This is the TitanX newsletter, where GTM is built on conversations, and the precision that makes them possible - Read more.
Why would TitanX rank #1 for “best parallel dialer”?
Because people want clarity.
If you google “best parallel dialer” - our article is the first organic (not paid to rank) result, which is funny, because the title is:
We Reviewed 8 of the "Best" Parallel Dialers: Don't Use Any of Them
Bazinga.
But this isn’t just a marketing hack, or funny happenstance.
Given what we know about ranking algorithms, this suggests that people are finding something meaningful in a critical view of parallel dialers. This is backed up by the fact that our traffic to that landing page spends over 3 minutes on average there.
Ultimately, it’s evidence that more and more people are becoming disabused of the notion that optimizing for volume is the right approach.
Yes, we’re biased.
Yes, that article is an un-subtle bait-and-switch.
But so are parallel dialers.
They get you calling obscene volumes, only to leave you exposed to spam flagging.
Some even provide you data, much of which is “right name wrong person” slop that is common in data vendors.
But in general, many still publicly claim to love these spam cannons.
Why?
How did outbound reach the point of praising spam cannons?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot.
As we published a couple weeks ago, 13 of the 14 dialers launched since 2019 are parallel dialers.
That’s not because they’re successful, it’s because the AI-ness of the parallel dialing voice detection algorithm feature seems cool. It seems like something that should be built if you’re a serious development-minded founder (that was the case for the founder I worked with, when we built a parallel dialer at ServiceBell/Rep.ai).
The last decade of outbound philosophy has essentially been blanketed under a single guiding myth:
Outbound = The Tech You Use to Do It.
This myth is pervasive. It’s how you get posts asking about tech that get by far the most comments. It’s also how you get the rise of an entire role/industry shaped around the idea that slinging tech is the way to building an outbound program (i.e. GTM Engineering, signals tech, etc.). These things can be helpful, if (and ONLY if) the fundamentals are in place.
This myth is also overwhelmingly false. It has only a grain of truth in that, if you buy tech that hurts your ability to truly reach prospects, then “outbound = the tech you use to do it” in the sense that your outbound is broken.
Instead, the fundamentals are vastly more… fundamental:
List.
Message.
Rep.
Follow-up.
And everywhere we look, the biggest gaps are…
Poorly targeted lists with poor quality data.
Un-compelling messages and uninteresting offers.
Poorly trained and poorly enabled reps.
Absent follow-up.
No wonder 20% of reps produce 61% of the results.
The bottom 80% are doing some combination of
inflating dial counts to meet activity goals
double tapping
building their own lists of junk contacts
not optimizing their script
and more absurdities.
Stop spam dialing. Start coaching.
The results will be rapid. Tangible.
As one outbound leader put it,
If you need helpful resources, check out:
This is also why, in every single engagement, we spend way more time helping our customers level up their skills, manage their data, and coordinate their stack:
So we can make sure the fundamentals are in order.
Thanks for reading,
Evan Dunn (LinkedIn)
P.S. Agree/disagree with our accusation that outbound has been wrongfully obsessed with the tech it uses?