Mastering the telli Auto-Dialer

Last updated: June 13, 2025

The telli Auto-Dialer simplifies and automates contact outreach, ensuring efficient call scheduling and improved connection rates. This guide helps you understand how it works, how to set it up, and best practices for optimal performance.

How the Auto-Dialer Works

The Auto-Dialer automatically schedules calls to contacts, repeatedly attempting to reach them until one of two conditions occurs:

The contact answers and completes a conversation.
The maximum number of attempts or duration (in days) is reached.

You can always see a contact’s next scheduled call:

Via the web app interface
Using the /get-contact API endpoint

Calling Strategies

telli offers two distinct calling strategies:

1. Smart Calling (Recommended)

Our Smart Calling approach uses data-driven analysis to automatically select optimal calling times. Key highlights include:

Maximum of 3 call attempts per contact per day.
Strict adherence to dialer window hours.
Fully configurable maximum duration (in days).

2. Defined Intervals

With Defined Intervals, you manually set specific time intervals between retry attempts after unsuccessful calls.

Example:

After the first call, wait 20 minutes, then retry.
After the second call, wait 1 hour, then retry.
After the third call, wait 2 hours and 30 minutes, etc.

If the scheduled retry falls outside of the Dialer Window, the call will automatically be rescheduled to the next available time.

Dialer Windows

Dialer Windows define the permitted calling hours, ensuring calls occur at appropriate and respectful times.

Dialer windows respect the local timezone of each contact if specified.
If no timezone is specified, the system defaults to your account’s timezone.

Example:

Dialer Window set: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Los Angeles contact called: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST
New York contact called: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST

Manual calls (via /initiate-call API or web app) bypass these restrictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is a contact marked as “reached”?

A contact is “reached” when they answer and complete a conversation. Voicemails or unanswered calls trigger retry attempts.

What happens with calling errors?

After two consecutive call errors, the call loop automatically ends, regardless of remaining attempts.

How do manual calls affect the call loop?

Manual calls happen immediately and, if unsuccessful, trigger the next call based on your chosen strategy.

What happens if dialer intervals are changed?

The system adjusts dynamically, always complying with dialer window constraints.

How are previously reached contacts handled?

Manually calling a previously reached contact restarts their call loop.

What happens when the maximum number of attempts changes?

Changes take immediate effect on active loops but not on completed loops.

What occurs when disabling/re-enabling the auto-dialer?

When re-enabled, overdue calls trigger immediately. To avoid this:

Remove contacts via /v1/remove-from-auto-dialer.
Adjust maximum intervals to automatically remove contacts.

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