Medicare Call Center Quadruples Contact Rate After Switching to Convoso
ConvosoTL;DR
A Medicare call center expanded into outbound and struggled to reach prospects
Legacy dialers led to low contact rates, rising lead costs, and inefficient workflows
Contact rates increased by 400% with Convoso
Lead spend decreased by 40%
Daily call volume dropped from 300,000 to 180,000 calls
Agent morale and productivity improved
Faster speed to lead drove more live conversations
Stronger caller ID reputation management increased contact rates and revenue
How a Medicare call center increased contact rates 400%
Outbound contact centers depend on strong contact rates to drive revenue. But when calls don’t connect, lead costs rise, agents lose momentum, and performance stalls.
A Florida-based Medicare call center with more than 200 agents faced these challenges as it expanded into outbound. Despite trying multiple dialers, the team struggled to reach prospective policyholders and generate consistent results.
After switching to Convoso’s contact center sales platform, performance improved across the board.
“When we moved to Convoso, the metrics changed immediately. Our business is definitely reaping the rewards,” the managing partner said.
“We're making a tremendous amount more in sales, we're dialing significantly less data than before, and our connection rate has increased 400%.”
Challenges
Needed blended inbound and outbound capabilities
Caller ID reputation management too costly and slow
Flagged phone numbers hurting contact rates and conversions
Voicemail leakage reducing agent effectiveness
Reporting tools slowing down managers
Agent login issues causing downtime
Solutions
Predictive dialer with inbound and custom IVR
Dedicated customer success manager
Answering machine detection
Caller ID reputation management
Customizable reporting
Real-time analytics
Results
400% increase in contact rate
40 new agent seats added to support growth
40% less spent on leads
Daily outbound call volume dropped 300K to 180K
Positive impact on agent morale
Managers saved time on admin
Outbound expansion exposed performance gaps
The team had built its operation around inbound calls, where high-intent prospects drove steady performance. When they expanded into outbound, they relied on Five9, but its limited outbound capabilities made it difficult to scale effectively.
They were dialing hundreds of thousands of leads each day but not getting enough conversations to show for it. Contact rates stayed low, lead costs climbed, and efficiency dropped across the operation.
The impact also showed up on the sales floor. Agents spent long stretches reaching voicemail or unanswered calls, making it harder to stay engaged and maintain consistent productivity.
Previous dialers failed to improve contact rates
After expanding into a hybrid model, the Medicare call center needed a dialer that could support outbound volume and improve contact rates. They tested two platforms: Five9 and VICIdial.
Why Five9 couldn’t support outbound at scale
They started with Five9, which worked for inbound but struggled to support outbound at scale. Managing caller ID reputation was expensive and slow, making it hard to respond when numbers were blocked or flagged and performance dropped.
As contact rates declined, the impact spread quickly. Agents weren’t getting enough live conversations, revenue slowed, and payroll costs continued to stack up without the return.
“By the time I would see that certain numbers were flagged as spam and tried to [address it], from an operational standpoint, it was impossible,” the managing partner said.
“That created a major issue for our overall connectivity rate, requiring us to dwell on a lot more data to connect our agents with consumers. We knew we needed to make a change.”
Why VICIdial didn’t improve contact rates
Looking for a fix, they switched to VICIdial. At first, contact rates improved slightly, but the gains didn’t last. Performance settled back to the same low levels, and agents began dealing with frustrating login issues and system glitches that slowed them down.
“[With VICIdial,] I had a problem. We had a hole in our boat, we were sinking, and we needed to fix it,” the managing partner said.
Switching to Convoso improved performance
After struggling with two platforms, his team knew they needed a change. They turned to Convoso to improve contact rates and stabilize outbound performance.
The implementation process was straightforward. A product expert guided the team through setup, while a dedicated customer success manager helped tailor the system to their operation.
The transition was quick, and the platform was easy to use from the start.
“When we moved to Convoso, the implementation was fantastic—the metrics changed immediately. It was literally like hitting a light switch,” he said.
Higher contact rates reduced dialing volume
With stronger contact rates, the entire operation became more efficient.
A 400% increase in contact rate meant agents spent less time dialing through leads and more time speaking with real prospects. More conversations led to more transfers, more opportunities, and more sales.
“We're creating more connections with the consumers, which lead to more opportunities for the agents, which in turn lead to more sales,” the managing partner said. “So it's been fantastic so far out the gate.”
Better contact rates lowered lead costs
Before switching platforms, the team dialed around 300,000 records per day just to hit their targets. Low contact rates meant burning through data to generate enough conversations.
With higher contact rates, that changed. Daily dialing dropped to 180,000 calls, while performance improved.
Fewer dials meant less wasted spend. The team reduced lead costs by 40% while reaching more qualified prospects and driving more sales.
“To add 40 reps and still be dialing that much less data—that’s crazy,” the managing partner said.
Stronger caller ID reputation management improved contact rates
When phone numbers are flagged or labeled as spam, contact rates drop fast. Even interested prospects are less likely to answer, making it harder to reach the right people.
That was a persistent issue with previous dialers. Managing caller ID performance was time-consuming and expensive, with slow response times that made it difficult to keep campaigns performing consistently.
The managing partner said the Convoso system provides proactive visibility into phone number performance, reducing the need for manual intervention. Now the team stays ahead of performance issues and maintains stronger connection rates without constant manual effort.
Accurate answering machine detection led to more live conversations
Before improving voicemail detection, agents spent too much time reaching answering machines. Long streaks of unanswered calls made it harder to stay focused and maintain consistent performance.
With Convoso’s 97% accurate answering machine detection, agents connected to more live conversations instead of dead ends. That shift helped them stay engaged and make better use of their time.
“When we introduced the AMD feature, you could hear [the change] internally. The representatives were visibly much happier. They were sharper, and they were much more engaged, upbeat, and in the zone,” the managing partner said.
“Coupled with the right amount of data and a dialing system doing things properly, AMD creates a world of efficiency.”
Real-time data improves decision-making
With hundreds of thousands of new records flowing in every few days, the team needs clear visibility into performance at any given moment.
Real-time reporting makes that possible. Managers can track results throughout the day, quickly spot issues, and adjust dialing strategies before performance slips. Instead of digging through reports, they can see what’s working and what’s not in a single view.
“The main metrics we watch are obviously our contact rate,” the managing partner said. “If that’s down, I look at what lists I’m dialing. The report tells me if a list is helping me or hurting me, so I know which ones to shut off.”
With that level of visibility, the team stays in control of performance and makes faster, more data-backed decisions.
Intelligent routing and IVR optimized inbound for growth
Inbound calls remain a critical part of the Medicare sales team’s operation, especially for high-intent prospects returning missed calls. The team needs a system that ensures those opportunities aren’t lost.
With IVR and intelligent routing, Convoso directs calls to the right agents quickly. That reduces dropped calls and helps capture more inbound demand.
“Convoso has all the capabilities of Five9 for inbound that we’ve ever had, but better because everything can be customized,” the managing partner said. “In Five9, you’re very limited to what’s out-of-the-box. Convoso can be tailored to everything you need. If it’s not out-of-the-box, it can be created, no problem.”
In addition to getting calls to the right place quickly, call routing also plays a key role in controlling costs. By matching leads to agents based on licensing requirements, the team avoids unnecessary licensing spend and supports compliance.
Instead of licensing every agent across all states, they evaluate new hires in a smaller group of states for 30 days before expanding. “We can rate them and figure out if they’re going to make it or not,” he said. This ensures only top performers move forward and saves the call center “a tremendous amount of money.”
Driving more revenue with better outbound performance
By improving contact rates, reducing wasted dialing, and giving teams more control over performance, the Medicare call center turned outbound into a more efficient and consistent growth engine.
Ready to increase contact rates and lower lead costs? Schedule a demo today to see how Convoso can improve your call center operations.