FAQ

1. What is a robo-call ?
2. How much does a robocall cost ?
3. Can I bundle multiple orders and get a discount ?
4. Why do some robo call vendors charge more for calls than others ?
5. Is sound quality a factor in my message ?
6. What is your connect rate for your calls ?
7. Will I get a report when the robo-call campaign is complete ?
8. How do I know if I'm dealing with a reputable robo-call provider ?
9. Are there any extra fees associated with setting up a robo-call campaign ?
10. Do you supply lists ?
11. What about the "Do Not Call" list and other laws ?
12. What is the average response rate on automated political polling ?

1. What is a robo-call ?
   A political robo call (or robocall) is a pre-recorded message usually 30 seconds in length. Coupled with a list of telephone numbers, voice broadcast technology simultaneously sends out that message to hundreds of people every minute.
   The message can be compressed into a .WAV file or other recording media or recorded using the same technology you would use to record your voicemail message on your telephone. Here's how it works at Winning Calls.
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   How much does a robocall cost ?

   Winning Calls' prices depend on the size of your order, the length of your call, the plan type and our current agreement with the phone company. We charge no setup fees, and there is a minimum $100 order. At just pennies per call, you can reach thousands of voters with one small campaign donation. As of July 2009, our lowest price plan is one penny per call.

   We save you the cost of time. Winning Calls lets you free your volunteers from the political phone room banks so they can do what robots can't: campaign door-to-door, attend media rallies, conduct voter registration drives, and establish your physical presence in face-to-face get out the vote efforts.

   Compared to direct mail, you'll not only save on printing and postage, but with eco-friendly, paper-free messages, your robocalls can help save a lot more!

   Please request a quote for more detailed information on any of our plans and we will email you a detailed brochure breaking it all down, along with some helpful tips for recording your robo call message.
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   Can I bundle multiple orders and get a discount ?

   Absolutely! This is one of our most popular options for political party chairpersons and long term clients. Simply submit an order form for each candidate, and we will add up the total number of calls to get you a better discount. You can even use the same list for multiple candidates. Or, make multiple calls for your own campaign. For example, we can call voters when early voting begins and then again a second time the day before the election to get the most cost effective penetration for your message. Some folks like us to call once with a message in their own voice and then again the next week with the voice of a supporter or celebrity endorsement. We simply require that multiple orders be placed at the same time to get a discount.
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   Why do some robo call vendors charge more for calls than others ?

   The price of a robo-call varies because there are many technological factors that go into the price of a phone call. For instance, a robocall company that sells you political robo calls for less than half a penny per call or uses confusing per-second billing for their voice broadcasting may be using phone technology that allows for the cost of the connection to be free! That's right, free! Think unused cell phone minutes and you get the idea... What the provider isn't telling you is the quality of the call. The entire industry could sell their calls for, say, a tenth of a penny per call, but not all companies are going to give you the best quality. Price should be one of the least determining factors in the decision making process. There are reasons why people buy cars over the competition, because of the features and the quality. It is no less different with political robocall services.
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   Is sound quality a factor in my message ?

   Well it should be! The industry norm for a robo-call is between 8 and 11 kbps (kilobits per second) using G.729 codecs. That amounts to talking through a tin can with a string attached to another tin can. Is your message really worth inferior sound quality? What does that say about the efforts of your campaign when a constituent gets a call from a politician, hears the name, and the message is all garbled? It speaks volumes about your ability to clearly appoint someone to get your message across, not to mention your leadership capabilities.

   At Winning Calls, we provide sound quality that is 6 to 8 times the industry norm!!!! At 64 kbps using G.711 codecs, it will seem like the candidate is sitting in your room giving you the message personally!
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   What is your connect rate for your calls ?

   This piece of information is perhaps the most important in deciding which company you choose for your next robo-calling campaign. The connect rate is how many people actually picked up the phone or had their answering machine capture your message. That determines how many people actually listened to your message.

   The single biggest factor is the quality of your list of phone numbers. As hard as we try, we can't make disconnected or out-of-service phone numbers answer your call. While we don't provide lists, obtaining a good one must be one of your first orders of business.

   That said, many companies out there and there are a lot (we have done the research) will guarantee a high connect rate for their calls. This is truly false. Winning Calls has performed hundreds of political robocalling campaigns and compared the statistics of all of them. After one attempt of automatically calling all the numbers on a particular list, whether it is 10,000 or 1,000,000, the connect rate is about 60-75%.

   That means barely two out of every three people on your list will listen to your message. Even for 10,000 people, that means 3-4,000 people did not hear your message. What's worse? Most companies only contact a number once before counting it as a call. You might as well hand your money over to the provider and let them keep the money upfront. You want the provider to attempt the call more than once? Well that is an extra fee.

   At Winning Calls, with all but our LITE PLAN, we attempt to contact your list THREE TIMES at no additional cost before we count a particular number as a call. Our success rate has been on average 5-10% more numbers pick up the phone and hear the message by the time the third attempt is completed. We wait hours (or days) between the second and third tries to make sure we reach as many people as possible.
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   Will I get a report when the robo-call campaign is complete ?

   Depending on the company, you may very well get a report e-mailed to you about how many calls were made, how many connected, and how many did not connect. That report could be false. Some Voice Over IP (new phone technology using the Internet) applications do not have the capability to keep track of which number was called or how long they were on the phone for. The report you receive may very well be false entirely. There is no way of holding the company accountable of fulfilling their contractual obligations. For all you know, the company could make 10 calls to 1,000 numbers and give you a report. When doing business, ask the company for a comprehensive detailed report outlining each call and it's results.

   If that feature is not available, then you might wonder how reputable the company really is. At Winning Calls, we email you a summary report and a detailed number-by-number report every day. This will help you in seeing your quantitative results and finding dead numbers on your list. (Removing dead numbers will save you money in future political robo call campaigns even if you make the calls manually.)
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   How do I know if I'm dealing with a reputable robo-call provider ?

   At Winning Calls we think it's important to perform a quick web background check on the companies providing your service. You never know who you are doing business with and that may reflect in your overall results as a candidate. We are happy to provide you with testimonials and reference contacts.

   We entertain a lot of inquiries from commercial interests that we flat out refuse because robo-calls are illegal in that context and have been for quite some time. Please do not contact us if that is your intent.
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   Are there any extra fees associated with setting up a robo-call campaign ?

   There shouldn't be! The most work that is associated to the campaign is obtaining and inputting the contact list. There are quite a few companies out there that charge you to record your voice, to obtain a list, thin out your list of duplicates, extra call attempts, taking payment, a detailed report, set-up fees, and the list goes on. The only charge Winning Calls excludes in their price is an extra penny for an additional 30 seconds on messages (and half a penny for an additional polling question.) Everything else is included. Why should you have to pay more?
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   Do you supply lists ?

   No, Winning Calls is not in the list business. We suggest contacting your Board of Elections, County Clerk, Secretary of State or third party professionals that we can recommend.

   When you are ready to email us your list, we ask that you just send us the phone numbers in spreadsheet or text format. Please try to remove other personal information from your list. We will then clean your duplicate and incorrectly formatted numbers at no extra charge. You pay Winning Calls only for the final count of unique, valid numbers.
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   What about the "Do Not Call" list and other laws ?

   Voice broadcasting is illegal under US federal law for purposes of unsolicited commerical advertising. That's why at Winning Calls we focus on helping political organizations, labor unions, and other non-profits. We also assist companies in notifying consumers of important product saftey recall information, and we place calls on behalf of local goverments to alert citizens of emergency situations and evacuation instructions.

   There's a lot we can do, but there are still a lot of regulations in our industry, including the federal "Do Not Call" list and other federal rules. Please read our detailed analysis of the variety of state laws for more information on the rules in your calling area.
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   What is the average response rate on automated political polling ?

   Several factors contribute to good response rates for robopolling, including: your question wording, voice talent you use for recording, the time of day the calls are placed, and your list quality. For yard sign requests you can probably expect a lower response rate, appx. 2% of live answers, and for general interest polls from 10-20% of live answers, with specially targeted lists sometimes exceeding 25% live answer response rates. Winning Calls prefers to run robo-polls weekday evenings and weekend afternoons to reach as many live answers as possible. Not to worry if we get an answering machine, though; instead of asking telephone poll questions, we can play back your separate general voice broadcasting message instead.

   When the political IVR polling is done, we email you detailed reports by phone number showing who answered and what their responses were.
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