Cold calling is a hot topic when it comes to TCPA Compliance.

It's also one of the most popular lead-generation strategies for motivated sellers historically, so it's more important now than ever to understand the rules as they're outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

As a real estate investor, any cold calls you make to a consumer are considered telemarketing calls and there are strict regulations you must adhere to in order to avoid costly mistakes.

In this article, we're going to make sure you understand everything you need to know about how to stay compliant when cold calling.

Registering for a Subscription Account Number (SAN)

If you are doing telephone solicitation for your products or services of any kind (which, as an investor offering a service to sellers/buyers, you absolutely are,) you must first register for a SAN with the National Do Not Call Registry.

According to the DNC website and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC);

“Every Seller should subscribe, pay the appropriate fee, and agree to the certification requirements to receive a Subscription Account Number (SAN) with the National Do Not Call Registry.”

(Click here for a step-by-step walkthrough of how to get registered.)

Once you have registered, you will also need to subscribe to every area code you will be calling.

Your first 5 area codes are free. After that, you will be charged on a per-area code basis.

You must also register your campaigns with information about use case and examples of calls/messages you'll be sending.

Scrub Your List Against the National Do Not Call Registry

You must scrub your list against the DNC.

You can use a service like this one to do so.

If you call or text a phone number on the Do Not Call list, you can be charged anywhere from $500-$1500 PER infraction.

Maintain an Internal Do Not Call List for your Company

Maintain an internal list of anybody who has opted out of receiving text messages or phone calls from your business (and honor it for the next for 5 years).

Observe Federal and State Call Times

As a general rule of thumb, do not call a telephone number before 8AM or after 9PM in the consumer's local time zone.

It's important to note that certain states vary a little with their rules around call times.

You can check out this guide from the DNC to learn more about state-specific rules.

Disclose Information About Your Business

When making phone calls to consumers, make sure you or your sales rep provide the following information:

• Your name
• Company name
• Phone number or address where the consumer can reach your company

Make Sure You Have Consent for Prerecorded Messages

If you are using automatic dialing systems or artificial or prerecorded voice messages of any kind, you must first obtain prior express written consent from the consumer.

(This goes for sending text messages of a marketing nature to cell phones as well.)

Read this article to better understand the different kinds of consent you must obtain to contact consumers according to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Pick Up Within 2 Seconds

If you are using an automatic dialing system or prerecorded message as a greeting, you must transfer the line to a live sales rep within 2 seconds of the consumer answering the call.

Know When to Disconnect the Phone Call

Disconnect the call if nobody picks up after 15 seconds or 4 rings – whichever is sooner.

Keep Call Abandonment Rates Low

Your abandonment rate for calls answered by a live person cannot exceed 3% in a 30 day period for a single calling campaign.

Stay in the Know

Check updates to regulations at least once a week either through a trusted blog, newsletter subscription or legal council.

To Wrap It Up…

As long as you observe the above regulations in your outbound marketing, you can avoid some very costly mistakes.

But if this all feels overwhelming to you (or if you'd simply like to play it that much safer,) consider using an inbound marketing strategy for your lead generation like direct mail.

Profit Drive is an excellent way to manage, automate and scale your direct mail strategy.

Click here to learn more about it now.