Glossary
Switchboard number
Switchboards are the most common filler in cheap lead lists. They are easy to source at scale because they are published on company websites, and they look like valid phone data in a spreadsheet.
They are close to worthless for cold calling. The gatekeeper has no reason to put a stranger through, and the same number repeats across dozens of contacts at the same company.
A quick audit trick: sort any purchased list by phone number. If the same number appears on ten contacts, you bought a switchboard file.
How we handle it
Shared numbers, main lines, toll free prefixes and extension-appended numbers are rejected automatically and never counted toward your monthly volume.
Related terms
Keep reading
Direct dial
A phone number that rings one named person at their desk or through their own extension, without passing a switchboard.
Connect rate
The share of dials that reach a live human, the clearest single signal of list quality.
Gatekeeper
The receptionist, assistant or phone menu that stands between a caller and the decision maker.