialing, filtering, and often even logging call results is automated, freeing sales reps from tedious manual tasks and allowing them to focus entirely on selling.

In essence, parallel dialing transforms the sales workflow by converting unproductive time into active selling time, leading to a substantial increase in the volume of conversations and ultimately, higher sales productivity.

Can the AI dialer detect voicemail and leave automated messages?

Yes, Koncert's AI dialer can detect voicemails and leave automated messages.

The platform is designed to:

• Intelligently filter through voicemails: It automatically identifies when a call reaches a voicemail.

• Offer AI voicemail drop: This feature allows for pre-recorded, automated messages to be left on answering machines, saving your sales reps time and ensuring consistent messaging.

My reps freeze when someone answers — how can I fix that?

To help your reps overcome freezing when someone answers, the key is to provide them with immediate support, confidence-building tools, and a seamless calling experience. Koncert's platform offers several features designed to address this

Real-Time Coaching with "Whisper Mode" (Remote Coach®)

• This is the most direct solution. Managers can monitor ongoing live calls in real-time.

• Using "Whisper Mode," the manager can provide direct guidance, prompts, or even specific lines to the sales rep without the prospect on the other end hearing. This immediate, private support can help the rep unfreeze, know exactly what to say next, and regain composure.

Instant Access to Prospect Information

• As soon as a live person answers, Koncert's dialer instantly displays CRM data about the prospect.

• Having immediate context and information at their fingertips can significantly reduce a rep's anxiety and uncertainty, allowing them to quickly personalize their opening and engage confidently rather than freezing due to a lack of knowledge.

Seamless, Ultra-Low Latency Connections

• Koncert's AI-powered Quick Connect minimizes any delay from the moment a prospect answers to when the rep is connected.

• A smooth, natural connection flow prevents awkward silences or uncertainty about whether the call is truly live, which can contribute to reps freezing. A crisp connection helps them feel ready to jump straight into the conversation.

Building Confidence Through Learning and Practice

• Conversation Intelligence: AI can analyze call recordings to identify common objections and provide insights. Managers can use this to coach reps specifically on navigating challenging initial moments.

• Call Library: Storing successful call recordings in a library allows junior reps to listen to and learn from how experienced colleagues engage prospects effectively from the very beginning, building their own mental scripts and confidence.

• Remote Salesfloor: This feature fosters a collaborative environment where reps can learn from each other's live calls, building a sense of shared experience and reducing isolation or anxiety.

By combining real-time, in-call support with quick access to information and tools for continuous learning, an AI dialer platform can effectively reduce "freezing" moments and empower your reps to engage confidently with every live connection.

What’s the best way to run a virtual call blitz for remote sales teams?

To run an effective virtual call blitz for remote sales teams, the best approach involves leveraging technology that replicates the in-office salesfloor experience and provides tools for real-time collaboration and coaching. Koncert's platform addresses this with its Remote Salesfloor feature.

Here's the best way to run a virtual call blitz:

Utilize a Virtual Salesfloor Platform

• Replicate the Environment: Use a platform like Koncert's Remote Salesfloor that brings the traditional salesfloor experience into a virtual environment. This creates a sense of team presence and energy, even when reps are geographically dispersed.

• Facilitate Collaboration: The platform should enable real-time audio, video, and content collaboration, allowing team members to communicate, share successes, and motivate each other during the blitz.

Employ High-Efficiency Dialers

• Maximize Conversations: Integrate powerful AI dialers (like AI Parallel or AI Power Dialers) that intelligently filter out voicemails and unproductive calls, connecting reps only to live prospects. This ensures that during the blitz, every minute is spent on meaningful conversations.

• Rapid Dialing: The dialer should allow for significantly higher call volumes than manual dialing, enabling the team to hit aggressive targets during the blitz.

Implement Real-Time Coaching and Support

• Live Monitoring & Whisper Mode: Managers should be able to monitor ongoing calls in real-time. Features like "Whisper Mode" are critical, allowing managers to provide immediate, private coaching to reps during a call without the prospect hearing. This is invaluable for guiding reps through tricky situations or adjusting their pitch during the blitz.

• On-the-Job Learning: The virtual salesfloor should facilitate peer learning. Junior reps can benefit greatly by monitoring or joining live calling sessions of more experienced reps, picking up best practices and techniques in real-time.

Leverage Performance Insights

• Real-time Analytics: The platform should provide managers with immediate access to analytics and reports on dials, conversations, and talk time. This allows for quick identification of top performers, areas needing improvement, and adjustments to the blitz strategy on the fly.

• Call Recording & AI Insights: Record all calls for later review. AI can analyze these calls for objections and provide summaries, offering insights that can be used for quick post-blitz coaching or future training sessions.

Maintain Communication and Motivation

• Shared Objectives: Clearly communicate the goals of the call blitz to the entire remote team.

• Celebrate Successes: Use the virtual environment to share wins and provide positive reinforcement throughout the blitz to keep morale high.

By combining the collaborative environment of a virtual salesfloor with high-efficiency AI dialers and robust coaching tools, remote sales teams can execute highly effective call blitzes that drive significant pipeline and accelerate sales.

Why are we booking fewer meetings even with more calls?

When you're booking fewer meetings despite making more calls, it often indicates a challenge with the quality of engagement during the call, or the effectiveness of the sales process once a connection is made, rather than just the volume of calls.

Here are potential reasons for this scenario and how an AI dialer system like Koncert's can help address them

Poor Call Quality or Awkward Connections

• Problem: Even if a call is answered, a delay (latency) or poor audio quality can lead to an awkward start, making prospects less receptive and less likely to engage further. 

• Solution with AI Dialer: Koncert's ultra-low latency AI dialer and AI-powered Quick Connect minimize the lag when a call is connected, providing seamless conversations. A smooth, professional connection improves the initial impression and gives reps a better chance at setting a meeting.

Ineffective Prospect Engagement Post-Connect

• Problem: Reps might be getting answers, but if they lack the immediate context or struggle with their opening, they might not be able to quickly pivot to a value-driven conversation that leads to a meeting. 

• Solution with AI Dialer: The dialer should instantly display CRM data on your prospect as soon as a live person answers. This immediate access to information allows reps to quickly personalize the conversation and tailor their pitch, increasing the relevance and likelihood of booking a meeting. 

Suboptimal Pitching or Objection Handling

• Problem: Even with more live calls, if reps are not effectively articulating value, handling common objections, or guiding the conversation towards the next step (the meeting), conversion rates will suffer. 

• Solution with AI Dialer: Remote Coach® with "Whisper Mode" allows managers to monitor live calls and provide real-time, private coaching to reps. This immediate feedback helps reps adjust their approach, overcome specific objections, and guide the prospect towards booking a meeting. Additionally, Conversation Intelligence features can identify call objections from recordings, enabling managers to coach reps at scale on how to improve. 

Connecting with Unqualified or Less Receptive Individuals

• Problem: While AI dialers are great at getting to live people, if the initial list isn't well-qualified or if the reps aren't effectively qualifying during the call, they might be talking to people who aren't the right fit for a meeting. 

• Solution with AI Dialer: Features like the Agent-Assisted Dialer can help ensure reps are connected to decision-makers by filtering through gatekeepers. Also, Automatic CRM Integration helps capture call results and update lead dispositions, allowing for better lead management and ensuring future calls focus on more qualified prospects.

Lack of Follow-Through or Disconnected Process

• Problem: If the post-call process for setting meetings or following up is cumbersome or prone to errors, even successful conversations might not translate into booked meetings.

• Solution with AI Dialer: Automatic CRM Integration and AI-generated call summaries and notes ensure that all relevant information is immediately logged. This streamlines the process of scheduling meetings and subsequent follow-ups, reducing administrative overhead and ensuring opportunities aren't missed. 

In summary, while an AI dialer significantly increases the volume of calls and live connections, optimizing meeting booking rates requires leveraging its features for quality engagement, effective coaching, and streamlined post-call processes.