Prevent your calls from being marked as spam

Who can use this: Any team member

Available on: Gong Engage

Ideal for: Sales rep, Sales manager

Carriers may flag a business number as spam, showing a warning label before the prospect even answers and reducing pickup rates. Your admin can register your numbers through Gong's Trusted calling feature to help prevent this, and following consistent calling practices reduces the risk on your end.

What Gong does to protect your numbers

Your admin can enable Trusted calling, which registers your business numbers with carriers using SHAKEN/STIR digital certificates and Voice Integrity number registration. Registered numbers are more likely to appear as verified to recipients.

Note:

Trusted calling is available to companies with US-based addresses. For Gong to apply all of its spam prevention solutions, your admin needs to provide a US address during registration. Learn more about setting up trusted calling.

Use local numbers

With the Gong Dialer, you can make calls to and from almost anywhere. To improve answer rates, use a local number from the regions where you operate. For example, if you're located in the US but want to dial UK numbers, your admin can provision a UK number for you. Learn more about getting business numbers and making international calls.

When multiple reps dial the same area code, give each rep their own number instead of sharing local presence numbers. High volumes of calls from a shared number can look like neighbor spoofing.

Best practices for outbound calling

Carriers flag numbers based on calling patterns, not just volume. Follow these practices to keep your numbers in good standing.

• Use virtual business numbers for outbound calls whenever you can. Personal numbers are often labeled as spam when used with a dialer.

• Avoid high volumes of short calls in quick succession.

• Ramp new calling campaigns gradually rather than starting at full volume.

• Call during standard business hours in the prospect's time zone.

• Identify yourself and your company at the start of each call, so prospects can recognize you and opt out.

• Keep your prospect lists up to date and delete numbers that don't connect.

• In the US, comply with TCPA and with Do Not Call lists. Learn more at the National Do Not Call Registry.

• Keep consistent numbers. Frequent number changes signal potential fraud to carriers.

Check your numbers for spam labels

If your connect rates are low or your calls go unanswered, your number might be flagged as spam. To test your number:

• Call a colleague and ask if your number appears with a spam label.

• Try calling from different networks, such as mobile and landline.

What to do if your number is flagged as spam

If a carrier has labeled one of your numbers as spam, open a Gong Support ticket. Gong works with Twilio to request remediation with the carrier.

Include in your ticket:

• The affected number

• The carrier that flagged it

• Screenshots showing the spam label

Note:

Remediation is not guaranteed. Carriers make the final determination on number reputation.

Improve verification for Gong Connect calls

When you make calls using Gong Connect, your call may appear to the recipient as spam or unknown. This can be due to the recipient's or the caller's carrier, and is a result of STIR/SHAKEN protocols, which aim to prevent caller ID spoofing on public telephone networks. As a verified Gong customer, your calls should go through. They will most likely be classified as Unknown, but this ultimately depends on the carriers.

To increase the chance that your Gong Connect call is verified, register your number in the Free Caller Registry. Once your number is registered, it is more likely to be identified as Verified by major US cellular providers. Register each number you use for Gong Connect calls separately. The process can take a few weeks. If you have issues with blocked calls or call identification, contact Gong Support.

Frequently asked questions