Demographic Quotas explained

Sometimes the goal is not just "dial everyone" — it is "reach this many people in this state, this many in that one, and stop chasing a group once you have hit the target." Demographic Quotas is the VICIdial feature for that kind of structured outreach. Instead of you babysitting which leads get dialed, the system re-ranks them as quotas fill up. Here is what it does and how to bring it online without surprises.

What the feature actually does

Demographic Quotas lets you set goals tied to attributes of your Lead records — region, source, or any grouping your list carries — and then it steers dialing toward those goals. As a quota gets close to full, the system re-ranks the remaining leads so the dialer naturally shifts attention to the buckets that still need calls. It is a way to keep a mixed list balanced instead of accidentally burning through one segment while another sits untouched.

Turning it on

There are two pieces. First, the Demographic Quotas campaign setting, which simply enables or disables the feature for that one Campaign. Second, the Demographic Quotas Container setting, where you point the campaign at a DEMOGRAPHIC_QUOTAS settings container holding your actual goals. The feature does nothing until you have selected a container, and the default for both is disabled — so it never turns on by accident. Build the container with the goals you want, attach it, flip the campaign setting on, and you are running.

Controlling the re-ranking

By default the system only re-ranks your leads at sensible moments: when a quota has been reached, or when the campaign runs out of dialable leads. That is usually exactly what you want and it keeps the load light. But if you need the rankings to update more aggressively, the Demographic Quotas Force Re-Rank setting lets you force it once with NOW, every hour with HOUR, or every minute with MINUTE.

Be careful with the frequent options. Re-ranking is real work, and on a campaign with a lot of leads, running it every minute can cause a noticeable hiccup while it churns. NOW is the safe choice when you just changed your goals and want them to take effect immediately — it does the job once and then flips itself back to NO.

Watch the list-reset setting

There is a Demographic Quotas List Resets option that will automatically reset your active lists when there are leads still inside the Call times window but nothing dialable left. It sounds helpful, but leave it on MANUAL in most cases. An automatic reset can mean a customer gets called far more times in one day than you intended, which is the fast track to complaints. Reset deliberately, when you have looked at the numbers, rather than letting the system do it for you.

One last thing: Demographic Quotas and Call Quota Lead Ranking are separate systems and should never both be active on the same campaign. Pick the one that matches your goal — quotas by attribute here, structured recycle dialing there.

Quotas are an advanced lever; most teams get further by getting the basics right first. The VICIdial dialing strategies guide covers pacing and list order, and if abandoned calls are your real worry, start with lowering your drop rate. For a managed dialer with these controls ready to go, see our plans.