Overview

VoIPBIN’s Outplan API provides fine-grained control over dialing strategies for outbound campaigns. An outplan defines how the system should handle dial attempts, including timeouts, retry intervals, and maximum attempt counts. By configuring outplans, you can optimize contact rates while respecting recipient preferences and regulatory requirements.

With the Outplan API you can:

• Configure dial timeout durations

• Set retry intervals between attempts

• Define maximum retry counts

• Create different strategies for various campaign types

• Optimize contact rates and efficiency

How Outplans Work

Outplans define the “when and how” of dialing in campaign operations.

Outplan Architecture

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         Outplan System                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-------------------+
|      Outplan      |
| (dialing strategy)|
+--------+----------+
         |
         | defines
         v
+--------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------+
|                   |                   |                   |
v                   v                   v                   v
+----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+
|  Dial    |   |  Retry   |   |  Max     |   |  Timing  |
| Timeout  |   | Interval |   | Attempts |   | Windows  |
+----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+
     |              |              |              |
     v              v              v              v
+---------+    +---------+    +---------+    +---------+
| 30 sec  |    | 1 hour  |    | 3 tries |    | 9am-6pm |
+---------+    +---------+    +---------+    +---------+

Key Components

• Dial Timeout: How long to wait for an answer before giving up

• Try Interval: Time between retry attempts

• Max Try Count: Maximum number of dial attempts per target

• Timing Windows: When dialing is permitted (optional)

Outplan Configuration

Configure outplan parameters based on your campaign needs.

Dial Timeout

The dial timeout specifies how long the system waits for the target to answer before marking the attempt as failed.

Dial initiated
     |
     v
+-------------------+
| Ring...           |
| (counting time)   |
+--------+----------+
         |
         +-----> Answered within timeout? --> Success
         |
         +-----> Timeout reached? --> Mark as no_answer

Recommended Timeouts

Try Interval

The try interval defines the wait time between consecutive dial attempts to the same target.

Attempt 1: No answer
     |
     v
+-------------------+
| Wait: try_interval|
| (e.g., 1 hour)    |
+--------+----------+
         |
         v
Attempt 2: Try again
     |
     v
+-------------------+
| Wait: try_interval|
+--------+----------+
         |
         v
Attempt 3: Final attempt

Recommended Intervals

Campaign Type	Recommended	Reasoning
Sales calls	2-4 hours	Try different times of day
Reminders	30-60 minutes	Moderate urgency
Emergency	5-15 minutes	High urgency, frequent retries

Max Try Count

The maximum try count limits how many times the system will attempt to reach a target.

+-------------------+
| max_try_count: 3  |
+-------------------+
         |
         v
Attempt 1 --> No answer
Attempt 2 --> Busy
Attempt 3 --> No answer
--> Mark as FAILED (max reached)

Creating an Outplan

Create outplans via the API.

Create Outplan Example

$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/outplans?token=<token>' \
    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    --data '{
        "name": "Sales Standard",
        "detail": "Standard sales campaign strategy",
        "dial_timeout": 30000,
        "try_interval": 7200000,
        "max_try_count_0": 3,
        "max_try_count_1": 2,
        "max_try_count_2": 1,
        "max_try_count_3": 0,
        "max_try_count_4": 0
    }'

Field Descriptions

Field	Description
dial_timeout	Ring timeout in milliseconds (30000 = 30 seconds)
try_interval	Wait between retries in milliseconds (7200000 = 2 hours)
max_try_count_0	Max retries for result type 0 (machine/voicemail)
max_try_count_1	Max retries for result type 1 (busy)
max_try_count_2	Max retries for result type 2 (no answer)
max_try_count_3	Max retries for result type 3 (failed/error)
max_try_count_4	Max retries for result type 4 (other)

Outplan Strategies

Different campaign types require different dialing strategies.

Aggressive Strategy (Emergency)

+--------------------------------------------+
| Emergency Outplan                          |
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    45 seconds                |
| try_interval:    10 minutes                |
| max_try_count:   5 (all types)             |
+--------------------------------------------+

Timeline:
|--0m--|--10m--|--20m--|--30m--|--40m--|
   1      2       3       4       5
(attempts)

Standard Strategy (Sales)

+--------------------------------------------+
| Sales Outplan                              |
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    30 seconds                |
| try_interval:    2 hours                   |
| max_try_count:   3 (no answer/busy)        |
|                  1 (machine)               |
+--------------------------------------------+

Timeline:
|--0h--|--2h--|--4h--|
   1      2      3
(attempts spread across day)

Conservative Strategy (Reminders)

+--------------------------------------------+
| Reminder Outplan                           |
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    25 seconds                |
| try_interval:    1 hour                    |
| max_try_count:   2 (all types)             |
+--------------------------------------------+

Timeline:
|--0h--|--1h--|
   1      2
(minimal disruption)

Result-Based Retry Counts

Configure different retry counts based on the outcome of each attempt.

Result Types

Type	Result	Typical Retry Strategy
0	Machine/VM	Low retries (1-2); person may not check voicemail
1	Busy	Medium retries (2-3); likely to be free later
2	No answer	High retries (3-5); try different times
3	Failed/Error	Low retries (0-1); may be invalid number
4	Other	Configurable based on use case

Example Configuration

{
    "max_try_count_0": 1,  // Machine: try once more
    "max_try_count_1": 3,  // Busy: retry 3 times
    "max_try_count_2": 4,  // No answer: retry 4 times
    "max_try_count_3": 0,  // Failed: don't retry
    "max_try_count_4": 1   // Other: try once more
}

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: B2B Sales Campaign

Reaching business contacts during work hours.

Outplan: "B2B Sales"
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    30 seconds                |
| try_interval:    4 hours                   |
| max_try_count_1: 3 (busy)                  |
| max_try_count_2: 4 (no answer)             |
+--------------------------------------------+

Strategy:
- Long intervals to try morning, midday, afternoon
- More retries for no answer (might be in meetings)
- Fewer retries for busy (clearly occupied)

Scenario 2: Appointment Confirmation

Confirming next-day appointments.

Outplan: "Appointment Reminder"
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    25 seconds                |
| try_interval:    2 hours                   |
| max_try_count_1: 2 (busy)                  |
| max_try_count_2: 2 (no answer)             |
+--------------------------------------------+

Strategy:
- Short timeout (quick notification)
- Limited retries (not critical)
- Spread across afternoon/evening

Scenario 3: Critical Alert

Emergency notifications requiring high delivery.

Outplan: "Emergency Alert"
+--------------------------------------------+
| dial_timeout:    45 seconds                |
| try_interval:    5 minutes                 |
| max_try_count_0: 5 (all types)             |
| max_try_count_1: 5                         |
| max_try_count_2: 5                         |
| max_try_count_3: 3                         |
+--------------------------------------------+

Strategy:
- Long timeout (maximize answer chance)
- Frequent retries (urgent delivery)
- Retry even failures (might be temporary issue)

Best Practices

1. Timeout Configuration

• Set realistic timeouts (25-45 seconds)

• Account for call setup time

• Consider mobile vs. landline behavior

• Test across different carriers

2. Retry Intervals

• Space retries to try different times of day

• Avoid too-frequent retries (annoys recipients)

• Match urgency level of campaign

• Consider time zone differences

3. Max Try Counts

• Balance persistence with respect for recipients

• Use result-based retry counts for efficiency

• Higher counts for critical campaigns

• Lower counts for promotional calls

4. Compliance

• Follow local regulations on retry limits

• Respect quiet hours (no early morning/late night)

• Document retry policies for auditing

• Honor do-not-call after failed attempts

Troubleshooting

Timing Issues

Symptom	Solution
Calls timing out too quickly	Increase dial_timeout; check network latency; verify carrier routing
Retries happening too fast	Increase try_interval; verify millisecond values are correct
Not enough retries	Increase max_try_count values; check result type configuration

Configuration Issues

Symptom	Solution
Outplan not applied	Verify outplan_id in campaign; check outplan exists and is active
Wrong retry behavior	Review result-type specific max_try_count values; check which result type is being set
Values seem wrong	Confirm millisecond format; 30 seconds = 30000ms, 1 hour = 3600000ms

Related Documentation

• Campaign Overview - Using outplans in campaigns

• Outdial Overview - Target management

• Queue Overview - Agent routing

• Call Overview - Call handling details