Outbound Dialer

The outbound dialer automates the process of calling large lists of phone numbers for sales outreach, customer surveys, payment reminders, and other campaign-driven use cases. Instead of agents manually dialing each number, the dialer handles call placement, retry logic, and agent allocation automatically.

Dialer Types

Type	How It Works	Best For
Progressive Dialer	Dials the next number when an agent becomes available	Agent-assisted calls with personal touch
Preview Dialer	Shows agent the contact info before dialing	Complex sales calls needing preparation
Automated Dialer (Robocall)	Dials numbers and plays an IVR or recorded message	Reminders, surveys, notifications
Predictive Dialer	Dials multiple numbers simultaneously based on agent availability predictions	High-volume call centers

How the Outbound Dialer Works

Progressive Dialer Flow

Campaign starts
        |
        v
Agent becomes available
        |
        v
Dialer picks next number from the list
        |
        v
Exotel calls the customer
        |
        v
Customer answers → Connected to agent
        |
Customer does not answer → Mark for retry → Move to next number

Automated Dialer Flow

Campaign starts
        |
        v
Dialer picks next number from the list
        |
        v
Exotel calls the customer
        |
        v
Customer answers → IVR flow plays
        (e.g., "Your payment of Rs. 500 is due. Press 1 to pay now.")
        |
Customer does not answer → Mark for retry

Setting Up an Outbound Campaign

Step 1: Prepare Your Contact List

Create a CSV file with phone numbers and optional metadata:

phone_number,name,amount_due,due_date
+919876543210,Rahul Kumar,500,2025-01-20
+919876543211,Priya Sharma,1200,2025-01-22
+919876543212,Amit Patel,750,2025-01-25

Requirements:

Field	Required	Description
phone_number	Yes	Customer phone number in E.164 or 10-digit format
Additional fields	No	Custom data for personalized IVR or agent screen pop

Step 2: Create a Campaign

Via Dashboard

1. Log in to the Exotel Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Campaigns in the left sidebar.
3. Click Create Campaign.
4. Enter the campaign details:
   • Campaign name: Descriptive name (e.g., "January Payment Reminders")
   • Campaign type: Progressive, Automated, or Preview
   • ExoPhone: Select the caller ID number
   • Call flow: Select the IVR flow for automated campaigns, or the agent connect flow for progressive campaigns
5. Upload your contact list (CSV).
6. Configure scheduling and retry settings.
7. Save.

Via API

curl -X POST 'https://<api_key>:<api_token>@api.exotel.com/v1/Accounts/<account_sid>/Campaigns' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "January_Payment_Reminders",
    "caller_id": "<exophone>",
    "call_flow_id": "<flow_id>",
    "type": "automated",
    "numbers": [
      "+919876543210",
      "+919876543211",
      "+919876543212"
    ],
    "schedule": {
      "start_time": "2025-01-20T09:00:00+05:30",
      "end_time": "2025-01-20T18:00:00+05:30"
    },
    "retry": {
      "max_attempts": 3,
      "interval_minutes": 60
    }
  }'

See: Campaigns API

Step 3: Configure Scheduling

Setting	Description	Example
Start date/time	When the campaign begins dialing	Jan 20, 9:00 AM IST
End date/time	When the campaign stops dialing	Jan 20, 6:00 PM IST
Daily window	Allowed calling hours each day	9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Days of week	Which days to dial	Monday - Saturday
Concurrency	Maximum simultaneous calls	10-50 (depends on agents/capacity)

warning

Adhere to TRAI regulations for commercial calling hours (9 AM - 9 PM IST). Calls placed outside these hours may result in penalties. Always filter out DND-registered numbers before starting campaigns.

Step 4: Configure Retry Logic

Setting	Description	Recommended Value
Max retry attempts	Total call attempts per number	2-3
Retry interval	Time between retries	30-60 minutes
Retry on busy	Retry if the line is busy	Yes
Retry on no answer	Retry if no one answers	Yes
Retry on failed	Retry if the call failed to connect	Yes (once)
Do not retry on	Conditions to stop retrying	DND, invalid number

See: Auto Retry

Step 5: Assign Agents (Progressive/Preview Dialer)

For agent-assisted campaigns:

1. Add agent phone numbers or agent IDs to the campaign.
2. Set the Agent Allocation Strategy:

Strategy	Behavior
Round-robin	Distribute calls evenly across agents
Longest idle	Assign to the agent who has been idle the longest
Skills-based	Match callers to agents with relevant skills
Manual	Agent requests the next call when ready

Step 6: Start the Campaign

1. Review all campaign settings.
2. Click Start Campaign (or schedule for a future time).
3. Monitor progress in the campaign dashboard.

Campaign Management

Monitoring a Running Campaign

The campaign dashboard shows:

Metric	Description
Total numbers	Total contacts in the campaign
Dialed	Numbers attempted so far
Connected	Calls where the customer answered
Not connected	Busy, no answer, failed
Pending	Numbers not yet dialed
Pending retry	Numbers waiting for retry
Completed	Numbers with all attempts exhausted
Connection rate	Percentage of calls connected

Pausing and Resuming

• Pause: Stop dialing temporarily without losing progress. Useful during unexpected issues.
• Resume: Continue from where the campaign left off.
• Stop: End the campaign permanently. Remaining numbers are not dialed.

Adding Numbers Mid-Campaign

You can add more phone numbers to an active campaign:

curl -X POST 'https://<api_key>:<api_token>@api.exotel.com/v1/Accounts/<account_sid>/Campaigns/<campaign_id>/Numbers' \
  -d 'Numbers=+919876543213,+919876543214'

Campaign Reporting

After a campaign completes, access the full report:

Field	Description
Phone number	The contact's number
Attempts	Number of call attempts
Final status	Connected, no answer, busy, failed, DND
Call duration	Duration of connected calls
IVR response	DTMF input from the customer (for automated campaigns)
Recording URL	Link to the call recording
Agent	Agent who handled the call (for progressive campaigns)

Exporting Reports

1. Go to Campaigns > select your campaign.
2. Click Export Report (CSV or Excel).
3. The report includes all fields listed above.

Compliance

DND (Do Not Disturb) Filtering

Before starting a campaign, filter your contact list against the DND registry:

1. Upload your numbers to the DND checking tool in the dashboard.
2. Remove numbers registered on the DND list.
3. Only include numbers with explicit consent for commercial communication.

TRAI Regulations

Requirement	Details
Calling hours	9:00 AM - 9:00 PM IST only
DND compliance	Must not call DND-registered numbers without consent
Caller ID	Must display a valid registered number
Frequency cap	Do not call the same number more than 3 times per day

Best Practices

• Clean your lists -- Validate phone numbers and remove duplicates before uploading.
• Start small -- Test with a small batch (50-100 numbers) before scaling up.
• Monitor connection rates -- If connection rates are below 30%, review your calling times and caller ID.
• Use Truecaller -- Enable Truecaller Verified Caller ID to improve answer rates.
• Respect opt-outs -- If a customer asks to not be called again, remove them from future campaigns immediately.
• Time your campaigns -- Best connection rates are typically between 10 AM - 12 PM and 3 PM - 6 PM.
• Analyze outcomes -- Review campaign reports to optimize future campaigns.

tip

For automated campaigns, design your IVR flow to be concise and action-oriented. Callers have low patience for automated messages. Get to the point within the first 10 seconds.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
Campaign not starting	Scheduling not configured	Set start time or start manually
Low connection rate	Calling at wrong times	Adjust calling window to peak hours
Agents not receiving calls	Agents not added to campaign	Add agent numbers to the campaign
Numbers not retrying	Retry not configured	Enable retry and set max attempts
Campaign stuck at 0%	ExoPhone not assigned	Assign a valid ExoPhone to the campaign
DND numbers in list	List not filtered	Run DND check before uploading

Related

• Outgoing Calls
• Automated Calls
• Auto Retry
• Call Analytics
• Campaigns API