Why Apple’s iOS 13 Release on Sept 19 Will Kill Your Lead Follow-Up

Apple is releasing iOS 13 on Sept 19 with the new Silence Unknown Callers feature. 

This new “Silence Unknown Callers” will negatively impact all businesses that generate online leads that require follow-up phone calls.

What is Apple iOS 13 Silence Unknown Callers Feature?  

Apple WWDC Keynote Silence Unknown Callers Highlight Video

Apple’s “Silence Unknown Callers” setting will help block some the 48 billion phone spam and robocalls per year. 

Here is what will happen when users have Silence Unknown Callers turned ON.

• Phone calls from unknown callers will not ring the phone. 
• Calls are automatically sent directly to the iPhones voicemail. 

The core of sales is conversations, most of which are over the phone. A decrease in phone conversations will cause your sales volume to fall.

Sales Impact of Apple Silence Unknown Callers Feature?

Consumers already don’t answer sales calls if they don’t recognize the Caller ID.

 

Now with “silence unknown callers” in the new iOS 13 salespeople will have a difficult time to get leads on the phone because the phone won’t ring.

Will this Impact your Sales?

It’s very likely your sales will decrease if you are not prepared for this change. 

Majority of lead prospect follow-up calls are dialed from an unknown phone number. This calls will then get filtered by Apple’s Silence Unknown Callers feature.

• Salespeople will not be able to reach prospects on the phone.
• Online lead conversion rates will drop. 
• Already low phone call connect rates will drop even more.  
• Cost of sale will go up for most businesses.
• Majority of lead follow-up processes and systems will no longer work effectively.

Besides Apple iOS 13 there are also two other factors impacting sales call connection rates.

New FTC ruling allows mobile carriers to filter unwanted spam calls even without consumer opt-in.

This will also make sales calls more difficult to connect via all mobile carriers. Each mobile carrier is using different spam filtering settings. 

Lastly, many consumers are downloading spam blocking apps in record numbers.  They are using the apps and reporting more calls as spam.

The reputation of your phone number (like email reputation) will be critical in your sales process.

How quickly will this happen?

Apple iOS 13 Update Adoption 

88% of consumers are on Apple iOS 12. Majority of iPhone users have Apple software update setting on automatic. 

So within a month of the iOS 13 release; 50% of all phones in the US will have the silence unknown callers filter installed.  

What we don’t know yet is if “silence unknown callers” will be turned on by default, which would “S.U.C.” … pardon the pun 🙂 .

Rethink Your Lead Follow-Up System and Process

Hopefully, you are tracking your lead engagement or contact rates in your CRM, dialer or call tracking software.  

If you see a continued drop in prospect contact rates, you need to change your lead follow-up system and process. 

The culprit is likely Apple’s Silence Unknown Caller.

Tracking lead engagement upfront is critical, especially if you have a long sales cycle like real estate.  You may behind in sales goals if you only adjust after your sales have decreased. 

Closed sales are a lagging indicator while lead engagement is a leading indicator or future sales. 

Is Your Current Lead Follow Broken?

Are your sales going to decrease after this Apple feature release?

If you answer No to any of the questions on this checklist you may need to adjust your sales workflow. 

• Do you always follow-up with leads using the same phone numbers?  
• Can you send text messages with images and emojis from the phone number you use for lead follow-up?
• Can you share a vCard from your current CRM or lead follow-up solution?
• Do you track your lead engagement rates from your lead generation campaigns?
• Are you engaging with new lead opportunities instantly, increasing the likelihood of engagement?

Based on your answers, do you need to make changes to your systems?

You Need to Get into Apple Maybe Suggestions

At a minimum, you need to get your phone number recognized by Apple Maybe.

There are a few ways for this to happen which we will show you in another blog post.

Best Practices for Lead Follow Up to Maximize Call Answer Rates

Since the new “Silence Unknown Callers” is based around unknown phone numbers calling, here is a partial checklist of lead follow-up best practices.

• Try to call from the same number to build consumer familiarity with your phone number.
• Make sure you use the same phone number for your marketing campaign.
• Your email signature should also be the same phone number used to make outbound calls to follow up with leads.
• Use a text message enabled phone number that can send and receive images, video and emojis.
• Automate your lead follow-up with the same number for scale.
• Protect the reputation and integrity of your phone number.

These are a few tips to help your prospects recognize your phone number so you no longer get blocked as an unknown caller.

Lead Follow Up Solution in an iOS Silenced Unknown Caller Future

The CallAction lead engagement automation platform has focused on solving the problem for the last three years.

One of our solutions is an automated vCard that can is sent after missed or answered calls. 

We also automated email lead follow-up to go cross-communication channels using a single phone number. 

 You can capture, respond and track your marketing campaign with individual text-enabled call capture phone numbers. 

If you’d like to learn more, feel free to contact the sales department at (844) 955-0505 Mon – Friday to schedule a demo. You can also sign up for a free 14-day trial.

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