Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

By James Limbrit

Cold calling is an effective campaign in marketing, especially in lead generation. Since this is a disruptive approach, consumers register for certain restrictions.

This is mostly because of the fast-changing behavior in consumers’ habits. They are no longer into any unwanted calls and follow a set of legal regulations.

Today, we will discuss the legal considerations when conducting cold-calling campaigns. This will save you from getting a penalty or any legal notice.

The telemarketing sales rule (TSR)

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) governs telemarketing practices to protect consumers from deceptive and unfair telemarketing practices. FTC introduces a set of TSR rules and guidelines for marketers and businesses.

Here are key aspects of the TSR:

-Telemarketers are prohibited from making false or misleading statements to consumers about products, services, or investments.

-Sales reps have to provide specific information to consumers during telemarketing calls, such as the identity of the seller, the nature of the goods or services being offered, or conditions.

-Telemarketers must verify the authorization of consumers before charging their bank accounts or credit cards. Also, the rules prevent from requesting or accepting payment methods that are difficult to trace. It can be cash, gift cards, or wire transfers for the sale of goods or services.

-Telemarketers that use automatic dialing systems must ensure that a live sales representative starts speaking with consumers within two seconds of the consumer’s greeting.

-Here, all the TCPA and DNC rules are applicable. The caller should call at a specific time with accurate ID information and avoid call spoofing.

The telephone consumer protection act rules (TCPA)

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is an important federal law in the United States. These rules ensure a consumer’s right not to get unwanted or disruptive calls. Any cold calling services have to abide by the rules and regulations.

So, before you start with your approach, make sure your telemarketing team is aware of them.

-Telemarketers are allowed to call within a period of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. This can also differ according to the recipient’s location and time zone.

-These types of calls are banned from any hospitals, offices, or emergency lines.

-Telemarketers are required to access and scrub their call lists against the National Do-Not-Call Registry to avoid calling numbers listed on it.

-Telemarketers must obtain written consent from consumers before making pre-recorded voice calls or sending automated text messages. Also, pre-recorded calls or messages are not allowed.

-The TCPA restricts the use of auto-dialing systems for telemarketing purposes.

-Therefore, if any call is unanswered, then the rep cannot disconnect before four rings.

Display accurate caller ID information

Maintaining accurate caller ID information is a must to avoid spam and gain consumers’ trust. This can maintain your organization’s reputation and manage a healthy relationship between you and your customers.

For this, ensure the caller ID displays your company name, sales rep name or other necessary information so the receiver can easily recognize it. Avoid using any spoofing information to attract recipients to answer the call.

Also, maintaining caller ID information for cold calls is important because frequency changes can raise suspicion, and users may never receive the call. It is recommended to use local area codes when you are working in a specific geographic region.

By all these, the user can know your calling purpose, and there is no chance of taking legal action by them.

National do-not-call registry (DNC) compliance

Many people register in the Do-Not-Call regulation to avoid disruptive calls. As a marketer, it is important to respect the individual preferences who wish not to receive telemarketing calls.

Those who fail to maintain DNC rules can face legal consequences, which surely harm business reputation. Here, updated data about the list is essential before cold calling approaches.

Hire a virtual assistant if you are facing problems in handling tons of data. This will help you and your team to maintain consistency.

All telemarketers engaging in cold calling services should access the National Do-Not-Call Registry, which the Federal Trade Commission functions.

There should be regular scrubbing of the call list against DNC rules to identify and then remove those phone numbers. It is wise to keep records of the scrubbing efforts. This may include compliance date, source of DNC data or disputes related to the rules.

Lastly, for international calls, study your target countries’ DNC or opt-out registries.

General data protection regulation (GDPR) laws

General Data Protection Regulation is a comprehensive data protection law implemented by the European Union in 2018. It is like a safeguard for the personal data of individuals. It is mainly based on EU citizens.

These rules mainly depend on consumers’ content, how they want their data to be used, permission for data transfer and so on.

First, individuals need to give clear consent before sales reps collect and use their personal data for cold calling. Next, there should be transparent insight about how consumers’ data will be used and for what purpose.

There should be adequate data security measures to protect every bit of personal information.

Here, the user can request any time to delete or access their information, and telemarketers are bound to do that.

Maintain records of data processing activities related to cold calls, including the purpose, consent, and data security measures.

Verdict

Cold calls still have a significant role in getting potential customers. But because of the disruptive nature, there are many rules and regulations that arise to make consumers’ lives easygoing.

So, before any cold-calling startup, you need to know about all the rules, such as TCPA, TSR, and DNC. Abiding strictly by these rules can widen the chance of getting potential customers only by increasing the business image.

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James Limbrit, the lead content writer of YesAssistant, has over 5 years of dedicated experience in crafting impactful marketing content. His in-depth knowledge and guidance let businesses thrive in a competitive landscape.