Now That The “Do Not Call List” Is In Effect

By Rose Hill, www.SoloBizVille.com and www.Solo-E.com

Why Do You as a Coach or Virtual Assistant Care?

• Because each reported and verified call violation can cost your business $11,000.
• Because, in certain circumstances, you don’t even need to have initiated the call to be reported in violation. That’s right, people can call you and then report you in violation.
• Because staying in compliance so that you can avoid those $11,000.00 fines can modify how you run your business.

The Background: What is Regulated and By Whom?
Both the FTC and the FCC are enforcing the National Do Not Call List – one enforces for calls made from state-to-state (FTC), the other for calls made within a state (FCC). You can check out the complete rules at www.ftc.gov and www.fcc.gov.

The Do Not Call List contains numbers of 51-52 million consumer phones – both residential and cell phones. It does not apply to business phone numbers. Initiating the wrong type of call to any of those phones, or saying the wrong thing when someone calls you from any of those phones, puts your business in jeopardy of violation.

The Do Not Call List regulations apply to you if you make (and in some circumstances, if you take) phone calls with the intention to induce the purchase of goods, services or charitable contributions. (I’m not going to be talking about the charitable contributions aspects and exemptions.)

The only businesses exempt from the regulations of the Do Not Call List are:

• Banks, federal credit unions, and federal savings and loans
• Common carriers (that is, airlines and long-distant phone companies)
• Non-profit organizations

The types of phone calls that are not covered by the Do Not Call List regulations are:

• Unsolicited calls made to your business by consumers
• Calls consumers make to your business in response to a catalog
• Most business-to-business calls
• Calls made to you in response to your general advertising, such as banners on web sites, classified ads, and so forth – with important exceptions
• Calls made to you in response to your direct-mail advertising, such as postcards, flyers, door hangers, brochures, letters, emails, faxes, and so forth – with important exceptions

How it Works
Anyone on the National Do Not Call List, or who asks you to put them on your businesses’ Do Not Call List, can report violations.

Yes – your business is now required to maintain its own “do not call list.”

Here’s a scenario:

As part of your keeping-in-touch follow-up system you routinely call your clients, both active and inactive clients, on their Birthdays to wish them a great and memorable day. You've been doing this for years. In fact you have a computer system that reminds you each morning about the Birthday calls you need to make that day.

Today you're going to call Joan, Jim, and Pat to wish them a Happy Birthday. Joan is a currently active client. Jim just recently completed a series of transactions with you. And Pat was a client a couple of years ago. You don't talk business in any manner during these calls -- it's just a personal way for you to maintain a connection with your client base.

Boy, are you surprised to find out that your Happy Birthday call to Pat was in violation, but the calls to Joan and Jim were okay! What the heck is going on? Well, the regulations permit you to contact your clients only up to 18 months following the most recent business transaction with them. And your last transaction with Pat occurred over 2 years ago. If Pat is on the National Do Not Call List, and if he was annoyed by your call, you can expect a fine of $11,000.00.

You may follow up with your clients for 18 months after an actual sales transaction without being in violation. And you can follow up with people who make inquiries to you about your services for up to 90 days after they first contacted you for information.  After that time has expired tho, you’re vulnerable if you continue to contact them.

In addition, the above rules are void if at any time your client or prospect requests that you stop calling them and to add their name to your personal “do not call list.”

You can avoid violation by having your clients give you written permission to continue calling them.  The “permission slip” must include their name, phone number(s) for which they are granting you permission to contact them, and the client’s signature. And don’t forget to date it! In essence, this permission slip works as your proof of a prior business relationship between you and your client.

Even if your customer has given you written permission to follow up with them, they can ask you to stop calling them and add their phone number to your personal “do not call list” at any time.

If you have written permission from a client and they change their phone number and their new phone number is on the National Do Not Call List, you will be considered in violation if you call the new phone number. So if you learn a client has changed numbers, be sure to have them fill out a new permission slip that includes that new phone number.

There is about a 3-month processing period between when a phone number is listed on the Do Not Call List and when it can start reporting violations. Consumers can list both their land line phones and their cell phones. So be sure to get permission to call all the phone numbers of your clients.

How to Work with Referrals

Here is a scenario:

My sister asks me if I know a good life coach for teenagers and I tell her, “of course I do!”  She asks me to have Gregory call her.  Gregory calls my sister but instead of reaching my sister, my brother-in-law answers the phone.  My brother-in-law is not aware that my sister requested that I have Gregory call her and before Gregory can explain, my brother-in-law hangs up the phone.  Because my sister’s number is on the Federal Do Not Call List, my brother-in-law is irritated by Gregory’s “solicitation.”  My brother-in-law then spends five minutes online to report Gregory to the FCC.  Do you have an extra $11,000?

My recommendation is that you DO NOT CALL referred prospects – send them letters or have them call you!

Upselling Traps
If you attempt to upsell a person, even tho that person initiated the phone call to your business, this can be considered a violation of the Do Not Call List regulations.

For example:

A prospect calls to inquire about your upcoming free teleclass as advertised in your email signature lines. Because the call isn’t the result of a direct solicitation by you, so far, the call is in compliance. If you then discuss your 6-month life-transitional coaching program, you can be considered in violation via upselling. If however, you listed both your free teleclass and your 6-month coaching program with equal emphasis in your email signature, you are considered to be in compliance.

Upselling occurs when you induce the caller to purchase additional or other goods and services than what they called to you to discuss. Upselling is a violation and can cost you the $11,000.00 fine.

To Check If a Phone Number is On the National List
If you’re considering calling someone from your business, and you don’t have written permission to call them or proof of a prior business relationship with them, check out the phone number at www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov before you make the call!

Don’t assume that because someone called you that it’s okay for you to call them back. If you’re in the habit of calling back the missed calls registered on your caller ID, break that habit! If you return a call and that phone is on the Do Not Call List, you most likely have committed a violation.

What If You Make an Honest Mistake?
If you make an “oops” and call someone on the National “Do Not Call List” on accident, you may avoid the fine if you have adhered to the following conditions:

• You have created written procedures regarding the National “Do Not Call List” and your own personal “do not call list.”
• You accurately maintain your own “do not call list.”
• You document the updating of both the National “Do Not Call List” and your own “do not call list.”
• You enforce your written procedures.

Resources
www.ftc.gov and www.fcc.gov for the actual regulations of the Do Not Call list.