Telecalling terms, defined in one breath each
29 words that vendors, regulators and consultants use around phone selling, each defined plainly and each with its own page. Definitions checked 4 September 2026.
Calling and dialers
- Telecalling
- Selling, qualifying or servicing customers over the phone as the main channel, usually by a small team working a list of leads rather than by a large contact centre. Full meaning
- Telecaller
- The person who makes and takes the calls: qualifying enquiries, following up, and recording what was said so somebody else can continue the conversation later. Full meaning
- Auto dialer
- Software that works down a list and places each call for you, so the day is spent talking rather than tapping in numbers. People also search for this as an automatic dialer or an auto calling app. Full meaning
- Power dialer
- A dialer that starts the next number only once a caller is free, one at a time, so nobody ever answers the phone and hears silence. Full meaning
- Predictive dialer
- A dialer that places several calls at once per available agent and connects whoever answers first, accepting that some answered calls will find nobody there. Full meaning
- SIM based calling
- Making your business calls on the SIM card inside an everyday mobile handset, which puts a familiar-looking number on the customer screen and bills the call at whatever your current plan charges. Full meaning
- Cloud telephony
- Phone service delivered over the internet rather than through a SIM, usually with rented virtual numbers, call routing, IVR menus and per-minute billing. Full meaning
- Virtual number
- A phone number rented from a telephony provider rather than tied to a SIM, used to route calls to whichever agent is free, usually billed monthly plus per minute. Full meaning
- IVR
- An automated menu that answers a call and asks the caller to press a key or speak, then routes them, most useful for inbound calls and largely irrelevant to outbound telecalling. Full meaning
- Dial gap
- The pause an auto dialer leaves between one call ending and the next starting, set so the caller can record the outcome before the next customer answers. Full meaning
- Abandoned call
- A call that a customer answers but that reaches nobody, because the dialer opened more lines than there were free agents. Also called a silent call. Full meaning
Leads and pipeline
- Lead status
- The stage a lead has reached in your own sales process, chosen from a short list you define, and updated on the call rather than afterwards. Full meaning
- Lead pipeline
- The whole set of open leads arranged by the stage each has reached, used to see what is likely to close and what has quietly stopped moving. Full meaning
- Lead source
- Where an enquiry came from, recorded on the lead and kept through every stage, so channels can be compared on closed business rather than on volume. Full meaning
- Speed to lead
- The time between an enquiry arriving and the first call being made to it, usually the strongest single predictor of whether that enquiry converts. Full meaning
- Round robin assignment
- Dealing incoming leads out to callers in turn, like cards, so every lead has exactly one owner and nobody has to split a list by hand. Full meaning
- Follow-up
- A dated commitment to contact someone again, set during the call that created it and surfaced at the agreed time rather than left to memory. Full meaning
- Callback
- A call the customer asked for at a specific time, which is the highest-value item in any calling queue and the easiest to lose. Full meaning
- Warm lead
- Somebody who has shown real interest recently, usually by enquiring or engaging, and who is therefore worth calling before anything colder. Full meaning
- Cold calling
- Calling people who have not asked to hear from you, which is legally restricted in India and generally far less effective than calling your own enquiries. Full meaning
- Lost lead
- An enquiry marked as not converting, which in most businesses means it stopped being followed up rather than that the customer said no. Full meaning
- Call disposition
- The recorded outcome of a call, chosen from a fixed list, which is what turns a call log into something a manager can read. Full meaning
Measurement
- Talk time
- The total time a caller spent in connected conversations, which is the most honest measure of effort on a calling floor because it cannot be inflated. Full meaning
- Connect rate
- The share of dialed calls that were actually answered, which says more about the list and the number you dial from than about the caller. Full meaning
Compliance and messaging
- DND and NDNC
- The do-not-disturb registry in India, which lets a subscriber block unsolicited commercial calls and messages, and which businesses must respect when making promotional contact. Full meaning
- TRAI
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which sets the rules for commercial calling and messaging, including the do-not-disturb regime and registration requirements. Full meaning
- WhatsApp Business API
- The official programmatic channel for a business to send and receive WhatsApp messages at scale, accessed through a provider, with approved templates and per-message pricing. Full meaning
- CRM dialer
- A dialer and a customer record in the same app, so the record opens with the call and the outcome is saved before the next number rings. Full meaning
- Call log
- The record of calls made and received with their times and durations, useful on its own and far more useful once each entry carries an outcome and a customer. Full meaning
29 of these terms have a full page. Definitions checked 4 September 2026.
About Telodial, in short
What is Telodial?
Telodial is telecalling CRM software built around the two seconds after a phone call. The lead list, the dialer and the customer record sit in one Android app, so a caller picks a status, writes a remark and sets the next date without leaving the screen the call just ended on. Managers read the resulting numbers in a browser.
Is Telodial a cloud dialer? Do I need a virtual number?
Neither. Every call is placed through the SIM card sitting in the handset, which means your ordinary mobile number is what rings on the customer side and your existing tariff is what pays for it. Nothing is rented, no routing menu has to be configured, and no telephony invoice arrives at the end of the month.
How much does Telodial cost?
Two billing periods, one product: ₹159 for each user each month when billed yearly, or ₹249 on the shorter three-month period, before tax. Nothing sits behind an upgrade prompt, leads and calls are uncapped, and the only usage bill you will see comes from your mobile operator for the calls themselves. A three-day trial runs first and asks for no payment details. Prices checked September 2026.
Which phones does it work on?
Android handsets running version 8 upwards, which in practice covers almost anything bought in the last several years. Nobody on the calling floor needs a laptop; the owner and any manager sign in to a browser instead, on whatever device they already use.
Can I try it before paying?
Yes, for three days, with nothing switched off and no payment details asked for. Use the time on a genuine morning of work rather than a sample list, because the only question worth answering is whether your callers keep closing the outcome sheet when nobody is watching them.
Give the team a phone that keeps the record
Free for 3 days, every feature, no card needed.
₹159 per user per month on yearly billing. Every feature in one plan. Prices are per user, exclusive of taxes.