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Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS)/ Corporate Preference Scheme
Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS)/ Corporate Preference Scheme - what is it all about?
Briefly, the telephone preference scheme allows businesses to choose not to receive cold calls; therefore businesses trying to sell their products or services over the telephone. By registering with the TPS any caller to your business should check that your number is not listed on the TPS before calling you. If they do not they could be liable to a fine.
The scheme has been available to private telephone users since December 2003, but came into force in the corporate market on 25 June 2004. The new Regulations mean that it is unlawful for someone in business (including charities or other voluntary organisations) to make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to a telephone number allocated to a corporate subscriber if that corporate subscriber has either told that business or organisation that they do not want to receive such calls or has registered the number with the Corporate TPS.
Visit http://corporate.mpsonline.org.uk/CTPSC/html/default.asp for more information.
Articles about the TPS
Consumer awareness for the Telephone Preference Service has shot up in the past year, with 41% having heard of it. This is an increase of 8% from last year. The majority of consumers say they learned of the service from personal recommendation or through the media. The research does not, however, state how many people have taken up the service.
A further recent survey by marketing file has shown that the majority of UK businesses are totally unprepared for the new laws regarding unsolicited calls to other businesses, with an amazing 70% not having heard about it. 54% think it a terrible idea that will adversely affect their business. 23% say they will ignore it and risk a £5000 fine.
Samson Consulting Comment
So how does this apply to law firms? If you are cold calling other businesses to acquire new commercial work, you must first check to ensure that the business number is not registered with the TPS. This can be done quickly and easily on www.numbercheck.co.uk. You will first need to register but the service is free for your first 50 searches..
Should you register?
The difficulty is what will you miss if you do? Look at the number of advertising schemes you have signed up to which only came to you through a telephone call. If you stop receiving those calls, will you miss decent business opportunities? It is better to ask junior staff to vet calls if you are concerned about the amount of time you spend on the phone with cold callers. But ensure your briefing is thorough so as not to miss the best calls for your business.
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