Manual Dial Pacing


Or, how we goldilocks your phonebanking campaign

Manual Dial Pacing is one of the coolest things about ThruTalk and the best way to get the "just right" dials per hour per caller. This core piece of architecture allows us to continuously monitor and adjust the dial pace for every active calling campaign. 


Support staff manages every calling campaign. Our goal is to aim for as high a throttle as possible while maintaining low drops. The throttle is the number of calls attempted when a caller becomes available to talk. If your wait times are too high, we can immediately see that and will speed up your dial pacing by increasing the throttle. If your drops are too high, we'll note that immediately as well and slow it down a bit. ‍A dropped call occurs when someone answers but is hung up on because there isn't someone on your end to take the call — not a great experience for your potential supporters. If the rate of dials is too low, you'll have longer wait times between calls — not a great experience for your staff or volunteers doing the calling.


The throttle is the multiplier. Examples:

  • 2 callers x 3 throttle = 6 dials at a time for 2 callers
  • 4 callers x 6 throttle = 24 dials at a time for 4 callers


How drops and throttle are connected:

  • If 24 dials are happening and 4 callers are available to pick them up, then any more than 4 dials that pick up will be a dropped call. 
  • If 8 dials out of 24 pick up, 4 calls get answered, and 4 calls get dropped, that is a 50% recent drop rate.

Drop rate is a metric we work to keep as low as possible while keeping the wait time between connected calls low. 


Expected "Average Wait" Times

Typical wait times depending on the number of callers:

  • 1-2 Callers: 1:30 m - 4:00 m
  • 3-5 Callers: 1:00 m - 1:30 m
  • 5-10 Callers: 0:45 m - 1:00 m
  • 11-20 Callers: 0:30 m - 0:45 m
  • 20+ Callers: less than 0:30 m

If possible, we will maintain a lower wait time with low drops. 


Why is manual pacing so important? Because every calling campaign is a unique combination of list quality, number of callers, time of day/week/year, type of campaign (callers remain connected to each PatchThru call longer than other calls), and local conditions that may affect pickup rates. A system that always calls at the same predetermined rate simply cannot account for all of these variables. Manual dial pacing means we can and will continuously adjust speed and scalability to connect you with every possible supporter and keep your callers happy. If you have questions about your dial pacing, please contact us in LiveChat during calling, and we can discuss potential adjustments to your current throttle.