How to Maximize the Reputation & Lifespan of Your Phone Numbers (DIDs)

No one wants their phone numbers to be labeled as “Spam/Scam Likely.” For sales agents and call center businesses who use outbound dialing as a sales tool, understanding and adhering to the compliance requirements for contacting leads is a must. 

Direct Inward Dialing (DID) numbers, and how you manage them, can impact your ability to connect with your potential customers. We’ll walk through three questions to ask to ensure you maximize the reputation and the lifespan of your phone numbers.

What are DIDs?

Direct Inward Dialing (DID) numbers are phone numbers used by outbound dialing businesses to allow customers to contact a specific person or department directly, rather than going through an extension, a receptionist or into a queue. You may also see these types of phone numbers referred to as an “ANI” which stands for Automatic Number Identification. This means that when your customers dial a phone number (DID), they’re directly connected to the person in your company who is associated with that number. This allows for a better customer experience and greater efficiency for your business.

Why does Caller ID reputation matter? 

Call centers, outbound sales agents, or anyone who does any kind of outbound dialing, must all deal with phone number (DID) reputation issues. Sometimes even large, reputable companies have their numbers show up as “Spam” or “Scam Likely” when calling customers.

It’s a tricky proposition. Major carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, etc.) have contracts with different providers who have developed methods, databases and algorithms to manage phone number reputation. All of which are different, and are black boxes. You might hear the names of these providers come up – the biggest of which are:

• Hiya (AT&T)
• First Orion (T-Mobile)
• TNS (Verizon)

So what does this mean? We’ll probably never know for sure exactly how calls are marked as Spam/Scam, but we do know some things that’ll help you extend the lifespan of your phone numbers (DIDs).

How can I maximize the reputation (and lifespan) of my phone numbers (DIDs)? 

If you want to maximize the reputation and lifespan of your phone numbers, it’s imperative that you ask yourself these three questions: 

1. Is your phone number (DID) registered to your business?

This is increasingly the number one factor in determining if your call is flagged as a nuisance or gets delivered to your lead. When you register your phone number (DID) as belonging to your business, it sends a clear signal to carriers and consumers that you stand behind the calls that you’re making.

The best place to register your numbers is the Free Caller Registry.

2. Do you have enough phone numbers (DIDs)?

You should aim to place fewer than 80 calls per phone number per day, on average. While there isn’t a published number that carriers look for, Readymode’s internal testing along with the best industry data available suggests that 100 calls is the maximum number of calls a single phone number (DID) should place in a day.

Carriers assume that phone numbers placing large numbers of calls are robocalls, and will very quickly flag high volume numbers as Spam/Scam Likely.

Recommended Best Practices for Phone Numbers (DIDs)

3. Do calls to your phone numbers (DIDs) route to somewhere sensible?

When consumers call back into a number that’s called them, they should be able to: 

• Identify who is calling them (Your business) 
• Add themselves to the National Do Not Call Registry if no agent is available to speak with them

Carriers periodically do ringback testing (also known as, “Call Authentication”) to ensure that phone numbers making calls continually are linked to a reputable business – and failing a ringback test will get your number labeled Spam/Scam likely very quickly.

The 3 most effective steps to manage your Caller ID (DID) Reputation

1. Register your numbers
2. Have enough phone numbers (DIDs) to remain under 80 calls/day/phone number, on average
3. Ensure your phone numbers route sensibly when your leads call back

Following these three steps, along with ensuring you’re using a best-in-class dialing software that was built with compliance and security in mind, will help ensure the reputation of your phone numbers remains intact. You’ll make more connections, increase your team’s effectiveness and your customers will know and trust the business who’s calling.