Make Your Prospecting Efforts Pay
Off Don’t Let Do Not Call Laws Hinder Your Phone
Prospecting
Successful REALTORS® know that prospecting is an ongoing activity.
Much of the prospecting effort comes through phone calls to referrals,
FSBOs and expired listings.
However, cold calling became more complicated with the implementation
of the federal Do Not Call registry in 2003. More than 64 million Americans
have registered their home phone numbers on the federal Do Not Call Registry.
Some states have their own Do Not Call laws that may have more restrictive
requirements. The cost of a single violation to a number listed on the
national registry is $11,000.
Should you accidentally call a number that’s listed on the Do Not
Call registry, you must prove that you are in compliance in order to seek
a safe harbor defense. That requires more than simply checking phone numbers.
To ensure Do Not Call compliance, you must:
Have and implement written compliance procedures
Train personnel in compliance procedures
Maintain an internal Do Not Call List
Use a process to employ the National Do Not Call
Registry
Monitor and enforce compliance
Maintain reporting on all compliance activities
Does that mean you should stop using the phone for prospecting?
No!
Prospecting by phone is still a very effective and viable option.
Communicating by phone is one of the best tools to build trust and
rapport in a sales relationship. You simply need to ensure that you
don’t phone prospects who are on a Do Not Call list. A Do Not
Call compliance solution can let you verify whether a phone number
is callable, before you place the call.
PossibleNOW, a member of the NCAR Partners Program, has been in
the Do Not Call compliance business for more than 4 years. PossibleNOW
offers an Internet-based solution, DNCQuickcheck, which is designed
with real estate professionals in mind.
Tim Muenchen, Vice President of Sales at PossibleNOW, often speaks
with real estate brokers and owners about Do Not Call compliance. “Some
brokers don’t realize that they are liable for the actions
of their agents. They may not understand that compliance involves
more than just checking phone numbers.”
“Do Not Call laws are complex and change frequently,” Muenchen
continues. “On January 1, the new federal law requires callers
to ‘scrub’ against the national registry every 31 days.
The laws regarding calls to wireless ported numbers are even more
restrictive. DNCQuickcheck is fast and simple to use so that REALTORS® can
easily incorporate Do Not Call compliance in their prospecting efforts.”
Muenchen comments that REALTORS® who spend hours in their cars
and on their cell phones can also comply with the Do Not Call laws.
“PossibleNOW offers DNCPhonecheck, a companion solution to
DNCQuickcheck, that lets a REALTOR® use their office or cell
phone to check the status of a phone number such as a FSBO. They
can also leave a voice note specific to the call. These tools help
REALTORS® with their prospecting efforts while ensuring compliance
with the Do Not Call laws.”
Bottom line: Make your phone prospecting pay off
by including Do Not Call compliance to avoid any potential violations.
Regulatory
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