1. Apollo
  2. Engage
  3. Calls and Dialer

Use Power and Parallel Dialing on Apollo

Article author
Apollo Team
Updated

Overview

Power and parallel dialing help you reach more prospects in less time by automating call workflows across multiple saved contacts.

Power dialing The dialer calls one contact at a time and automatically moves to the next after each call ends.

✓ Recommended for most users. Stay focused on conversations while maintaining a steady pace with minimal downtime.
Parallel dialing The dialer calls multiple contacts at the same time and connects you to the first person who answers.

⚠ Best for advanced users. Move through call lists faster, but parallel dialing requires strong call handling since connections can happen quickly.

You can only use power or parallel dialing with saved contacts, not net new prospects. To call prospects in bulk, first save the contacts to your Apollo account.

 
Turn Up the Dial

Power and parallel dialing require the advanced dialer add-on on your Apollo plan. If you need to dial multiple people at once, upgrade your plan to enable the advanced dialer add-on. If you have questions about upgrading, reach out to the Apollo sales team.

Check out the following sections to set up and use power or parallel dialing on Apollo.

Back to Top

Use Power Dialing

Use power dialing to call contacts one at a time in sequence, automatically moving to the next prospect as soon as each call ends.

To use power dialing:

  1. Launch Apollo and click People > Saved.
  2. Alternatively, click Tasks > Call tasks, or click Calls > Upcoming calls.
  3. Check each contact you want to dial, then click Start calling.
Example contacts selected in call tasks
  1. Next, select the phone number you want to dial from. You can dial from one of your Apollo phone numbers, or use a phone number that's local to the contact. If you've purchased multiple numbers, check two or more numbers, and Apollo evenly distributes calls across the selected phone numbers.
  2. Select Power dialer.
  3. Next, select the types of numbers you want to dial, like mobile, home, or other. Apollo prioritizes the phone type according to the order you select. For example, if you select a mobile number first, but it doesn't work, Apollo moves on to home.
 
No Number, No Ring

Apollo skips contacts that don't have phone numbers.

  1. Select the voicemail drop you want to leave on unanswered calls. Alternatively, leave the option blank to manually leave a voicemail.
 
Nice to Know

If you choose not to use voicemail drops, you can skip numbers if voicemail is detected. However, Apollo is unable to differentiate between a voicemail and an interactive voice response (IVR) system. If you rely on connecting to IVRs as part of your outreach, you shouldn't skip numbers when voicemail is detected.

  1. (Optional) Check Continue calling the next numbers after voicemail drop to automatically call a contact's additional phone numbers after leaving voicemail. For example, if you leave a voicemail drop on a mobile number, Apollo will call the next available number for the contact. This option is only available with voicemail drop.
  2. Select whether the call task should automatically be marked as completed on voicemail drop:
    • If Yes: Select a disposition like Left Voicemail, and add any optional notes.
  3. (Optional) Check Disable waiting music to disable hold music and play a beep when the call connects.
  4. (Optional) Check Record connected calls.
Call from and voicemail drop are selected
 
Recording in Progress

You can configure the dialer to record calls, but location-based recording rules govern how you can record calls in various locations.

  1. Next, select whether the task should automatically be marked as complete on calls not connected:
    • If Yes: Select a disposition like Bad / Wrong Number, and add any optional notes. You can't preselect a disposition here for contacts who simply don't pick up. This setting only applies when Apollo marks the call as not connected, such as for bad, missing, or out-of-service numbers.
 
Not Connected = Unable to Connect

Not connected means Apollo was unable to ring the phone number due to a bad, missing, or out of service phone number.

Not connected calls
  1. When finished, click Start calling.
 
Memory Maker

Once you set your dialing preferences, Apollo remembers the setup for the next time you make calls. You can always edit the configuration if needed.

  1. Apollo dials your contacts in the order in which you selected them.
  2. When a contact answers, Apollo opens the call activity log and contact profile, giving you easy access to contextual information to complete the call.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
 
One at a Time

When a contact answers, Apollo stops dialing other contacts in the call queue. This allows you to complete your call with the current prospect.

  1. During or after the call, select a call purpose and call disposition, and add notes to track takeaways.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
  1. When finished, click Log call & complete on the call task.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
  1. Click Resume calling to continue making calls to prospects. Apollo shows the number of calls in the current queue.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
 
Telephone Tip

Need to pause calls? Just end the current call, and Apollo pauses dialing until you click Resume calling.

  1. To add more contacts to your queue, check additional contacts then click Add to call queue.
Checked contacts to add to call queue

You have now used the power dialer to make calls to multiple contacts.

Check out some FAQs or next best actions to keep up the momentum.

Back to Top

Use Parallel Dialing

 
Dial It In

Before you get started with parallel dialing, ensure you understand and follow best practices. Familiarize yourself with local laws like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and seek consent to call prospects if required in your state or country.

Use parallel dialing to call multiple contacts at the same time and instantly connect with the first person who answers.

To use parallel dialing:

  1. Launch Apollo and click People > Saved.
  2. Alternatively, click Tasks > Call tasks, or click Calls > Upcoming calls.
  3. Check each contact you want to dial, then click Start calling.
Example contacts selected in call tasks
  1. Next, select the phone number you want to dial from. You can dial from one of your Apollo phone numbers, or use a phone number that's local to the contact. If you've purchased multiple numbers, check two or more numbers, and Apollo evenly distributes calls across the selected phone numbers.
  2. Select Parallel dialer.
  3. Select the maximum number of calls you want to connect to at one time. Apollo recommends three, but allows up to five active calls at once.
Call from and voicemail drop are selected
  1. Next, select the types of numbers you want to dial, like mobile, home, or other. Apollo prioritizes the phone type according to the order you select. For example, if you select a mobile number first, but it doesn't work, Apollo moves on to home.
 
No Number, No Ring

Apollo skips contacts that don't have phone numbers.

  1. Select the voicemail drop you want to leave on unanswered calls. Alternatively, leave the option blank to manually leave a voicemail.
 
Nice to Know

If you choose not to use voicemail drops, you can skip numbers if voicemail is detected. However, Apollo is unable to differentiate between a voicemail and an interactive voice response (IVR) system. If you rely on connecting to IVRs as part of your outreach, you shouldn't skip numbers when voicemail is detected.

  1. (Optional) Check Continue calling the next numbers after voicemail drop to automatically call a contact's additional phone numbers after leaving voicemail. For example, if you leave a voicemail drop on a mobile number, Apollo will call the next available number for the contact. This option is only available with voicemail drop.
  2. Select whether the call task should automatically be marked as completed on voicemail drop:
    • If Yes: Select a disposition like Left Voicemail, and add any optional notes.
  3. (Optional) Check Disable waiting music to disable hold music and play a beep when the call connects.
  4. (Optional) Check Record connected calls.
Call from and voicemail drop are selected
 
Recording in Progress

You can configure the dialer to record calls, but location-based recording rules govern how you can record calls in various locations.

  1. Next, select whether the task should automatically be marked as complete on calls not connected:
    • If Yes: Select a disposition like Bad / Wrong Number, and add any optional notes. You can't preselect a disposition here for contacts who simply don't pick up. This setting only applies when Apollo marks the call as not connected, such as for bad, missing, or out-of-service numbers.
 
Not Connected = Unable to Connect

Not connected means Apollo was unable to ring the phone number due to a bad, missing, or out of service phone number.

Not connected calls
  1. When finished, click Start calling.
 
Memory Maker

Once you set your dialing preferences, Apollo remembers the setup for the next time you make calls. You can always edit the configuration if needed.

  1. Apollo dials your contacts in the order in which you selected them.
  2. When a contact answers, Apollo opens the call activity log and contact profile, giving you easy access to contextual information to complete the call.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
 
One at a Time

When a contact answers, Apollo stops dialing other contacts in the call queue. This allows you to complete your call with the current prospect.

  1. During or after the call, select a call purpose and call disposition, and add notes to track takeaways.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
  1. When finished, click Log call & complete on the call task.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
  1. Click Resume calling to continue making calls to prospects. Apollo shows the number of calls in the current queue.
Max active calls and type of number to call selected
 
Telephone Tip

Need to pause calls? Just end the current call, and Apollo pauses dialing until you click Resume calling.

  1. To add more contacts to your queue, check additional contacts then click Add to call queue.
Checked contacts to add to call queue

You have now used the parallel dialer to make calls to multiple contacts.

Check out some FAQs or next best actions to keep up the momentum.

Back to Top

FAQs

Frequently asked questions
What's the latency when calling multiple numbers simultaneously? With parallel dialing, what happens if a contact doesn't answer the call? Does the dialer automatically assign a call disposition, or do I need to select one?
If a call doesn't connect and no voicemail is left, how is the call logged? With parallel dialing, what happens when two prospects answer simultaneously?

What's the latency when calling multiple numbers simultaneously?

The latency is approximately three seconds if you use a voicemail drop. If you don't use voicemail drops, latency is significantly reduced. Latency depends on how quickly Apollo detects a human voice. Your prospect doesn't hear any beep or notification that indicates they're being connected to you.

Back to FAQs

With parallel dialing, what happens if a contact doesn't answer the call?

It depends on which phone number types you selected to dial. If you selected mobile and home, for instance, Apollo will next attempt home if mobile is unsuccessful. However, if the call to mobile reaches a voicemail, Apollo won't proceed to the home number. Apollo considers both a prospect's answer and reaching their voicemail as opportunities to leave a message. If no one answers, Apollo moves to the next number type in your queue.

Back to FAQs

Does the dialer automatically assign a call disposition, or do I need to select one?

  • If you've selected a voicemail drop, Apollo automatically assigns the left voicemail call disposition.
  • If you haven't selected a voicemail drop, you need to manually select the call disposition and add any call notes.

Back to FAQs

If a call doesn't connect and no voicemail is left, how is the call logged?

If the call doesn't connect and you don't select a voicemail drop, it's logged as not connected. Apollo marks the call task incomplete until you take further action. Apollo only assigns a call disposition if it successfully leaves a voicemail.

Back to FAQs

With parallel dialing, what happens when two prospects answer simultaneously?

Apollo connects you to the first prospect who answers and automatically disconnects the remaining calls. You're only ever connected to one live conversation at a time.

Back to FAQs

Back to Top

Next Steps

You're dialing faster already—here are a few ways to keep that momentum going and turn more calls into conversations.

Make and Receive Calls Want to get even smoother on calls? Learn how to make calls to net-new prospects and how to handle inbound conversations without missing a beat.
Record and Leave Voicemail Drops Missing prospects? Record and leave voicemail drops to keep your outreach consistent and save time between attempts.
Use Purposes and Dispositions to Understand Call Outcomes After each call, track call outcomes with dispositions to spot patterns and improve how your team connects and converts.
Get an Apollo Phone Number Looking to boost pickup rates? Set up local or multiple phone numbers to improve answer rates and scale your dialing strategy.
Cold Calling Best Practices Want better conversations, not just more dials? Apply proven cold calling techniques to build trust, stay compliant, and book more meetings.

Back to Top