This could be the most important news you read in Sales Development this year:

A full 46% of Americans report getting spam calls every single day. 

There were just under 46 billion robocalls made to American numbers in 2020. 

It’s a problem in search of a solution, and the FCC has taken a number of steps recently to bring an end to telephone scams, spam, and abuse. 

Effective from June 2021, all service providers are required to use the STIR/SHAKEN framework to authenticate callers and reduce if not eliminate robocalls and phone number spoofing.

That’s good. 

But an unintended consequence of this is the number of legitimate businesses getting caught in the cross-fire. 

And that’s bad. 

What is STIR/SHAKEN?

STIR/SHAKEN — which stands for the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) — is a framework of standards and protocols to be used across various networks. 

With it, originating service providers will confirm a number and user as legitimate, while other carriers will further verify that information before it reaches the intended recipient.

In theory, it would identify the caller as either ‘unknown’ or ‘spam’ if they’re using robocall or spoofing services because they would fail this authentication process. 

Number comes up as spam, do not answer. Simple, but effective. 

Unfortunately, even the best laid plans often go awry, and STIR/SHAKEN is wreaking havoc among SDRs and other individuals who rely on cold calling for proper business purposes.  

The Impact of STIR/SHAKEN

At the best of times, a connect rate in the vicinity of 7-10% is average for cold dials.

In the months since STIR/SHAKEN was implemented, some businesses have seen that number plummet to only 1-2%. 

The difference? Those legitimate users are coming up as spam for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to):

The number is not registered to your business
The number was recycled and previously labeled as spam
The user is running afoul of spam algorithms

The only way to know for sure is to check it yourself.

Call your own mobile phone and see what comes up. Or better yet, call a few friends or family members and ask them.

If your business number(s) is repeatedly failing its authentication, it’s no wonder your connect rate has fallen through the floor. No one is ever going to knowingly answer a call labeled as spam. 

So, what do you do?  

Playing Nice with STIR/SHAKEN

First, do an audit of all numbers used for business purposes. Are they coming up as ‘verified’ or ‘spam’? 

Next, contact your (cadence, sequencing, or dialing) service provider and confirm that the number(s) are registered to you and your business. The ease and convenience of this will vary depending on your specific provider (standalone dialing tools will be best). 

Unfortunately, many numbers are recycled. If a previous user was identified as a spammer, the number itself is likely unsalvageable. Get rid of it, and buy a new one. And don’t forget to immediately register it. 

Finally, be aware of the red flags that spam algorithms look for, such as:

Calling the same outbound number several times in one day
Using the number too frequently
An actual spam complaint 

Audit your business numbers at least monthly, eliminate those labeled as spam, and play by the rules for legitimate and verified use. Protect your verified and clean numbers.  

Business cold calls are not spam when you’ve done your homework and know your prospects. Don’t let something designed to prevent scammers keep you from solving their needs. 

Need help? Tenbound is a Sales Development Research and Advisory firm providing expert guidance and integrated technology solutions to help you take your Sales Pipeline to the next level. Contact us today to get started.

Prospecting has changed significantly in the past few years, and methods must be updated to meet today’s new demands and challenges.
No industry has been immune to the changes and disruptions of the past couple of years. As businesses around the world continue to adapt to the new sales and marketing landscape, the need to keep up with constantly evolving customer demands is greater than ever. But with any challenge comes new opportunities, and Sales Development is no exception.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many of your customers have new needs and work remotely. They have different priorities and pain points that must be addressed if you are to continue to earn their attention or to acquire new customers. Having a strategy for whom you intend to prospect will prove vital to your success. After all, successful prospecting requires, just as it always has, comprehensive knowledge of your target customer.
Dogma does not equal performance
In today’s technology-driven world, change is inevitable and necessary for keeping up with the constantly changing sales landscape. This is why one of the most harmful phrases in the business world is ‘we’ve always done it this way’.
Dogma does not equate to performance, which is why every process must be taken back to formula. In the case of Sales Development, this means starting with the right questions.
Firstly, how do you yourself buy today? Putting yourself in the shoes of today’s customers is an essential first step towards better understanding their needs and pain points.
Then, looking at what your current data is telling you, determine how your customers buy. Finally, look at how your existing Sales Development processes work. Chances are there are misalignments between these variables, which will need to be addressed in order to refine your prospecting strategy.
Applying the scientific method to Sales Development
Sales Development is effectively just a form of project management which, in turn, follows the scientific method.
The basic steps of the cycle are as follows:

• Ask a question or carry out background research to describe a problem
• Construct a hypothesis in an attempt to answer the question
• Test your hypothesis to determine how accurate it is
• Draw conclusions from your hypothesis and refine it accordingly

The modern Sales Development process is all about uniting people, processes, and technology in pursuit of a common goal. In this case, the ultimate goal is to increase sales. However, this can be further distilled by setting measurable KPIs, such as the number of repeat sales, and the customer lifetime value (CLV).
Sales Development Reps (SDRs) should also apply the scientific method. In a modern context, that means referring to existing data to determine how sales are currently performing. You can then identify opportunities for improvement, make the necessary changes, and then test them.
With A/B testing, you can also put multiple hypotheses to the test simultaneously, thus saving time and developing your sales processes even faster. The entire cycle is one of continuous improvement. At Tenbound, we recommend reevaluating your Sales Development processes approximately every three months.
Key takeaways for SDRs
Sales Development success depends on determining how your existing processes align with today’s buying experience. Wherever there is a misalignment, you need to go back to recreate or refine your strategy to achieve better results. This requires the optimal combination of expert guidance, a strong peer support community, and a consistent strategy that matches the unique requirements of your business.
Check out my talk at the recent Tenbound Sales Development Conference where I go into this further

https://youtu.be/pGY0HFIO_xY?t=55
Tenbound is a Sales Development research and advisory firm. We provide expert guidance and integrated technology solutions to help you take your business to the next level. Contact us today to get started.