How to fix Close call deliverability: spam-likely numbers and collapsing pickup rates

Reports → Activity → Calls → date range "last 90 days" → group by week.

Compute weekly connect rate: Connected / Dials. Track the trend. Healthy: 10-15% cold outbound. Warning: 7-9%. Critical: <6%.

If the rate has dropped 30%+ over 60 days with no major change to your dialing process, the issue is almost certainly number-health, not prospect-health.

Cross-check: connect rate per Number (group by outbound number). One number at 3% vs another at 12% = that number is burned.

If connect rate is uniformly low across all numbers from day 1: the issue is more likely market fit, target list quality, or call timing. Different diagnostic path.

Settings → Numbers → click each active number. Close shows carrier reputation data when available (varies by underlying provider — Twilio numbers have Trust Hub scoring).

Test externally: call each of your numbers from your personal cellphone. If the incoming call shows "Spam Risk" or "Spam Likely" on your screen, the number is burned. Test on T-Mobile (most aggressive), AT&T, Verizon for full coverage.

Use third-party tools: FreeCallerRegistry.com, Hiya.com, RoboKiller, or Truecaller — paste your numbers + check their flag status. These are the databases carriers reference.

Most burned numbers can be remediated (file a request to the carrier flagging service), but expect 2-4 weeks for status to clear. Often faster to retire + replace.

Document a 'Number Health' Smart View or spreadsheet: each number + acquisition date + current spam status + connect rate. Update weekly.

Cause 1 — High volume from single number: 200+ dials/day from one number for 30+ days. Carrier pattern-matching flags as auto-dialer. Fix: rotate across 5-10 numbers per rep.

Cause 2 — High no-answer rate: dialing prospects who never pick up trains carriers that the number reaches non-engaged recipients. Carriers flag. Fix: improve list quality, drop dead-list segments.

Cause 3 — Recipient spam complaints: prospects manually marking your calls as spam. Fix: improve targeting, improve opener, leave better voicemails so prospects do not feel cold-called.

Cause 4 — Toll-free outbound at scale: TFNs are flagged faster than local numbers for high outbound. Fix: switch to local numbers with Local Presence.

Cause 5 — Reused dirty numbers: if you bought numbers a previous owner used for spam, they arrive pre-flagged. Fix: only buy numbers from reputable providers with clean reputation guarantees.

Settings → Numbers → click burned number → "Release Number." Number is freed; you stop paying for it.

Buy replacements with these rules: local to prospect area code (not your office area code), one number per ~50 dials/day capacity (so 100 dials/day = 2 numbers), spread across providers if possible.

New numbers need a 7-14 day warm-up: start at low volume (20-30 dials/day per new number), increase by 25% per week, until at full target volume by week 3-4.

Skipping warm-up: brand new number making 100+ dials on day 1 = flagged within 2 weeks because the pattern looks like an automated spam dialer.

Budget for ongoing churn: assume 30% of numbers get burned per year and need replacement. 5 reps × 4 numbers each × 30% churn = ~6 replacements/year ≈ $40-60/yr per rep in number turnover.

Settings → Numbers → Groups → Create Group. Name: "SDR Pool — East" or "AE Western Pool."

Add 5-15 numbers to the group covering the area codes you call into. The wider the range, the better Local Presence works.

Group settings → enable "Local Presence." Close auto-picks the closest area-code match for each outbound call.

Assign each rep to a group via Settings → Users → click user → Default Outbound Number → set to Group (not individual number).

Important: do not also assign reps to a specific personal number on top of the group — that overrides Local Presence and reps default to their personal number.

CNAM registration varies by provider. For Twilio-backed Close: go to Twilio Console → Phone Numbers → CNAM Lookup → register your numbers with a business name (your registered company name).

CNAM displays on most US carriers but NOT on T-Mobile (T-Mobile shows their own algorithmic name). Most useful on Verizon + AT&T.

Pair with branded call display (a separate feature on some carriers via Hiya Connect, First Orion, or similar) for "Acme - Sales" instead of just the number. Higher lift but $$$.

Don't register CNAM as something cute — use your actual business name matching your website. Carriers cross-check.

Wait time: CNAM registration takes 5-14 days to propagate across carrier databases. Plan ahead.

Weekly: Reports → Activity → Calls → group by Outbound Number. Any number at <5% connect rate over a 7-day window = candidate for retirement.

Set a Smart View: "Calls by Number — Last 7 Days" showing dials + connects per number. Pin to the ops dashboard.

Automation trigger (manual SOP, not built-in): if a number drops to <40% of its baseline connect rate for 2 consecutive weeks, retire it.

Run a manual carrier spam-status check monthly: use FreeCallerRegistry.com or call each number from your personal phone. Don't wait for connect rate to crash to find out a number is flagged.

Document number lifecycle in a shared sheet: acquisition date, current status, retirement date. Patterns become obvious (e.g., "numbers from provider X burn 2x faster than provider Y").