What does the caller ID say when it appears on the other end of the line? Ideally, it says whatever you want it to, but most importantly, it should never say “[Spam]” or “[Potential Spam].” That’s an instant hangup for anyone with a phone number, as they anticipate something like telemarketing robocalls.
“Scam likely” is never a label anyone wants to have—and a business getting its calls labeled as “spam calls” can spell an immediate reduction in the quality of your business. It can also mean a sudden, drastic drop in how much new business you can generate.
So, what can you do instead? To get yourself dialing people and showing up as “scam calls” and more like the regular phone calls we expect, you’ll want to implement specific actions to ensure that people want to take your calls.
If your carrier hasn’t implemented STIR/SHAKEN registration, you might want to avoid them. Mobilesphere offers this piece of mind, ensuring that you’re far less likely to be labeled “spam calls” as you conduct your business.
To know why you should do this, you should probably know why this registration exists in the first place. Scammers can use “spoofing” to deceive the person receiving the phone call. When placing outbound calls, the idea is to get someone not to leave it to voicemail but instead to get the person on the other end to take the incoming calls as something they trust. STIR/SHAKEN is the industry’s response to this spam risk, helping ensure that any dialer placing outbound calls are doing so in a legitimate fashion.
Check with your carrier—i.e., T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.—to ensure these steps are implemented. Not only will doing so help you make phone calls like any average person with a cell phone, but it will also help ensure that you’re not registering as a scammer on someone’s mobile phone when you’re simply trying to place a simple outbound call.
Illegal robocalls can be a significant problem for people, which is why third-party registries are set up to add credibility to some phone numbers. Rather than appearing “spam likely,” you can potentially enhance your caller ID reputation by registering your number on the Free Caller Registry.
Why bother? You want your number listed as a legitimate business, making legitimate calls with outbound dialing. If someone receives your call and looks you up, you don’t want them to find you in an online list of spammers. You don’t want to be one of the unknown numbers with suspicious area codes that make people shut you out with apps or call their providers, wondering why they’re getting so many spam calls. Instead, you want to look like a real business—after all, you are.
People associate toll-free numbers with scammy sales calls, even if they aren’t. For this reason, you should avoid using toll-free numbers as the caller ID. Instead, you can use something that more resembles a local business. This isn’t to say that you should mask your number and always try to look local no matter who you’re calling. Instead, your number should give off the impression that you’re a real office with a real landline—even if your business is run online or with remote workers.
There are a few reasons you want to appear like an organic call, or even as a ringless voicemail, as if you were old friends with a potential prospect rather than someone attempting an outbound business call. Consider:.
• A better chance of getting heard: The best way to get someone to pick up is to make them feel intrigued when they see your number on the other end, rather than the idea that you’re just another scammy call looking to trick them out of money. A unique phone number that portrays you as a legitimate business or individual is key to ensuring that people listen to you.
• Building a better reputation: Let’s say you avoid a toll-free number with your business. Why does this look better on your website or when you show up on someone’s caller ID? One word: branding. Why avoid them? Because you also want to appear as a business with a natural presence—giving off the impression that if someone picks up the phone, they’re going to talk to a human being who isn’t sitting in a call center.
• More engagement: No matter what your outbound marketing might look like, you need to show up well every time you place a call. For example, let’s say you earned a potential client or customer via your website. Yet when you call them, you show up as potential spam. How does that reflect on your business? Chances are, even if the customer considered your services before, they might be rethinking that now. At the very least, it may give them a certain amount of pause as they consider whether to buy from you for the first time.
Your number is your ID in more ways than one. You should take steps to protect it and protect it from being mislabeled. Doing so will help your business expand, earn a better reputation, and thrive in our increasingly mobile future.