If you’re running a call center or managing outbound sales, you’ve probably heard about predictive dialing. It promises to keep your agents busy and boost talk time. But honestly, setting it up isn’t always as slick as the sales demo. This guide is for anyone who wants a clear, no-nonsense walkthrough to get predictive dialing running in Five9 without losing your mind—or your agents’ patience.
Let’s be upfront: predictive dialing can help, but only if you set it up right and know its limits. Here’s how to do it, step by step.
What Is Predictive Dialing (and Should You Use It?)
Before diving in, let’s clear the air: predictive dialing means the system dials multiple phone numbers at once, based on algorithms that guess when agents will be free. The idea is to keep agents talking as much as possible, with minimal dead air.
Works well if: - You’ve got a decent-sized team (at least 8–10 agents) - You’re calling big lists, not cherry-picked leads - You can handle a bit of dropped or abandoned calls (regulations apply!)
Doesn’t work so well if: - Your lists are tiny or super high-value (one bad call can sting) - Your agents do a lot of research or need prep time between calls - You have strict compliance needs (predictive dialing can get you in trouble if you’re not careful)
If that’s you, read on. If not, maybe stick with preview or progressive dialing.
Step 1: Prep Your Lists and Know Your Numbers
Predictive dialing lives and dies on data. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Clean up your contact lists. Remove duplicates, DNC numbers, wrong numbers, and anything you shouldn’t be calling.
- Format your lists for Five9. Usually, you’ll need a CSV or Excel file with columns for phone number, name, and any other fields you want agents to see.
- Estimate your agent count. Predictive dialing works best with at least 8 agents. Fewer than that, and the system can’t “predict” much.
- Know your abandon rate limits. In the US, you can’t legally let more than 3% of calls be abandoned (meaning a person answers, but no agent is available). Five9 can help monitor this, but you need to care.
Pro tip: Don’t try to be clever with your lists at first. Start simple, get it working, then get fancy.
Step 2: Set Up Campaigns in Five9
Now you’re ready to build the campaign that will actually do the dialing.
- Log in to Five9 as an admin.
- Go to Campaigns in the admin panel.
- Click Create New Campaign (the exact wording may change, but you’re looking for “new” or “add”).
- Give your campaign a clear, specific name (e.g., “Q2 Outbound Predictive – Midwest”).
- Choose Outbound as the campaign type.
- Select “Predictive” as the dialing mode. This is key—don’t pick preview or progressive.
Settings to pay attention to: - Caller ID: Set this to a real, monitored number. You want callbacks to go somewhere. - Calling hours: Make sure you’re not dialing outside legal times for your region. - Abandon rate: Set this to 2–3% max to stay compliant. - Max dials per agent: Don’t set this higher than you can handle. If your list is bad, you’ll just annoy people.
What to ignore: Don’t get lost in every sub-setting. Get the basics working first.
Step 3: Import and Map Your Contact List
Five9 makes you map your list fields to its system fields. It’s not rocket science, but it’s easy to mess up.
- Go to your new campaign and find the Import Contacts or Upload List option.
- Upload your CSV or Excel file.
- Map your fields: Make sure “Phone Number” goes to the right place. Double-check for typos or shifted columns.
- Save and let Five9 process the list. You’ll get an error if something’s off—fix it before moving on.
Pro tip: Always spot-check the first 10 records after import. Bad mapping now means a bad day later.
Step 4: Assign Agents and Set Up Skills
The predictive dialer only works if agents are assigned and logged in.
- Go to the Users or Agents section.
- Add agents to the campaign. (Usually, this means assigning them a “skill” that links to your campaign.)
- Make sure agents know how to log into the Five9 Agent Desktop and are set to “Ready” when they start.
Skill settings: Don’t overthink it. If you’re just starting, keep it simple—one skill for the whole group.
Step 5: Tweak Predictive Dialer Settings
Five9 gives you some dials and sliders here, but don’t get lost in the weeds.
Key settings to care about:
- Abandon Rate Target: Set this at or just below 3%. The lower you go, the less aggressive the dialer.
- Pacing Ratio: This is how many calls get dialed per available agent. Start with the default and nudge it up or down as you see results.
- Retry Logic: Set how many times to retry a number if no answer or busy. Don’t go overboard—2–3 retries max.
- AMD (Answering Machine Detection): Enable if you want to skip voicemails. But beware: it’s never perfect and sometimes drops live calls by mistake. Test before trusting it.
What to ignore: Don’t get lost in AI settings or “optimization” features you don’t understand. Get a handle on the basics before fiddling.
Step 6: Test Before You Go Live
Never trust a predictive dialer without testing it first. Otherwise, you risk burning leads, annoying customers, or running afoul of regulations.
- Set up a small test list (friends, coworkers, your own cell).
- Have a few agents log in and watch what happens.
- Listen for delays, dropped calls, and weird behavior.
- Check the reporting dashboard for abandon rates and connection stats.
If things look off, double-check your settings. It’s way easier to fix problems now than after a real campaign.
Step 7: Go Live (and Monitor Like a Hawk)
Ready? Turn on your campaign for the full list, but don’t walk away.
- Monitor in real time. Five9’s dashboards will show you live stats—calls placed, connects, abandons, agent status.
- Check agent feedback. If they’re getting slammed with bad calls, or sitting idle, something’s off.
- Adjust pacing and abandon rate as needed. Don’t be afraid to slow it down if you’re getting complaints or high abandons.
Pro tip: Predictive dialing is not “set it and forget it.” Plan to babysit your first few big campaigns.
Step 8: Review Results and Fine-Tune
After a day or two, dig into the data.
- Look at your abandon rate. Over 3%? Dial it back. Under 1%? You might be able to speed it up.
- Check your contact rates. If you’re reaching lots of voicemail, try tweaking AMD or change your list.
- Listen to call recordings. This is where real problems show up: bad connections, awkward waits, or agents getting calls too soon.
- Ask your agents. They’ll tell you what’s working—and what’s not.
Don’t fall for the myth that there’s a “perfect” setting. Every team and list is different.
Common Gotchas (and How to Dodge Them)
- Small teams: Predictive dialing just won’t work well with a handful of agents. You’ll get lots of abandons or idle time.
- Bad lists: Dirty or old lists mean more wrong numbers and dials to nowhere. Clean up before you start.
- Compliance: Laws matter. Don’t ignore DNC, abandon rate rules, or calling hour restrictions. Five9 helps, but it’s your neck on the line.
- Overly aggressive settings: If you try to be too “efficient,” you’ll just annoy people and risk fines.
- Unrealistic expectations: Predictive dialing isn’t magic. It won’t turn a bad list or unmotivated team into sales machines.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Get Cute
Setting up predictive dialing in Five9 isn’t rocket science, but it’s not plug-and-play either. The trick is to start simple, get something working, and then tweak. Don’t believe anyone who says you need “advanced AI optimization” on day one. Get the basics right, watch your numbers, and adjust as you go.
In a nutshell: clean lists, clear settings, lots of monitoring, and a willingness to adjust. That’s how you set up predictive dialing that actually works. Good luck—and remember, if something seems off, it probably is. Trust your gut, not just the dashboard.