VanillaSoft

We find that VS provides a very robust solution. Great data capture, call routing, and dispositions

Comments: Improved productivity of our callers and better data capture. It's cost effective, and Support is terrific!

Pros:

Ease of customization, ease of use, and clean & clear reporting. Ease of adjustments and the ability for users to record copious information about the contacts.

Cons:

Sometimes latency issues restrict our ability to be proficient, but that also results from the Internet Routing, not necessarily the platform. VS has recently upgraded their hardware and we have seen awesome improvement.

Beats all other higher-ed specific fundraising softwares

Comments: The ability to customize and manipulate our data was the main selling point for us and this software. This software was a leading contender against all the other well-known higher-ed fundraising software.

Pros:

When we were searching for a new phonathon software, we looked into all of the well-known higher ed fundraising platforms. None of them had the capabilities and powers that VanillaSoft offered. In VanillaSoft, we have full control of our data - we can easily update, manipulate, and report on everything we do. The customization is one of the biggest benefits for us. We can literally add fields as necessary, at any time.

Cons:

Since it's a sales-based software, we don't have as much "control" over our calling pools. The software doesn't tell you exactly how many prospects will be released at certain times.

Vanilla Soft

Pros:

I liked I could separate what type of leads they were once I contacted them.

Cons:

Customer service wasn't the best and when it would glitch I wouldn't be able to find the root cause.

VanillaSoft Changed our Business

Comments: We have used VanillaSoft at Education Affiliates for almost 7 years. VanillaSoft has been a huge asset for us. It reduced our response time for internet inquiries to 8 seconds! The support team at VS is amazing. They are responsive to our needs and they treat us like partners in our business goals and objectives. VS is very easy to use and can be set up for most businesses in a day. I cannot say enough about how happy we are with VanillaSoft!!!

Pros:

User friendly....great support...completely customizable....Scalable to any size operation

An affordable call center solution designed to increase sales

Pros:

Offers all the features we were looking for: recorded voicemail drop, SMS, email automation, and a full range of reports on user statistics. The Vanillasoft customer support team is one of the best I've ever encountered - in any industry and for any product.

Cons:

Additional video walk through (for users and administrators) would be helpful. This would help reduce the time necessary to bring new team members up to speed

Better then most

Comments: I was surprisingly impressed after my first use of VanillaSoft as I expected it to be like most other solutions I have used with numerous bugs and needed updates. I was able to easily identify where I needed to go for things I needed and also track my daily and overall performance along with my team. In the case of any issue it seems to always get resolved fairly quickly which helps set it apart. Overall I feel the platform is better then most.

Pros:

Being able to access all parts of the platform from a single drop down. Also I like having view into my own as well as others on my team KPI's on one dashboard.

Cons:

Calls not automatically recording when moving to next call in que. If the call button is not in green it has not recorded and it should automatically. This causes you to have to hang up then restart call.

VanillaSoft Makes Sales Easy

Comments: Awesome customer support.

Pros:

You can add a custom script for your sales people to use. You can write prewritten emails and texts that get sent out with the click of a button. It connects directly to Gmail for Business. It has a great calendar feature. Offers VOIP and Texting. The click to call makes it easy to call leads.

Cons:

You can only see one lead at a time. Don't offer MMS texting.

Easy system to use for marketing

Comments: I have used VanillaSoft for several years for marketing and advertising. I love the ease of uploading potential client information and marketing lists.

Pros:

It's a super easy system to navigate and I love that it is web based, so that I am able to use this marketing tool from anywhere. I also love that I am able to toggle from previous updates.

Cons:

So far I don't have any complaints with using VanillaSoft.

My top choice

Comments: My experience with VanillaSoft has been exceptional., definitely 4.5 stars. Once they get their support time down it would definitely be a 5 star product. Keep up the amazing work VanillaSoft.

Pros:

The platform has amazing reporting features all very attractive in one of the easy to access dashboard. With click to call, automatic recording and all prospect information on one screen with full history I have to say it is better then any other platform I have used.

Cons:

I have to say the down fall is at times due to high demand, support can be a bit of a pain as the wait time may be more than just a few minutes and then getting the functionality of platform up and going again can be longer. This is typical however, it can cause an impact on performance with not having lead information. My only other issue is the recording function does not always automatically record, I will have to hang up and recall to enable recording.

Efficient Tool

Pros:

Makes phonathon a much smoother, faster, more efficient and user-friendly operation for callers and potential donors. Lovely customer service team and an adaptive and pretty intuitive space.

Cons:

Wish there were more custom features and more included in the base price. Great deal and software as-is, though!

The ultimate "Phone" prospecting tool for businesses

Comments: Overall, this is my "go to" system. I wish it was a little cheaper but it does what we need it to do and it does it very well! If you work in this system every day, it will make you successful! Hit the start button and go!

Pros:

I have used this system on and off since 2009 and it's come a long way since then. I keep going back to it because it does the main important things very well. Also, I've had telemarketers try two other systems and they all loved Vanillasoft the most. In fact, after deciding to go with a cheaper option, they would come back to me and ask if we could use VS again. Including my son who just told me yesterday that he always loved Vanillasoft because it took the guesswork out of the picture and only showed you one lead at a time. I think that's one of the main benefits. 1. It puts one lead in front of you at a time. It eliminates the question "who should I call?". 2. It doesn't let you think too much or waste time. 3. The follow up system works great. Meaning, it's easy to leave a note and schedule a call back whether its using the calendar feature or using the dispositions that automatically put the lead back in your que at a predetermined date. Either way you do it, I always felt completely confident that once I finished with a lead that it would come back to me at the appropriate time without me having to think about it. That's huge! 4. The activity dashboard is awesome. It tells you how many dials, conversations, appts, length of time spent on calls, etc. It really puts all the data right in front of you. 5. Emailing and Document Library: Email right from the system using templates and store docs. Very Easy! 6. Hands down, best customer service in the business!!!

Cons:

Price: For the first user its going to cost you about $200 if you want all the features. $100 for the basics and then $30 for auto-dialing, $30 for their phone and $30 to record and store calls. Every other user is $80 for the basics + $90 for the rest. So, two users with everything will cost you about $370 a month. With that said, I always go back to it. So, better to spend money on something that will get you results. Reports: They are great and endless... just wish they were easier to put together. It takes some time to really understand how to generate them. Also, wish they had automated reports that once you set up, they just get emailed to you everyday. Integrations: This is a phone marketing system with "some" email capabilities. It's not going to do social or look up lead data etc... I wish it would integrate with other email marketing systems like constant contact. It does tell you when someone opens an email if you're in the lead... but it doesn't tell you how often they opened and I don't believe it lets you call just the people who open your emails. It might but I'm not sure how if it does.

Revolutionized our organization

Comments: VanillaSoft has eliminated many problems such as:
-multiple calls to one prospect from different callers
-calling existing customers as prospects
-time wasting manual reporting
-lack of caller activity visibility

Pros:

VanillaSoft streamlines our selling efforts and has completely revolutionized the way we run our company. We've gone from literally using printouts, excel sheets etc to manage our accounts and prospects to everything being through VanillaSoft. VanillaSoft has made us more efficient in calling, reporting, closing new business, pretty much every area of our company has improved by using VanillaSoft.

Cons:

There are not many things I dislike about VanillaSoft. Anytime I have a problem, their customer service is very responsive and helpful, and they even take your suggestions for new features and are constantly rolling out improvements.

Very good lead management - calendar functionality could be improved.

Comments: Vanilla Soft is an easy-to-use lead management program that has smooth integration of outside applications, a wealth of flexibility in their templates, and (with some improvements) is a contender for a top choice in lead-management systems.

Pros:

This is an extremely easy-to-use interface with lots of flexibility to add client information. It connects the end use (employee) and the client in an easy and reliable way - even when involving outside applications. The templates seem flexible and open for a lot of customization.

Cons:

The calendar function is lacking in options. There needs to be a drag-and-drop OR drop-down function in Calendar view that allows the end user (employee) to easily reschedule calls without re-resulting them. the calendar should have work-top options so meetings and other office-related things can be scheduled within the calendar. The form tabs should be able to be duplicated within the same lead. Once the form is created and approved by the administrator the end user (employee) should be able to create duplicates of the same form. This would eliminate the need to create duplicate leads in order to access the same form twice.

Vanilla Soft Great CRM for Call Team

Comments: It has been very positive. The system is laid out in a very user friendly way, and anytime I needed support their team was very helpful.

Pros:

The setup and execution of programs is streamlined to make the process easy and effective.

Cons:

No complaints. Like any CRM it does take a while to used to the settings but once you do it's fantastic.

Easy to use and many features to serve all of my needs

Comments: I know it may seem silly, but I am not a huge computer person even though my job is working on the computer, so I am really grateful that VanillaSoft is so clear to follow. Learning something new doesn't take long, and that's not because I'm a savant. It's because the software is so very user-friendly. There are many features that make my work easier, and make things easier for the company.
I rarely have any problems, but on the occasion that I have had to contact customer support, they respond solve the problem swiftly, even if the problem is my own fault.

Pros:

I use the admin side more than the user side, but both are easy. I work with the contact management, deduping, intellective routing/filters, and email features the most.

Cons:

The deduping feature can be irritating because the quick select is lacking in options, so often I have thousands of duplicates and I have to go through and select the ones I want deleted one at a time. It takes FOREVER.

VanillaSoft has been a great tool to help us manage our call center.

Comments: VanillaSoft has been a great tool to manage our prospecting efforts and coordinate communication with prospects.

Pros:

The user interface is easy to navigate and understand. There are great features/functions that increase our productivity. We are able to integrate extra marketing touches, like emails and efaxes into campaigns that our callers can initiate with the click of a button.

Cons:

Since we work with multiple client campaigns it is sometimes challenging to integrate with their CRM. I'd like to see API integrations for additional CRMs. They are in beta tests with Zapier, which should help.

VanillaSoft for the Win

Comments: We really love this software and it has helped us close more deals than without it.

Pros:

It is user friendly and not as robust as some of its competitors which made it simple to use. The automation takes the guesswork out of your sales process which also simplifies the process.

Cons:

Our sales team loves this product and has no feedback

VanillaSoft Review

Pros:

VanillaSoft is easy to use and very user friendly.

Cons:

With big files, VanillaSoft is sometimes slow to import files

User Friendly CRM for Sales Lead Management

Comments: VanillaSoft allows for a very user friendly experience in managing sales leads, maintaining email records and notes, and sending contract to potential clients.

Pros:

The software is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. The advanced search function is critical when sorting through a large volume of clients. This is the perfect CRM for over-the-phone or inside sales and I would definitely recommend it.

Cons:

The overall aesthetics could use some work; also some of the navigation is confusing. Aside from these, no other issues.

This is actually a very good CRM platform

Comments: Really efficient CRM system, very underrated in my opinion.

Pros:

Excellent for B2B. So easy to create new campaigns and the customer support is first class.

Cons:

Sometimes encounter issues with regards to calendar sharing.

CRM and Lead Management tool

Comments: I like the dial speed of the leads and the note taking system.

Pros:

API compatible and tech support resolves set up issues promptly,

Cons:

Calendar event reminder-sending capabilities are not available. Need tags for campaign tracking, and email campaign as well.

Very user friendly

Comments: VanillaSoft is used to manage sales leads. We are in a remote location who is working from a different time zone than the corporate office. However, this software is versatile and easy to manage no matter where your agents are located.

Pros:

This software is very user friendly. Our agents adapted to this software quickly and needed just a few moments of training before they were all hands on! The layout is simple which makes managing the sales leads even easier for an agent!

Cons:

If there was one dislike it would be the slowness (at times) which was probably linked to updates that needed to be installed.

Calling Alumni Made Easy and Efficient with VanillaSoft

Comments: I am enabling my school to reach out to numerous alumni, document their experiences and giving and provide meaningful feedback to Bucknell. I have enjoyed being able to speak with a diverse set of individuals, without any technical difficulties, in a short time thanks to VanillaSoft.

Pros:

I like the simple interface that VanillaSoft uses. I use the software to call alumni of my school and being able to learn the ins and outs of it was easy due to its user-friendly design. I rarely have to touch my keyboard, only needing a mouse to make calls, mark calls according to how they went, etc, This saves time and enables me to call a large number of alumni in a productive manner.

Cons:

While there are not many aspects of VanillaSoft I dislike, one component of the software that could be improved is the number of choices made available to me when detailing what happened on a phone call. For example, I would like to have more options to choose from when explaining why someone may have decided not to donate that would not require me to have to manually type it out. Additionally, not being able to process credit card donations within the software itself can require me to engage in duplicitous actions, but other than that, VanillaSoft is great!

User friendly & so many features!

Comments: Easy to see where all leads are in the process. Can see which emails have been opened and may be most effective

Pros:

I like that Vanilla Soft keeps all my leads organized and helps me to schedule appointments easily. Never miss a scheduled call or double book with this system. All appts are easy to see. Arrange views by day..week..month. send out auto emails for specific results!

Cons:

Only downside is if you have a call run over into another time slot. That other call may not pop up after so you nay may miss a scheduled call.

Great business development tool for fast contact

Comments: It is a good system overall, despite lacking timely support.

Pros:

Visibility of pertinent information on a contact is great, including other contacts at the same business.

Cons:

Customer service is not great. There's a number of things you can't do yourself on the platform, such as changing attachment library size - 20MB is certainly not enough for a large agency with many clients and campaigns. We have called and emailed a number of times and has now been over a month with no response.