You must verify call handling, voicemail, and caller ID practices with the federal telemarketing rule, the Florida statute, and Close before coaching reps.
Compliance checks for sales call recordings
The scope of these nine rules covers the specific regulatory boundaries you must verify before using call logs in coaching sessions. According to Legal Information Institute, the regulations in this part do not affect the requirements found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. This distinction is critical when you review recordings that involve preacquired account information. You must ensure your coaching materials do not inadvertently treat these separate legal frameworks as interchangeable. The rules you are checking apply to abusive telemarketing acts or practices, as defined in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. When you prepare to coach on outbound tactics, confirm that your team’s logging practices respect these distinct legal domains. Do not assume that compliance with one set of telemarketing rules automatically satisfies requirements under other federal statutes. Your review of the last ten logged calls should explicitly separate these regulatory concerns. This ensures that your feedback on rep behavior is grounded in the correct legal context for each type of interaction. Do not treat one jurisdiction’s rule as the rule everywhere. Your verification process must account for these jurisdictional and statutory distinctions before you proceed with the coaching session.
Key takeaways for how to verify call handling compliance before coaching sessions
- Abandoned call timing: An outbound telephone call is abandoned if a person answers it and the telemarketer does not connect the call to a sales representative within two (2) seconds of the person's completed greeting, according to Legal Information Institute.
- Abandonment rate limit: Technology must ensure abandonment of no more than three (3) percent of all calls answered by a person, measured over a single calling campaign only if it lasts less than 30 days, or separately over each successive 30-day period or portion of it, according to Legal Information Institute.
- Do not call option: For a call that could be answered by an answering machine or voicemail service, the person called can use a toll-free telephone number to assert a Do Not Call request, according to Legal Information Institute.
- Caller ID transparency: It is prohibited to intentionally act to prevent transmission of the telephone solicitor’s name or telephone number when the equipment is capable of creating and transmitting it, according to Florida Senate.
- Spoofing prohibition: It is prohibited to use technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from to conceal the true identity of the caller, according to Florida Senate.
Federal rules on abandoned calls and consent
Before you use call recordings to coach your team, verify that the outbound practices comply with the federal standards for abusive telemarketing acts. The Legal Information Institute defines an "abandoned" outbound telephone call as one where a person answers and the telemarketer does not connect the call to a sales representative within two (2) seconds of the person's completed greeting, according to Legal Information Institute. This two-second window is the specific trigger for the definition, so check your dialer settings to confirm the connection time aligns with this threshold.
The same source specifies that a seller or telemarketer must employ technology that ensures abandonment of no more than three (3) percent of all calls answered by a person, according to Legal Information Institute. This measurement applies over the duration of a single calling campaign if it lasts less than 30 days, or separately over each successive 30-day period or portion thereof that the campaign continues. When reviewing your campaign logs, ensure your reporting period matches this 30-day segmentation to verify the rate stays within the limit.
For calls that could be answered by an answering machine or voicemail service, the person called must be able to use a toll-free telephone number to assert a Do Not Call request pursuant to § 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A), according to Legal Information Institute. Verify that your voicemail scripts include this toll-free number and that it is clearly communicated to the recipient.
In any telemarketing transaction involving preacquired account information, the requirements in paragraphs (a)(7)(i) through (ii) of this section must be met to evidence express informed consent, according to Legal Information Institute. If your reps use preacquired data, confirm that your documentation captures the specific elements listed in those paragraphs to demonstrate that consent was express and informed.
Review your last 10 logged calls to ensure that any dropped voicemails are correctly categorized and that no calls were abandoned beyond the 2-second window.
State laws on caller identification and spoofing
When reviewing call logs for coaching, verify that your team’s dialing practices align with specific state prohibitions. Florida law outlines distinct violations regarding how a caller’s identity is presented to the recipient. You must check whether any rep intentionally blocked the transmission of their name or number when their equipment could have sent it.
According to the Florida Senate, Chapter 501 Section 616 of the 2024 Florida Statutes defines a violation as intentionally acting to prevent the transmission of the telephone solicitor’s name or telephone number to the party called. This applies specifically when the equipment or service used by the telephone solicitor is capable of creating and transmitting that information Florida Senate. In your coaching sessions, check for an intentional act to prevent transmission of the telephone solicitor's name or telephone number when the equipment can create and transmit it. This check ensures you are not using examples that demonstrate non-compliant behavior as standard practice.
The second critical check involves the use of technology to alter the displayed number. You must confirm that no rep used tools to display a different caller identification number than the one the call actually originated from. The Florida Senate states that using technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from to conceal the true identity of the caller is a prohibited act Florida Senate. This rule targets the specific intent to conceal identity. Technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from, to conceal the true identity of the caller, falls under this prohibition.
A filled reference table for call handling compliance
The following table lists the nine specific call handling rules required for your compliance verification. Each row identifies the governing source and the precise requirement or definition you must check before coaching.
| Rule | Publisher | Specific Requirement or Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned call timing | Legal Information Institute | An outbound telephone call is “abandoned” if a person answers it and the telemarketer does not connect the call to a sales representative within two (2) seconds of the person's completed greeting. |
| Abandonment rate limit | Legal Information Institute | The seller or telemarketer employs technology that ensures abandonment of no more than three (3) percent of all calls answered by a person, measured over the duration of a single calling campaign, if less than 30 days, or separately over each successive 30-day period or portion thereof that the campaign continues. |
| Do not call option | Legal Information Institute | In the case of a call that could be answered by an answering machine or voicemail service, that the person called can use a toll-free telephone number to assert a Do Not Call request pursuant to § 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A). |
| Caller id transparency | Florida Senate | Intentionally act to prevent transmission of the telephone solicitor’s name or telephone number to the party called when the equipment or service used by the telephone solicitor is capable of creating and transmitting the telephone solicitor’s name or telephone number. |
| Spoofing prohibition | Florida Senate | Use technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from to conceal the true identity of the caller. |
| Voicemail drop logging | Close | Left a voicemail: the inbound call was directed to your voicemail and a message was left; this also includes the case when you drop a voicemail on an outbound call using our Dropping a voicemail feature (if you leave a manual VM it will count as Answered ). |
| Pre-recorded drop-button how-to | Close | If you set up your pre-recorded Voicemail Drop while reading this guide, you can drop your VM easily with the drop voicemail button. |
| External call logging | Close | Sometimes the call you're logging may have taken place outside of Close (web meetings or cell phone conversations) or you may not have Calling built-in. |
| Consent for preacquired info | Legal Information Institute | In any telemarketing transaction involving preacquired account information, the requirements in paragraphs (a)(7)(i) through (ii) of this section must be met to evidence express informed consent. |
Use this table to verify each rule against your current call logs and dialer settings.
How to log voicemails and external calls correctly
When you review call logs for coaching, the distinction between a dropped voicemail and a manually left message changes how the call is categorized. According to Close, "Left a voicemail" applies when an inbound call is directed to your voicemail and a message is left. This category also includes the case when you drop a voicemail on an outbound call using the "Dropping a voicemail" feature described in the "Calling | Close Help Center" documentation. However, if you leave a manual voicemail, it will count as "Answered" rather than "Left a voicemail."
This distinction matters for your coaching logs because it determines which calls appear in your voicemail metrics. If a rep manually leaves a message but the system logs it as "Answered," you might miss it when reviewing voicemail handling. According to Close, if you set up your pre-recorded Voicemail Drop, you can drop your VM easily with the drop voicemail button. This feature ensures that the system correctly categorizes the interaction as a voicemail drop rather than an answered call.
Not every call in your log will have originated from the built-in dialer. According to Close, sometimes the call you’re logging may have taken place outside of Close, such as web meetings or cell phone conversations, or you may not have Calling built-in. When this happens, you must manually log the interaction to ensure it appears in your coaching review.
To verify your logs are accurate before a coaching session, check the status of each voicemail interaction. If a rep used the drop voicemail button, confirm the log shows "Left a voicemail." If they manually left a message, confirm the log shows "Answered." For calls made outside the platform, ensure a manual log entry exists with the correct timestamp and outcome. This verification step prevents misclassification of voicemail handling during your review.
Blank worksheet for call review compliance
Verify the 9 rules for a specific coaching session. Check each rule as you review the call logs.
Related guides
FAQ: How to verify call handling compliance before coaching sessions
How quickly must a telemarketer connect a call to a rep to avoid it being considered abandoned?
According to the Legal Information Institute, an outbound telephone call is defined as abandoned if a person answers it and the telemarketer does not connect the call to a sales representative within two (2) seconds of the person's completed greeting. This timing standard applies specifically to the definition of an abandoned call under the cited section.
What is the maximum percentage of calls that can be abandoned during a single campaign?
The Legal Information Institute states that the seller or telemarketer must employ technology that ensures abandonment of no more than three (3) percent of all calls answered by a person.
Is it legal to use technology that displays a different caller ID number than the one the call originates from?
According to the Florida Senate, it is prohibited to use technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from to conceal the true identity of the caller. This specific prohibition targets the deliberate concealment of the caller's true identity through caller ID manipulation.
How does the system distinguish between a dropped voicemail and a manually left message?
The Close help center explains that a left voicemail occurs when the inbound call was directed to your voicemail and a message was left, which also includes dropping a voicemail on an outbound call using the Dropping a voicemail feature. If you leave a manual VM, it will count as Answered rather than a dropped voicemail.
What must be met to evidence express informed consent for transactions using preacquired account information?
According to the Legal Information Institute, in any telemarketing transaction involving preacquired account information, the requirements in paragraphs (a)(7)(i) through (ii) of this section must be met to evidence express informed consent. These specific paragraph requirements define the necessary conditions for valid consent in such transactions.