Auto Alt-Number Dialing: calling a lead's second number

Most leads come with more than one number, a mobile and a work line, say. If the first one rings out, you'd obviously want to try the second before giving up on the person. Auto Alt-Number Dialing makes the dialer do that on its own: when the main number doesn't connect, it rolls over to the lead's alternate number automatically. Here's how to turn it on properly.

How it works

The feature dials the alternate fields on a Lead when the main phone gets a no-answer result while you are in the RATIO or ADAPT dial methods. It is not used in the MANUAL method, manual dialing has its own separate alt-number setting on the agent screen. The two fields it can reach for are the alt_phone field and the address3 field.

To switch it on you set the Auto Alt-Number Dialing field to one of three options: ALT_ONLY to try just the alt phone, ADDR3_ONLY to try just address3, or ALT_AND_ADDR3 to try both. Anything other than NONE turns the behavior on.

Choosing which statuses trigger it

Turning the field on is only half the job. You also choose which dispositions count as "didn't reach them, try the other number" in the Auto Alt-Number Dialing Statuses section at the bottom of the campaign screen. The usual picks are the no-answer results, NA, B, DC and N. Those are the ones where it makes sense to try a second line. You would not, for example, roll a sale over to a second number.

Pick these carefully. Each Status (lead status) you add here means one more dial attempt per lead, so a loose status list quietly inflates your call volume per person.

Remember the two fields are separate. The alt_phone field is the obvious one, a true second phone number for the contact. The address3 field is a spare slot some shops repurpose to hold a third number. If your lead data does not actually put a number in address3, choosing ALT_AND_ADDR3 or ADDR3_ONLY just wastes effort, so match the option to where your data really lives. When in doubt, start with ALT_ONLY and confirm your alt_phone column is populated.

The threshold that stops it

There's a setting called Auto Alt-Number Dialing Threshold, which caps how many total attempts a lead can have before alt-number dialing stops chasing it. Past that count, only the main number gets called. Set it to a sane number, and you stop the dialer from working a single uninterested person through every field on the record. The default is 0, which means no threshold, so set it deliberately if you want a cap.

Auto Alt-Number Dialing works alongside your other retry tools. It pairs well with sensible dial-status choices, explained in which dial statuses get redialed, and the bigger pacing picture lives in the VICIdial dialing strategies guide. Just remember every extra attempt counts toward your contact pressure on a person, the same care you'd apply when watching your Drop rate.

Squeezing every reachable number out of a lead without over-calling is the kind of tuning a managed dialer handles for you. See our pricing to get a box that's dialing in under 40 seconds.