Overview
The dialer allows you to make and receive calls, so you can reach prospects directly on Apollo. If you haven't already, get an Apollo phone number and set your call preferences.
Check out the following sections to make and receive calls.
Before you start dialing, learn about cold call best practices to optimize your dialing strategy, adhere to regulations, and book more meetings.
Make Calls
Did you know? You can make calls as a team, and join calls as an observer or active participant. You can even provide live coaching to reps on calls.
You can call saved contacts or new prospects.
You can make calls to saved contacts individually or in bulk:
Make a call to a single person
If you've purchased multiple phone numbers, Apollo dials from your default number. To change it, go to Settings > Phone numbers. Click ... > Set as default beside the phone number you dial from most often.
- Launch Apollo and click People > Saved.
- Alternatively, click Tasks > Call tasks, or click Calls > Upcoming calls.
- Apollo displays your current call tasks.
- Click Call beside the saved contact you want to dial.
- Select the number you want to dial or click Call Primary to dial the contact's primary number.
- To request a direct dial, click Request direct dial.
What's a direct dial? A direct dial is a phone number that allows you to reach a specific person directly, bypassing the main company number. Direct dial numbers are typically mobile or direct work phone numbers. Apollo charges you credits to access personal phone numbers, regardless of whether the number is on a do not call registry. Learn more about accessing a prospect's phone number.
- To dial manually, navigate to Calls > New call, or click Call on the navbar. Enter a phone number, or search for and select a contact.
If needed, you can manually save an extension to a contact's phone number. Enter the phone number followed by ext and the extension, like +1 001-002-0003 ext 1234. Apollo won't dial the extension automatically, but it can serve as a note to remind you of the extension when you reach the interactive voice response (IVR).
- Complete the call:
- If you're on bridge, your Apollo phone number calls your personal phone. Answer the call and follow the prompt to complete the bridge and connect with your contact.
- If you're on VoIP, the call connects in your browser using your computer sound settings. Use the controls at the bottom to manage the call.
- The contact sees your Apollo phone number as the dialing number, with no name on the caller ID. If you use local presence, the contact sees a phone number with an area code local to theirs.
- If no one answers and you've enabled voicemail drops, you can end the call and automatically leave a voicemail.
- When the call ends, enter details about the call. You can enter a call purpose, a call disposition, and notes for key takeaways. If you enabled call recording in the dialer preferences, you can play back the call or press 🗑 to delete it.
- When finished, click Save.
You have now made a call to a saved contact on Apollo.
You can access your saved calls to find key takeaways, and share calls to celebrate your wins with the team.
Apollo counts your talk time by the second, not by the minute. If you talk for 32 seconds, Apollo doesn't round up to the nearest minute — we count 32 seconds! That's more time for you to connect with contacts. To track your team's talk time, navigate to Settings > Manage Plan. Scroll to dialer usage.
Make calls to multiple people
With power dialing or parallel dialing on Apollo, you can make calls to multiple contacts at once. Choose a few prospects to call, and Apollo connects you to the first one who answers, ending the rest of the calls.
Use multi-prospect dialing to save time, automatically drop voicemail on unanswered calls, and learn from each interaction with automated call recording and transcription.
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.
To make calls to multiple people:
- Launch Apollo and click People > Saved.
- Alternatively, click Tasks > Call tasks, or click Calls > Upcoming calls.
- Check each contact you want to dial, then click Start calling.
- 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.
- Choose how you want to dial:
- Power dialer: Apollo allows you to dial one number at a time, automatically moving to the next contact as soon as the current call ends.
- Parallel dialer: Apollo allows you to call multiple numbers at once and connects you to the first person who answers, dropping the rest.
Apollo skips contacts that don't have phone numbers.
- If you choose parallel dialer, select the maximum number of calls you want to connect to at one time. Apollo recommends 3, but allows up to 5 active calls at once.
- Next, select the types of numbers you want to dial, like mobile, home, or other. Apollo will prioritize 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.
- Select the voicemail drop you want to leave on unanswered calls. Alternatively, leave the option blank to manually leave a voicemail.
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.
- (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.
- 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.
- (Optional) Check Disable waiting music to disable hold music and play a beep when the call connects.
- (Optional) Check Record connected calls.
You can configure the dialer to record calls, but location based recording rules govern how you can record calls in various locations.
- 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.
Not connected means Apollo was unable to ring the phone number due to a bad, missing, or out of service phone number.
- When finished, click Start calling.
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.
- Apollo dials your contacts in the order in which you selected them.
- When a contact answers, Apollo opens the call activity log and contact profile, giving you easy access to contextual information to complete the call.
When a contact answers, Apollo stops dialing other contacts in the call queue. This allows you to complete your call with the current prospect.
- During or after the call, select a call purpose and call disposition, and add notes to track takeaways.
- When finished, click Log call & complete on the call task.
- Click Resume calling to continue making calls to prospects. Apollo shows the number of calls in the current queue.
Need to pause calls? Just end the current call, and Apollo pauses dialing until you click Resume calling.
- To add more contacts to your queue, check additional contacts then click 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.
To make an outgoing call to a new prospect:
- Launch Apollo and click People > Net New.
- Use search filters to find the person you want to dial.
- Click Access phone number beside the prospect.
Apollo charges you credits to access a contact phone number, regardless of whether the number is on a do not call registry. Apollo does not charge credits for HQ phone numbers. Learn more about accessing a prospect's phone number.
- Click the phone number to dial the prospect.
It isn't possible to use parallel dialing or power dialing on net new prospects. If you want to dial prospects in bulk, save the contacts to your Apollo account.
- Alternatively, to dial manually, navigate to Calls > New call, or click Call on the navbar. Enter a phone number, or search for and select a contact.
Want to manually dial an extension? Just enter the phone number, followed by ext and the extension number, like +1 001-002-0003 ext 1234.
- Complete the call:
- If you're on bridge, your Apollo phone number calls your personal phone. Answer the call and follow the prompt to complete the bridge and connect with your prospect.
- If you're on VoIP, the call connects in your browser using your computer sound settings. Use the controls at the bottom to manage the call.
- The prospect sees your Apollo phone number as the dialing number, with no name on the caller ID. If you use local presence, the contact sees a phone number with an area code local to theirs.
- If no one answers and you've enabled voicemail drops, you can end the call and automatically leave a voicemail.
- When the call ends, enter details about the call. You can enter a call purpose, a call disposition, and notes for key takeaways. If you enabled call recording in the dialer preferences, you can play back the call or press Delete to delete it.
- When finished, click Save.
You have now made a call on Apollo.
You can access your saved calls to find key takeaways, and share calls to celebrate your wins with the team.
Apollo counts your talk time by the second, not by the minute. If you talk for 32 seconds, Apollo doesn't round up to the nearest minute — we count 32 seconds! That's more time for you to connect with prospects. To track your team's talk time, navigate to Settings > Manage Plan. Scroll to dialer usage.
Receive Calls
To answer incoming calls:
- When a contact calls your Apollo phone number or a local presence number you generated, your phone rings based on your calling preferences:
- If you're on bridge, your personal phone number rings and displays the contact's caller ID information. Answer the call to connect, or let the call go to your voicemail.
- If you're on VoIP, a dialer rings in browser and displays at the bottom of your screen. Use the controls to manage the call. Apollo uses your computer sound settings for calls.
- When the call ends, enter details about the call. You can enter a call purpose, a call disposition, and notes for key takeaways. If you enabled call recording in the dialer preferences, you can play back the call or press Delete to delete the recording.
- When finished, click Save.
You can access your saved calls to find key takeaways, and share calls to celebrate your wins with the team.
Apollo counts your talk time by the second, not by the minute. If you talk for 32 seconds, Apollo doesn't round up to the nearest minute — Apollo counts 32 seconds! That's more time for you to connect with contacts. To track your team's talk time, navigate to Settings > Manage Plan and scroll to dialer usage.
FAQs
| Frequently asked questions | ||
|---|---|---|
| What's the latency when calling multiple numbers simultaneously? | Does the dialer automatically assign a call disposition, or do I need to select one? | Do I need to unlock prospect phone numbers with credits before making calls? |
| If a call doesn't connect and no voicemail is left, how is the call logged? | With parallel dialing, what happens if a contact doesn't answer the call? | Does Apollo record calls? |
| Why was the dialer deactivated even though I have minutes remaining? | Can I set a caller ID for my phone number on Apollo? | Why didn't my call record? |
What's the latency when calling multiple numbers simultaneously?
The latency is approximately 3 seconds if you use a voicemail drop. If you don't use a voicemail drop, latency is significantly reduced. The latency depends on how quickly Apollo detects a human voice. Your prospect doesn't hear any beep or notification that indicates they are being connected to you.
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.
Do I need to unlock prospect phone numbers with credits before making calls?
It depends on the source of the phone number:
- If a phone number is uploaded from a CRM integration, or you already saved a contact with their phone number, you don't need to use credits.
- If you haven't synced a phone number from your CRM or previously saved the phone number, you use credits to unlock them.
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.
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.
Does Apollo record calls?
Yes, if enabled in your dialer preferences, Apollo can automatically record calls. You can access recordings, transcripts, and AI summaries from the call. Some US states and some countries require that all call participants consent to recording calls. Obtain this consent before using call recording.
Why was the dialer deactivated even though I have minutes remaining?
The dialer may be deactivated across your team if Apollo detects unusual or high-cost usage, even if you have minutes left. To prevent fraud, Apollo temporarily removes your team's access to the dialer when your usage meets all of the following conditions:
- Your team already spent more than 70% of your monthly subscription price on call charges (with a $10 minimum threshold).
- Your team made at least five minutes of billable calls in the past seven days.
- The average cost of those calls exceeds $0.15 per minute, indicating you're dialing higher-priced destinations.
After Apollo deactivates your team's dialer, access resumes at the start of your next billing cycle.
Can I set a caller ID for my phone number on Apollo?
Apollo doesn't support caller ID registration, so your name won't appear when you place calls. In most cases, when you dial a prospect, their device will display the Apollo phone number you're calling from, depending on their phone carrier and device settings.
Why didn't my call record?
You can configure the dialer to record calls, but location based recording rules govern how you can record calls in various locations. Because call recording laws vary by country and US state, your team may define different rules for regions where you make calls. These rules dictate when and whether calls may be recorded by your team.
If your call didn't record as expected, check your location based recording rules. To identify which rule may have affected your recording, search your recording rules by the prospect's area code or your Apollo number's area code.
Next Steps
Keep up the momentum with these next steps:
| Cold Call Best Practices | Make sure your outreach aligns with cold calling best practices, including legal compliance and effective techniques for connecting with prospects. |
|---|---|
| Use Voicemail Drops | Save time on unanswered calls by setting up voicemail drops that deliver a consistent message without manual effort. |
| Log Call Outcomes | Track results consistently by using call dispositions and purposes to tag each call with a goal and outcome. |
| Review and Share Calls | Revisit key moments by reviewing your call recordings and transcripts. Apollo AI generates call summaries, insights, and transcripts. You can even share standout calls with teammates, or get coaching from a team lead. |
| How to Cold Call | Learn the fundamentals and level up your cold call strategy with How to Cold Call: Scripts & Tricks, a webinar by Apollo Academy. |