
I enjoy the visual set up of VanillaSoft, I appreciate being able to increase and decrease the font size! It is also not to complicated to learn and get used to using daily! It has become a part of my every day work life and it makes things easy for working remotely! I like that I was able to become familiar with VanillaSoft quickly, it did not take months to get use to using. It makes making over 200+ calls a day more organized and it allows us to track our progress as we go.Lastly, I like the way that VanillaSoft makes it easy to get in contact with our leads,and it allows us to set up appointments for our leads that will potentially change the rest of their life! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There are sometimes when they system is down, which means that the entire call center is slowed down while waiting for repairs. There are also issues sometimes with the VanillaSoft dialing application which stops people who are working from home to make calls completely. However, they never last to long! We are able to get it fixed by communicating with managers who get in contact with VanillaSoft and get the problems fixed as soon as possible! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft is extremely flexible, the interface is clean and easy for student callers to start using immediately, and the customer support has been excellent. The cost is less than half of what we were paying with the leading higher education vendor, and the experience overall has been better. VanillaSoft is consistently updated with improvements and new features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Since VanillaSoft isn't designed for higher education fundraising out of the box, the initial setup was time and labor-intensive, and there are still some limitations with reporting. For example, it's challenging to create reports that display basic metrics like gift upgrades and downgrades, caller stats per donor segment, or dollars raised per hour. The biggest challenge is with changed demographics. Reporting changed demographics to our Advancement Services team so they're able to update our CRM is a labor-intensive process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft is a very user friendly CRM. I love their Intellective Routing Feature which allows us to prioritize leads based on criteria in the records. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft is still a little clunky with integrations to other programs such as Google Sheets or Hubspot. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft has provided an innovative and turnkey way to bring our Student Phonathon program to the next level. With custom segmentation, unique data fields, multi-channel communication tools, and robust reporting. This technology partner provides it all! Our students have loved this tool! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There really isn't anything we dislike about this service and provider. It is competitively priced, easy to use, and covers the gambit. We have not integrated with our database with an API, which would be something this vendor could consider exploring to make it easier for development shops to have real-time data that more people can access. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I liked so many of the features that Vanilla Soft offer, especially the script and the variety of response options that can be considered. My Call Center students went through a 25-30 minute training and we sent off! All of them loved it! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Selecting reports and building reports takes time to figure out. I also would like for the Call Center students to see a running total of funds secured. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft allows you to customize the software to fit your needs. You can add as many or as few custom fields and result codes as you would like. I also appreciate that the callers can use our safe, encrypted giving form as an embedded panel on the screen. Our callers find the software easier to navigate than other software we've used. We haven't used it yet, but the ability to integrate texting as a form of outreach is exciting. I like that you can build in automatic emails and texts based on the result of the call. Lastly, I love that we can pre-record voicemails for our callers to simply "drop" as they are making calls. One complaint from our donors before was that we didn't leave voicemails because we didn't want to waste the time on the phone. Now we can do it without losing as much time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft's reporting can be completely customized and that can sometimes make it difficult to get the information that you want. Also, the dashboard feature is not as easy to customize and you can't quickly see the dollars raised from this screen. You can only have one project active at a time, which makes it difficult if you want to do event invitation or thank you calls concurrently with solicitation calls. Lastly, when not using VanillaSoft, all users and VOIP lines have to be completely deleted from the system or you will be charged. This means each session you have to recreate these even when you have the same callers working. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Vanilla soft is extremely user friendly. I really like that I have the ability to quickly and almost effortlessly continue to move from lead to lead. I also love the automated email that gets sent out from certain dispositions . I would highly recommend using the area codes feature for both calling your leads and texting them. Having at least one phone number per state will help increase contact ratio. Having 2-3 different lines will help avoid phone numbers being blocked. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I do not like the need to always leave a comment for certain dispositions. If you go into my CRM and open a previously contacted lead to disposition, once dispositioned, it will go back to the lead you last contacted and automatically dial. This can be a pain in the butt because in our office our management team has decided to make use of the 15 second governer. Through the course of the day, this results in several minutes lost due to redialing and waiting to go to the next lead. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The in depth functionality and ease of use are some of my favorite features, it took me no time at all to figure out the software's basics. Then I discovered all of the built in extra functionality, even the "simple" map feature can be vital tool to help start conversations. Fantastic ability to seamlessly integrate lead sources is also fantastic for our office where we have multiple different lead sources we use every single day. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
No dark theme capability, and it runs slower if you use a third party extension or software to get the dark theme to cover VanillaSoft. I have to use VanillaSoft for my entire work day and honestly this has to be my biggest gripe of all; in the modern day we need to be able to reduce the strain on our eyes when we look at computer screens all day. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
OH MY! I don't know. Probably for me the unlimited space (at least so far) for notes. I can write down anything & everything that happens or that I need to remember about a prospect or client. ALSO at the TOP of my list is the ability to record multiple v-drop messages. If you get an answering machine, which happens alot, you can immediately click on the v-drop you want, disposition w/correct code, and you are already on your 3rd ring on the next call while VSoft is leaving your personalized message on the previous clients answering machine!
BOTH of these features help a ton when making 200-300 calls per day. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I wish if you clicked backwards or out of the e-mail function you didn't LOSE EVERYTHING you already wrote just because you want to double check a detail!! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The program is intuitive and reps are happy to help or answer any questions. We don't have to miss out on any calling time due to server errors or anything of the like, and if anything does go down, VanillaSoft is quick to communicate that with their customers and users of their product. The custom reporting tool is extremely easy to use and set up and gives back a huge reward. The custom fields truly allow you to add anything that you deem necessary for running your program. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
VanillaSoft support is only available until 5pm EST, which is prior to when we're using the software. If anything comes up during calling that we would need support for, we have to wait until the following business day. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I love the customizable aspect of the software and the user friendly format. I feel very comfortable experimenting with and changing anything that needs to be adjusted in real time. Any information you need is right at you fingertips, truly! And support is absolutely wonderful, they are always very responsive and great to talk to. Rachel is also wonderful, she is clear, concise and well versed in everything she will help you set up and answers any questions you may have! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Since it is customizable there are a lot of things you have to do in the set up process, it is the most work you will have to do with the software. However in our case, this took approximately 10 days so the setup was more intensive, but once it is finished, it's a breeze! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The main thing I like about vanilla soft is the flexibility it gives. We can upload our own data (in stages, if we want, meaning it is easy to refresh any new gifts that might have come in) and adjust any fields displayed to the callers. You can set up your own scripts, funds, users, etc, and all of this is very easy to change.
Another big plus for me is that it is very easy for the callers to use - far more intuitive than any other calling software I’ve used. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The main downside to vanilla soft is the reporting - you can set up your own reports, but don’t have a running total on your screen or other basic stats.
I prefer the call allocation on different software that I have used, but as vanilla soft allows you to upload your own data, I don’t think it’s possible for VS to do this the same way - and that small price is something I will happily pay for the increased flexibility. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I love how customizable VanillaSoft is, and how quickly I can apply changes. Having control over importing data and how that data appears on the screen is really nice. I like that I'm not dependent on an IT department to make any tweaks, I can easily do it all myself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Exporting demographic information that has changed is a frustrating element, and I wish that you could use the reporting function to pull that data out. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It's very consistent and allows me to keep track of clients I haven't closed, are near to closing, and those who are in the talking/emailing stage. It's very user-friendly! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Nothing much- sometimes it's difficult to know which outgoing message is playing because the voice prompts say voice mail, when really I'm wanting to leave a message. My 'voice mail' may not be the message I'd like to leave a client. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Keeps track of all of my leads and allows me to schedule appointments, integrate calendars, disposition or just by choosing no contact, the leads will automatically present themselves in an orderly fashion. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Consistently logs you out and asks for proof that you are not a robot, which can also log you out and this leads to some frustration. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Easiest and most cost effective system for higher education phone a thons that i have come accross. Customer Support is excellent - user friendly and easy to upload data. Easy to train callers to enter data. Gift processing. Cloud based. Rachel Spencer is amzing and understands the needs of Higher Education. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Reports have to be build out and were a little difficult to understand. Time differences is somtimes difficult to work around. Set times. We only call certain months and not being able to access system except on contracted times. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
What I like about VanillaSoft is that is is a very professional and easy to operate workspace. You can find and access what you need fairly quickly and easily. Knowing that I am using such a easy to operate workspace to help the individual needs of prospective students is very rewarding. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I do not have very many dislikes about VanillaSoft. I would have to say that temporary freezing may have to be my only dislike. Although this does not happen often. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Our employees have loved this software and the easy integration with our email, phones and texting services. The most valuable thing for me was that in the beginning, they worked very closely with me on getting everything set up and helped me understand how everything worked. I am a small insurance agency and did not have any experience with these types of systems. The initial set up and training was very fluid and easy for me. I couldn't be happier with our experience so far. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I would like to see some flexibility on texting with various VOIP vendors. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Our University has specific needs for our Phonathon, and VanillaSoft is super easy to customize for our specific needs. I also appreciate the support at VanillaSoft - they are incredibly helpful and timely and efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There are very small details about VanillaSoft that we have issues with. Our main CRM on campus doesn't automatically communicate with VanillaSoft, so the daily data refresh is a manual process. I would also really love to see our routing queue in its entirety. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The ability to customize fields, scripts and honestly anything in a moments notice! Our Call Center program is constantly evolving and we are trying new tactics. It's nice to use a software that can keep up with our pace. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There is an extensive amount of set up time needed to get the system customized to your liking, so you need to plan ahead. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Using Vanillasoft has been so helpful for out team for the passed 10 years. Seamless integration between all of our VOIP systems make it a definite go to to manage our client portfolio. Support is always available and the user interface is incredibly easy to use. I wouldn't use any other CRM. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The only thing I would say is that a mobile version would be great. That's the only thing lacking. Being able to log in on the go would be very helpful. Logging in is possible but it's in desktop view which makes it difficult. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
As a subcontractor who contributes a lot of data entry, it is one of the easier software programs I have dealt with. It is pretty easy to understand and easy to enter data that is requested. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The program would work better if there were more search fields under the search contacts tab. I do not think there are enough choices to choose from and would like additional ways to search for contacts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I like the thorough nature of the set up- it makes for much easier use in the long run. The staff is abundantly he