Outreach Voice Best Practices

Overview

We know Outreach is critical to your daily success and with many of us now working from home, we understand Outreach Voice plays a major role in communicating with your Prospects; therefore, we want to be sure your experience is reliable and responsive, so you can focus on the conversation at hand and winning deals.  Below, we have compiled some best practices for using Outreach Voice to improve call quality and optimize your voice experience. 

Notes:

• Using imported number lists is not a recommended practice due to risk of outgoing calls to Prospects being registered as spam.

Outreach Voice Best Practices for Working Remotely

Connection & Hardware

• VPN connections and virtual desktop environments (such as Amazon Workspaces) are not supported when making calls via Outreach Voice.
• If able, connect to a wired network connection to avoid issues caused by interrupted or poor wireless performance. 
• Work close to a wireless access point when wired connections are unavailable.
• Use high-quality, wired headsets.
  
  • Bluetooth and wireless headsets can cause poor audio quality due to connectivity issues between the device and your system.
  • Outreach recommends connecting audio devices directly to the system rather than a USB or dock. Devices not connected directly to the computer may experience audio quality issues. 
• Regularly check your device manufacturers’ websites for updates to drivers, software, and firmware. 
• Consider using a personal phone for Outreach Voice calling. 

Additional Wireless Network Considerations

• Newer wireless network hardware supports 5 GHz connections which have less background interference and higher speeds. However, note that 5 GHz networks do not penetrate solid objects such as walls as well as 2.4 GHz signals. This can limit network coverage where many walls may exist between a wireless access point and the user. 
• In a wireless environment, many devices may be competing for bandwidth, which can degrade not just call quality, but overall performance.

Desktop Environment

• Close or disable running applications not required while on Outreach calls.
  • A lot of multimedia and streaming applications (such as Netflix, Spotify, etc.) are notorious for draining system resources and bandwidth, and can have a negative impact on call quality. 
• Confirm the most recent version of Google Chrome is installed.
• Schedule system reboots. 
  • Restarting your computer on a regular basis allows the system to flush its RAM and can improve the overall performance of the machine. 

A Note on International Calling

Note that some international regions may allow some call completion through our provider, Twilio, but connectivity may be unreliable and quality diminished. Calls to mainland China are blocked entirely. If you require an exemption, please contact Support for assistance, and note that you can find the requirements for an exemption here.

Troubleshooting First Steps

Noise, static, echoes, low-volume output, and one- or no-audio can be the result of a poor device or connection. Attempt to recreate the experience with another wired headset, or no headset at all, to help pinpoint the root cause.

If you are still having issues making calls with your computer, consider using a personal phone for Outreach Voice calling.

You can always search for additional resources here in the Support Portal, or check our Status Page for information on potentially occurring incidents that may impact voice calling. Please contact Support if you have additional questions or concerns.

Additional Resources: 

Outreach University - Voice Management for Admins 

Outreach Voice Dialing Overview

Outreach Voice Network Requirements

Troubleshooting Call Connection Issues

Troubleshooting Call Audio Issues

What are the international restrictions on Outreach Voice service?