Comparing CTIs for Salesforce: Lightning Dialer, Fastcall and PhoneIQ
5 min
Thousands of companies worldwide use CRM software like Salesforce to centralize all customer and caller information into complete profiles. However, doing this manually can be time-consuming and doesn’t always lead to data consistency.
One of the biggest challenges of communications infrastructure is that many siloed environments cannot operate with each other. As a way to allow companies to reduce the manual workload, Salesforce integrates with CTIs (or computer-telephony integrations) to log in calls and interactions and connect the communication infrastructure directory to their software.
Communications are, today, an essential component to the success of a business - and interoperability is critical for managing business data effectively. So how can CTIs help your company, and how can you choose the best program?
The Best CTIs for Salesforce
Integrating telephony with your CRM system can offer your company several benefits. For example, it can help your business facilitate remote working, improve data center collection, and significantly cut your hardware costs. It also simplifies administration because you can also adjust automated call templates, pre-configure speed dials, and customize the interface for different agents.
If you’re looking to integrate your telephony into Salesforce, you will first need to pick from several options. In this article, we will review three CTI solutions that work well in Salesforce CRM: Lightning Dialer, Fastcall, and Phone IQ. This comparison should help you see which one better adapts to your particular needs.
Choosing the Best Salesforce CTI Solution
We consider seven main criteria when picking the correct Salesforce CTI solution for your business.
- Criteria to pick the right Salesforce CTI Solution:
- Softphone: Taking and making phone calls over the internet, including managing advanced controls, voicemail, tagging calls, adding comments, etc.
- Call Routing: Allowing agents to reroute callers to different departments such as sales, support, etc.
- Automation: Creating and triggering different events (such as inbound or missed call cases) with separate rules to cater to various teams.
- Multi-Channel Capability: The ability to centralize all communications and allow agents to switch between them quickly from the same platform; for example, go from phone calls to text messages, online meetings, etc.
- Advanced Telephony: Supporting advanced functionality such as extension dialing, call queuing, automatic call recording, business hours, mobility, etc.
- Analytics and Reporting: Providing analytics and reporting tools to help track KPIs, effectiveness, and performance out of the box.
- Security and Compliance: Allowing custom permissions and security levels for different reps so they can access distinct functions.
Comparing Lightning Dialer, Fastcall, and PhoneIQ Salesforce CTIs
Lightning Dialer and Salesforce
Lightning Dialer is a simple-to-use Salesforce CTI solution that supports single-click dialing and can import your contact numbers automatically from Salesforce. The VoIP also requires minimal effort to configure and works right out of the box.
This solution has two main valuable features. The first is voicemail drop, or the ability to pre-record voice messages and automatically drop them into a contact’s box if they don’t answer a call. This is very advantageous because agents don’t have to repeat the same message repeatedly. The second feature is the possibility of creating calling lists and adding multiple contacts to a queue. Right after an agent finishes a call, they can move on to the next number, which is dialed automatically.
Both these features can significantly improve productivity and save busy agents hours of work per week. Lightning Dialer also includes robust automatic data capture and metrics (including the ability to analyze whether the stats of a call are in line with your business’ KPIs). One thing to consider, however, is the price of this solution. Lightning Dialer has a slightly confusing price model, with additional charges for inbound and outbound calls measured, for example, by the minute.
Fastcall and Salesforce
Fastcall is not a standalone software but a plugin that embeds into Salesforce directly and can make it easier to display customers' information and make calls. In addition, the solution can eliminate the need for time-intensive (and usually manual) tasks thanks to valuable features such as SMS logging, voicemail drop, and instant phone call.
One of Fastcall's main advantages is that the program records and tracks all calls that go through the platform, allowing agents to monitor them and add their details to the contact records. Fastcall also supports call transfer, IVR, auto-dialer, call logging, reporting, and voicemail transcription - which uses Twilio but doesn't require API access.
The plugin updates frequently (there are three updates a year: Summer, Spring, and Winter), and while it's a native application, it can work with multiple devices and channels such as desktops, mobile phones, SIP, and softphones. The interface is user-friendly, and the call logs are easy to navigate. On the other hand, many features require several clicks, making the process a little more time-consuming than it should be. For example, if an agent wants to hang up, they need to click on "spoke to" and "end call" each time. Fastcall is also more expensive than most of its competitors.
PhoneIQ and Salesforce
PhoneIQ is an all-in-one cloud solution exclusively built for Salesforce, so all your customer communication, such as text messages, voicemails, and calls, are automatically logged into the platform. This seamless integration makes them easier to track and analyze all your interactions in real-time.
The ultimate goal of PhoneIQ is to manage your entire phone system and contact center platform without leaving Salesforce. To do this more effectively, Phone IQ can capture all interactions and keep all activities in sync using various devices such as smartphones, desktop computers, and desk phones. Another advantage is that the support team for the solution is made of Salesforce certified experts.
PhoneIQ integrates numerous intelligent tools to help your business work better with telephony, empowering reps with the correct information for every call and tracking all outcomes to boost productivity. Some of the platform's features also include power dialing, SMS messaging, click-to-dial, call queueing, voicemail drop, call monitoring, local presence dialing, call recording, etc.
With PhoneIQ, you will be able to manage your entire system, handle calls, and access advanced analytics all within Salesforce. You can try the platform for free; just sign up for a 7-day trial and experience what PhoneIQ can do for your company.
