How to Stop Wasting Time on Spam Calls


Your phone rings, it’s a local number and you answer right away.  Afterall, it could be an appraisal order from a new customer, a potential homeowner, a local bank, or a realtor. It’s none of these, it’s some stupid robocall.

Even being on the “Do Not Call” registry won’t help, you can still end up getting five, ten, or more calls a day from robocallers.  I have so many warrants out for my arrest and social security complaints against me that I must be on a top ten fugitive list. You can’t even avoid the calls by only answering numbers from within your local area code anymore.  They use software to make it look like the call is local, no more of those 800, 888, or Unknown numbers showing up on your screen.

You feel obligated to answer these local calls, you’re running a business after all. They aren’t new clients or new business though, stop wasting all your time answering spam calls. There is a simple solution, switch all of your business calls over to a business line which is not your cell phone.  Don’t use your cell phone as your business line.

A business line means you’ll never be tempted to answer a phone call that is from an unknown number because there is almost no chance of that being about potential money in your pocket.  As a business owner, you can have your secretary, receptionist or VA answer your business line. They can identify themselves as your assistant and, most of the time, they can assist callers.

If you have used your cell phone as your business phone for years and years, you need to make a separation.  You can get a new personal cell number and then leave your business number as it is.  Transfer the business number over to a voice system, another cell phone, or another type system that will get somebody else to answer your phone.

Now, when your cell phone rings and you don’t recognize the number, you can just let it roll to voicemail.  There is a very low chance that you’ll miss a client.  Worried that you’re missing a personal call? If that person is a friend or family member that isn’t already an identified contact, they can leave a message.  Let your friends and family know that you will return messages but you don’t pick up numbers you don’t recognize.

For more information on this subject, please download and listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode 422: What Do You Do About All Those Spam Calls Everyday?

10 thoughts on “How to Stop Wasting Time on Spam Calls”

  1. Well, I have a different take on this. I have had several business lines added over my career, and, apparently, each one of them had previously belonged to some the biggest deadbeats on the planet. For years and years after I had those landlines installed I got calls from this collection agency or that asking for so and so that obviously had that number previously. Taking my time to explain that they no longer could be reached at this number and to please update the records was a total waste of my energy. And that was prior to the influx of telemarketers trying to sell car warranties or health insurance. I actually had to drop all of my landlines in order to cut out 90% of the calls, which had nothing to do with my business.

  2. I don’t think there is any perfect solution, however, I don’t answer any calls and the real work folks leave a message. I have a business line with an answering machine (yes, it still does the job) and a cell phone. I receive voicemails from AMC’s and private folks with prospective work as well. They all know we’re busy and are away from our desk often. As my husband would say, “just because the phone is ringing, you don’t have to answer it”.

  3. I have an office phone currently using VOIP. I forward the number to my iPhone. I use a setting where the phone only answers from in my contact list. Callers outside of my contacts get a recording saying that because of the increase in spam calls, I no longer answer the phone, and please leave a message. Callers with business do leave a message, and the occasional spammer will leave silence. I started this about 3+ months ago, and my stress is down and very few spammers get through. Most of my business is private, so answering the phone has been one of my methods of getting new business since I started in 1994. It’s different now. Real clients can reach me, and most agree with the spammer increase and my method of re-gaining control. It takes me seconds to add them to my contact list, and they get right to me on the next call. A lot has changed since the mid 1990’s. Customer service is still there, and that’s what creates referrals and repeat business. Once a new client leaves a recording, then they get the same service that I want to give.

  4. I have 2 office lines and I get a lot of robo calls which we must answer. We do predominately non-residential work and I never know if there is an attorney or a business owner calling about doing an appraisal who are local or from out of state.

    I was always taught to answer the calls because if, it is a possible assignment if, you don’t answer they will just go to the next number on their list.

    I think that you missed this one big time

  5. I don’t have this problem. I get maybe 1-3 spam calls a day. My cell phone identifies most of them as robo calls or spam and I tell my head set not to answer. The couple that might get through I usually hang up on. Also once in awhile a Spam identities call is actually a client and goes to voicemail. Since i got this tech my calls like I said are not an issue

  6. I tried a robo call blocking app that is designed to waste the time of robo callers. It sent some of my customers into a maze recordings and I had to put a stop to it. My cell service started notifying spam callers and the numbers have dropped, but some AMCs get sent to spam. LOL, they’re spam to me too. We like to deal with private parties.

  7. If my phone rings and I don’t know who it is, I don’t answer. If my phone rings and I know who it is, I answer sometimes. Problem solved. 🙂 I use an app named InstaVoice on my phone. If someone leaves a message, it e-mails me and I can listen to it without having to mess around with checking my voice mail. Pretty handy.

    Jim

  8. Iphone I put in on ring only known numbers on my list. I do spend time blocking numbers so they stop ringing my phone and adds to list which I did help make and ids a scam likely. If I already recognized the number I pick up if I want to but never when driving as I can not help 80% of the people until I get home.

  9. I have had my cell number for over 25 years. After 25 years, I was still getting calls for Maria. Bill collecter’s, warranty etc. plus my own warranty calls etc. I finally got rid of “Maria” calls by killing her off. I was very emotional with it with tears and all begging them to stop calling this line. Morbid? Yeah, but it worked!

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