VanillaSoft

Pros

Responsive and knowledgeable internal customer support and top notch staff interactions. Google calendar integration allows you to set appointments with confidence that the representative (external agent) will be available for them! Automatic timezone allocation for prospect records which allows appointments to be set for representatives who operate nationwide with no manual accounting for timezone needed; the software is nearly goof proof in calendaring considerations. Unlimited projects allowed and robust customization ensures that every project/marketing campaign is uniquely set up to meet your company or client's needs. I really appreciate the ability to customize result codes and the fact that you are not regulated to rigid categories or outcome processes. Each result can trigger multiple functions and this gives the administrator the power to control and maintain appropriate routing of prospects with minimal user effort. A decent dashboard system and intuitive reporting creation.

Cons

My top complaint has to be with the WYSIWYG editor for scripts and email templates, it is sufficient. However, in the NEW VS interface pasting text with from Google Docs or Word invariably produces an error (complete hang on selecting that script, only fixable by reverting to previous version interface) if the document was over a page long, unless pasted as plain text. Even if the original document has all formatting removed prior to copying. I would greatly appreciate a fix for this and support for pasting simple formatting options without errors.

Pros

Allows for SDR sales automation, custom rules and workflows, and gets results.

Cons

Could be prettier, I suppose. I’m being picky here - it’s great at what it does.

Pros

Easy to use for end user. Open platform and superior navigation/disposition functions. Easy to add tagged fields to pull data in a variety of ways.

Cons

No stand alone apps for android, iOS, pc or mac. Just browser functionality. Cannot pause calling (for reporting). If agents stay logged in on their browser it acts like active hours. No way to adjust have to manually adjust reporting.

Pros

I have used this system on and off since 2009 and it's come a long way since then. I keep going back to it because it does the main important things very well. Also, I've had telemarketers try two other systems and they all loved Vanillasoft the most. In fact, after deciding to go with a cheaper option, they would come back to me and ask if we could use VS again. Including my son who just told me yesterday that he always loved Vanillasoft because it took the guesswork out of the picture and only showed you one lead at a time. I think that's one of the main benefits.

1. It puts one lead in front of you at a time. It eliminates the question "who should I call?".
2. It doesn't let you think too much or waste time.
3. The follow up system works great. Meaning, it's easy to leave a note and schedule a call back whether its using the calendar feature or using the dispositions that automatically put the lead back in your que at a predetermined date. Either way you do it, I always felt completely confident that once I finished with a lead that it would come back to me at the appropriate time without me having to think about it. That's huge!
4. The activity dashboard is awesome. It tells you how many dials, conversations, appts, length of time spent on calls, etc. It really puts all the data right in front of you.
5. Emailing and Document Library: Email right from the system using templates and store docs. Very Easy!
6. Hands down, best customer service in the business!!!

Cons

Price: For the first user its going to cost you about $200 if you want all the features. $100 for the basics and then $30 for auto-dialing, $30 for their phone and $30 to record and store calls. Every other user is $80 for the basics + $90 for the rest. So, two users with everything will cost you about $370 a month. With that said, I always go back to it. So, better to spend money on something that will get you results.

Reports: They are great and endless... just wish they were easier to put together. It takes some time to really understand how to generate them. Also, wish they had automated reports that once you set up, they just get emailed to you everyday.

Integrations: This is a phone marketing system with "some" email capabilities. It's not going to do social or look up lead data etc... I wish it would integrate with other email marketing systems like constant contact. It does tell you when someone opens an email if you're in the lead... but it doesn't tell you how often they opened and I don't believe it lets you call just the people who open your emails. It might but I'm not sure how if it does.