Definition of Terms

Answering Machine Detection (AMD) – Detects answering machines or voicemails so that agents will just receive live calls.

Average Handle Time – The average amount of talk time an agent spends on a phone call.

Average Wait Time – The average amount of time an agent waits between receiving calls.

Blended Calling – Makes outbound calls and takes inbound phone calls.

Campaign – How dialing efforts are organized to generate more sales or provide better service. Campaigns may be organized by client, location, type of leads, etc.

Closer – The person who closes a sale or the person who finishes the call if the call was transferred from a fronter.

Direct Inward Dialing (DID) – A telephone number

Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) – Tones that determine which numbers were pressed by a customer during an IVR.

Disposition – The statuses set for the end result of a call such as “Sale” or “No Answer”.

Fronter – Agents who take inbound calls or make outbound calls. They decide if a customer has the potential to buy and then sends the call to a closer.

Hopper – A buffer that continuously grabs an amount of leads to dial based on the dialer settings.

Inbound Call – When a customer or potential customer calls into the system.

In-group – Groups of inbound numbers and closer groups.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – Also known as a call menu. Allows a person to interact with a voice system which gives instructions on what keys to press for a specific option.

Lead – An individual that may benefit or who has shown interest in your product or service.

Outbound Call – An outgoing call made using one of the dial methods available.

Preview/Manual Mode Dialing – When the agent initiates the phone call by clicking a “dial next number” button. If preview mode is enabled, the agent can preview the lead’s information fully and read notes before calling. The agent hears the phone ringing and hears the customer pick up the call and say “Hello”.

Ratio dialing – Dials several lines at a time to try to find a live person to connect with an agent.