The short version
- When answer rates drop, the cause is often a warning label on your caller ID, not your list or your reps.
- US carriers check calls with STIR/SHAKEN and run them past analytics firms that decide whether to show a spam warning.
- Register your numbers, keep the volume per number sensible, and watch answer rates number by number.
Your team is dialing the same lists, the same way, at the same times of day, and fewer people are picking up. Before you change the script or blame the data, look at what your customers see on their screen when you call. If your number shows up with a spam or scam warning, most people will not answer, however good the call would have been.
What happens before your call reaches a phone
In the US, two things happen to most calls on their way to a mobile phone.
The call is authenticated. Under the TRACED Act, the FCC required US voice providers to put STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication in place by June 30, 2021. The provider that sends your call signs it with an attestation level:
| Attestation | What it means |
|---|---|
| A (full) | The provider knows the caller and that they are allowed to use the number. |
| B (partial) | The provider knows the caller, but not their right to that number. |
| C (gateway) | The provider is passing the call on and cannot vouch for where it came from. |
The call is scored. Carriers also use call-analytics firms to judge whether a call looks like spam. That judgment is what puts a warning label on the screen. Three of the big ones are Hiya, First Orion and TNS, which feed the labeling at major carriers.
Why a good number gets labeled
Legitimate sales and support teams get flagged all the time. Common reasons:
- High volume from one number. Hundreds of short calls a day from a single number look like a robocaller, even when every call is a real person.
- Lots of very short or unanswered calls. Power dialing through a cold list produces exactly this pattern.
- Complaints. People who do not remember opting in mark the call as spam in their phone app.
- Numbers that do not call back properly. If someone returns your call and reaches nothing, that number earns no trust.
- A new or recycled number with no history, or with someone else’s history.
What you can do about it
- Register your numbers with the Free Caller Registry. It is a free portal where you submit your numbers, the type of calls you make and your preferred display name once, and it goes to Hiya, First Orion and TNS together. Each may contact you to verify. The carriers also have their own routes for disputing a label, if one is already showing.
- Spread the volume. Use enough numbers for your call volume so no single number is doing the work of ten. Some dialers do this for you. Kixie, for example, can show a local number matching the area code you are calling in the US and Canada, and watches each number’s health.
- Make every number answerable. When someone calls back, they should reach a person, a queue or at least a clear voicemail that names your business.
- Watch answer rates per number, not just overall. One flagged number can drag the team average down. Track pickup rate by number and by hour, and rest or replace a number when its rate falls well below the others.
- Keep your lists and timing clean. Call people who expect to hear from you, at reasonable local hours, and honour do-not-call requests. It is the right thing to do, and it is also what keeps complaint counts low.
How to tell if this is your problem
Three quick checks:
- Call a few of your own team’s mobiles, on different carriers, from each outbound number. Look at what the screen shows.
- Compare answer rates by number over the last month. A number that has fallen far behind the others is a likely suspect.
- Look at when the drop started. A sudden fall after a big campaign or a jump in volume points to labeling rather than to your list.
If the numbers look fine and people still are not answering, the cause is more likely the list, the timing or the offer, and that is a different fix.
Getting it fixed
We sort out caller ID and number health as part of dialer setup and management: registering numbers, sizing the number pool to your volume, and reviewing connect rates by number each week. If you also want every call outcome saved on the right contact, see how we connect your dialer to your CRM.