And that means you Mr. Real Estate, Life Insurance and Mortgage Broker that keeps telling me you don't use the phone. That you're not telemarketers. That you're exempt. That you don't understand! Your IT and technology directors are pretty good at creating number-checking tools that won't hold up in court. They're relatively easy to put together. You download all the DNC and TCPA related lists, and you’re off and running. Easy, right?
But not so fast. When the State AG, FTC, FCC, or CFPB shows up, that’s when you find out Do Not Call & TCPA Legislations are a Legal Issue: Are your number checking records available in the timeframe and format required; do they include cells, state lists, and company specific internal lists. If not, you're just fooling yourself.
Protecting Multiple Offices and Independent Agents - click video
This video is for informational purposes. Be sure to consult your own attorney for questions specific to your business.
Those were the good old days.
When only five States had DNC laws. And nobody really cared much anyway. Consumers continued to suffer from calls. And so what. Sales were good. Let the consumer yell and scream. It’s good for their lungs right?
Now, the Consumer is King.
And a well-educated king at that. In fact, expectations for cell call invasions are over-educated and unrealistic. Now, the consumer expects NEVER to get a call. Wow. What a change.
Yes, the phone is still the best way to go. Nothing like getting another live body over the phone to ply your trade. But you’ll need additional protections. See: "Cell Phone Scrubbing - Are you Identifying all the Cells?"
Handling the Do Not Call Law Compliance yourself is kind of like trying to handle fly paper without getting stuck...
Or wrestling in the mud without getting covered too. You’ll want to stay as far away from this Do-Not-Call and TCPA stuff as you can. Not by burying your head in the sand, but by embracing protecting your life’s blood—your agents—with robust, top-of-the-line third party DNC Law Compliance Service Systems.
Problem is, DNC and TCPA are legal issues, not Data issues. That’s the first thing you find out when government agencies come calling!
So you’ve heard this all before right?
It’s probably not a good time to talk about DNC right? You’ll get around to it—sometime. Plus your data guy has been sick for a while, and you’re looking for a new hire anyway. You’re not quite sure where they keep the records. Doesn’t somebody handle that? But if it was important, I’m sure we’d have it handled. Can we talk about this another time? I don't think we have the budget for it anyway (Even though it's not very expensive.) See: "Costs of Do Not Call TCPA Compliance."
And that’s how we run our business. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Problem is that business model doesn’t do well in a Tsunami. Which is what the TCPA has quietly become. An enormous moneymaker for lawyers and plaintiffs, ending up in places we’d never dreamed it would. We long for the days of only $16,000 per fine that we could quickly settle with our State AG. We wish consumers hadn’t gotten so darned smart about this stuff.
Oursource, outsource, outsource...
And as the states slowly add no-cell calling rules—which they intend to enforce—even with hand dialed calls (5 states so far, and we expect more you can’t call without written permission even when hand dialing), you’ll want to make sure you take the high ground early should you get caught in this latest wave of compliance legislative euphoria. And take it early.
That’s why Insurance, Mortgage, and Financial Institutions and other large companies dealing with consumers (and now of course B2B companies with consumer agnostic cell calling laws) should outsource their Do-Not-Call Law and TCPA Compliance Chores. Protect your agents, and stay as far away from this stuff as you can. See: "DNC Quick Check for Offices and Remote Agents."
So find a certified DNC Law Compliance Provider and work with them for your agent's compliance needs. See: "Do Not Call Protection"
(You’ll be glad you did when these agencies come calling’ with their hands out).
For more on outsourcing DNC and TCPA chores and risks, Just call my personal line at 561-317-3001 - Bob
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6 Keys to a Do Not Call List Scrubbing Solution for Insurance Agents
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9 Reasons your Company may have no interest in an Agent DNC TCPA Solution
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Multi-User Quick Check. $100 Per Month/10 Quick Checks, Total 20,000 Scrubs/Month
DNC List Scrubbing 2015 Guide - Download Now
