Why can't a business stop sales calls at the source?
The Do Not Call Register is not available for most business lines. Its registration page states that a number used or maintained primarily for business purposes cannot be registered, unless it is a fax number. Scam calls are a separate matter: the ACMA registers and enforces rules that require telcos to identify, trace and block scam calls and SMS. A legitimate supplier ringing to pitch a product is not a scam, so those calls still reach you. Screening them is up to your own call handling, which makes the receptionist's rules the main control.
How should the receptionist handle a sales pitch?
Teach the receptionist the pattern: the caller asks for 'the person who looks after' a function, or opens with what their company does for businesses like yours. It should take the caller's name, company, number and a one-line summary of the offer, explain that suppliers are contacted if there is interest, and end the call. It should not transfer sales calls live or give out staff names and direct numbers. Send these messages to staff as a weekly digest rather than one alert per call.
Keep a list of existing suppliers, contractors and partners by name and company, so the receptionist treats a call from your accountant or main wholesaler as normal business. When a screened call turns out to be from a real customer, add the pattern to the rules.
What about robocalls and silent calls?
Recorded messages and silent lines waste minutes and, on some plans, billable calls. Set the receptionist to end a call politely after a short period of silence or when the caller is a recorded message, and never to press keys in response to a recording. Take care with silence, though. A silent caller may have a speech difficulty, a poor connection or be unable to talk safely. Before ending, the receptionist can offer another way to make contact, such as a text message or the website, and log the number so staff can follow up if it looks genuine.
How do scam callers target a business line?
Scam calls to businesses can seek information or money. Callers may pose as a supplier asking to update bank details, as a telco or bank needing account confirmation, or as a colleague who needs a staff member's mobile number. The Australian Cyber Security Centre lists an unexpected change of bank details and an urgent payment request as warning signs, and recommends checking with the person or organisation using contact details you have verified separately. Your receptionist rules should match: never confirm, collect or change payment details, and flag any such request for a person to verify. Keep these out of its answers entirely:
- Staff mobile numbers and personal email addresses
- Bank account, payment or invoice details
- Whether a named person is in the office or on leave
- Login, account or security details for any system
Should spam calls count toward your bill?
If your plan charges per call or per minute, unwanted calls cost money even when they are handled well. Ask the provider how it counts hang-ups, silent calls, robocalls and sales calls, and whether its reports show them separately. Look at a month of your own call records first to see how many unwanted calls you receive, because that number decides how much the billing rule matters. Our guide to comparing answering service quotes shows how to price these rules against your own call log.
How do you keep the rules accurate?
Review the screened calls weekly for the first months. Look for genuine customers who were treated as sales calls, such as a new commercial client introducing themselves, and for sales callers who got through by asking for a named staff member. Add genuine callers to the known-supplier list and tighten the wording that let sales calls through. Ask staff to report any unwanted call that reached them, with the time, so you can find it in the call log and see which rule missed it.