With the upcoming 2025 changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), businesses that rely on outbound and inbound calls like sellers and telemarketers or their call centers must prepare for significant shifts in their marketing strategies.
These new rules, set to go into effect in January 2025, will especially impact how sellers and telemarketers engage with leads, potentially altering the dynamics of inbound marketing calls.
Inbound marketing, which emphasizes attracting customers through valuable content, relies heavily on converting leads through telephone sales. Telemarketing transactions that have relied on both inbound and outbound consumer calls to follow up with potential customers will need to reassess their strategies.
In this post, we will explore how the 2025 TSR changes will affect inbound marketing calls and leads, offering actionable insights into how businesses can adapt to stay compliant and maintain high conversion rates.
The Telemarketing Sales Rule was first introduced in 1995 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as part of the Telemarketing Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. The TSR regulates telemarketing practices and protects consumers from deceptive or abusive telemarketing practices.
The Federal Trade Commission has tried to keep up with these issues in the past, with other legislation like the Abusive Telemarketing Act (which can be found here) and others that focus on deceptive or abusive practices, known as the Deceptive Telemarketing Act within the TCPA, which can be found here.
As government websites and legislation is not always the easiest to read or understand, you can catch up with what it means for sellers and telemarketers by reading our post called Staying in Compliance with TCPA Laws.
Over the years, the TSR has been amended to accommodate changes in technology and address emerging challenges in the telemarketing landscape to include scammers and those who use false or misleading statements in their telephone sales.
The proposed amendment update for 2025 focuses on enhancing consumer privacy and control while restricting certain practices that have been exploited by unscrupulous telemarketers to sell their goods or services (and others who only offer scams).
The key areas affected include outbound & inbound lead generation, TSR's recordkeeping requirements, express informed consent requirements, and restrictions on contact frequency and timing.
While these changes are primarily aimed at outbound telemarketing, they will undoubtedly have ramifications for inbound marketing strategies, especially for companies that rely on telephone sales to convert leads.
These changes set to take effect in January 2025 are meant to keep up with the rise of technology used by scammers (including tech support scams and debt relief service scams), telemarketing and consumer fraud, as well as nuisance calls that use pre recorded messages that don't have a live call center agent.
While this is meant to help deter scammers as well as telemarketing and consumer fraud, it will unfortunately impact legitimate telemarketing calls if they aren't made in line with these rule changes (as well as the previous laws that are already in the federal register).
The new TSR will require telemarketers to obtain written express informed consent from consumers before making outbound sales calls. This change reflects the growing concern over unsolicited calls and the rise of robocalls (automated pre recorded messages), but it will also indirectly affect inbound marketing efforts.
Many inbound marketing leads are generated through forms and website interactions where consent is implied but not always explicitly documented. These new requirements are likely to require any organization that makes any telemarketing call to maintain additional records, even for charitable solicitations at the behest of a non profit charitable organization.
The 2025 update places restrictions on how often a seller or telemarketer can contact a lead by phone. This regulation is primarily designed for outbound calling practices but may also limit how companies follow up with inbound leads, especially if they mix inbound and outbound telephone calls.
Companies that rely on frequent follow-up phone calls to close sales may find themselves needing to adjust their approach. Even if you have an established business relationship with the consumer, every call center agent should know about these limits on call frequency and timing.
If your company has goods or services purchased nationally or globally, this can be very important.
Making an interstate telephone call will still require you to observe these timing rule changes, so ensure that your CRM system is set to respect these guidelines based on where the owner of the called number lives (which isn't always in alignment with their area code these days).
The new definition of "telemarketing" under the TSR will include more businesses and industries, especially those that have traditionally relied on less-regulated forms of lead generation. These rule changes may even affect you if calling a previous donor to a charitable organization.
This expansion means that many companies engaged in inbound marketing who might not have considered themselves as "telemarketers" could now fall under the purview of these regulations.
Remember, these changes focus more on the outbound telephone call than the business behind it. It is important to understand that even seeking a charitable contribution may be considered a telemarketing transaction, especially if it uses pre recorded messages.
Even if your marketing is focused on inbound marketing calls that require an outbound call to close the sale, the 2025 TSR changes could affect your business.
There are serial litigants that are private citizens who try to trick a call center agent into calling them back at another phone number, with the called number being one they have placed on the Do Not Call Registry (DNC list), suing them if they fall for it.
That single called number can be incredibly expensive, as they often try to accrue multiple calls to increase the amount that they can sue for. These lawsuits are allowed to move forward even when they use material misrepresentations to trick the call center agent in many cases, which is why training is so important for call centers and their telemarketing calls.
To learn more about that tactic and how to avoid it, you can read our post about Litigator Trap Numbers here. Unfortunately, these tactics may increase as serial litigants and litigators exploit loopholes in the 2025 TSR changes.
We know the common practices previously employed by these serial litigants (that are outlined in the post linked above), but we can be sure they will find new loopholes to increase their own future income.
For inbound marketers, consent has always been a vital aspect of building trust with potential customers. The 2025 TSR changes will raise the bar for consent management, especially for businesses that use a combination of inbound and outbound telephone calls.
Marketers will need to ensure that they have clear, explicit records of consent from leads who provide their phone numbers for further engagement.
Updating lead capture forms: Companies will need to include more detailed language (clear and conspicuous disclosure) on their forms to explain how a lead's phone number will be used, ensuring that the individual is aware that they may receive follow-up calls from sellers and telemarketers.
Improving CRM systems: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools will need to be updated to document consent in a compliant way, ensuring that if a lead progresses from inbound to outbound calls, their consent has been properly recorded.
Increased transparency: Companies will need to be transparent about how they use lead information and ensure that the use of phone numbers aligns with the individual’s consent.
If you use telemarketing calls to sell goods or services and buy your leads from a 3rd party, it is important that you ensure they are transparent about where those leads came from and that consent was obtained.
Failure to comply with these stricter consent requirements could result in fines or penalties for a single telephone call, not to mention damage to a brand’s reputation.
The TSR’s new restrictions on the frequency and timing of calls will likely impact how inbound leads are nurtured and converted.
For instance, some businesses that follow up with leads multiple times by phone to increase the chance of conversion may find themselves limited by these new rules. This will make timing and quality of follow-up calls more crucial than ever.
Prioritize lead scoring: Companies will need to invest in lead scoring systems to ensure that outbound telephone call follow-ups are only made to the most qualified leads. By focusing on high-quality leads, businesses can make the most of limited call opportunities.
Enhance multichannel engagement: Given the limits on phone-based interactions, companies should diversify their follow-up efforts by incorporating direct mail solicitation, email, social media, and SMS to maintain engagement with leads. A multichannel approach ensures that businesses can still nurture leads without violating TSR regulations.
The TSR’s limitations on outbound telephone calls will emphasize the importance of personalization in inbound marketing. Since businesses may not have as many chances to follow up with leads by phone, each interaction must count. Companies that rely on generic scripts for telemarketing calls will struggle to adapt.
Highly tailored phone interactions: Sellers and telemarketers must be prepared with detailed information about the lead’s behavior, preferences, and stage in the buyer's journey before making the call. Personalization will be key to keeping leads engaged and converting them into an established business relationship.
Data-driven insights: Sellers and telemarketers should leverage data analytics to understand how each lead prefers to be contacted and the specific information they are interested in. This will enable marketers to deliver value-driven calls that resonate with potential customers.
The Federal Trade Commission is adding significant new challenges for sellers and telemarketers, but they simply require those who make telemarketing calls to change to keep up with the times.
Remember these changes are not meant to harm legitimate businesses, but to help stem the tide of telephone scams by way of debt relief services, tech support scams, material misrepresentations by unscrupulous companies, and the emergence of robocalls that deliver pre recorded messages.
If you don't understand the enormity of this growing issue and why it's such a focus for the Federal Trade Commission, you can read about the growing number of Americans and billions of dollars they are scammed out of every year in our post What Is Caller ID Spoofing?
The Federal Trade Commission has its own post telling sellers and telemarketers as well as those seeking charitable contributions for a charitable organization how they can comply with the new Telemarketing Sales Rule that can be found here.
In the section below, we will cover how to help your business address the potential challenges of the 2025 TSR Rules changes and how to overcome them.
One challenge inbound marketers may face is ensuring compliance across multiple lead sources.
For instance, sellers and telemarketers that generate leads through websites, social media, and third-party platforms will need to implement standardized processes to manage consent and comply with TSR's record keeping requirements and restrictions. This could be difficult if some platforms or channels do not automatically include provisions for phone follow-ups.
Solution: Telemarketing campaigns must establish clear, consistent consent protocols across all lead generation platforms. This includes making sure that third-party lead providers are also compliant with TSR regulations and that their methods for collecting phone numbers align with the final rule.
The common practices previously employed by most 3rd party lead generation vendors will no longer suffice. Ensure that your vendors are in compliance, as any outbound telephone calls made without such authorization as is required can result in a violation, fines, and potentially lawsuits.
Some sellers and telemarketers engage in both inbound and outbound marketing, meaning they could be affected by multiple aspects of the TSR changes. The difficulty here lies in managing the overlap between leads that come from inbound channels but are followed up with through outbound calls. The boundaries between these types of interactions could become blurred.
As discussed in our post on Litigator Trap Numbers, serial litigants will often respond to an inbound campaign and convince a seller or telemarketer to call them back at a number they have placed on the Do Not Call list. Despite these material misrepresentations and entrapment operations, they are able to file lawsuits against the callers if their schemes work due to loopholes.
Solution: Create distinct processes for handling inbound leads versus outbound leads. For inbound leads, companies should clearly document when consent for phone follow-up was given and ensure that any outbound communications are in compliance with the TSR's recordkeeping requirements. This might require businesses to silo their marketing and sales efforts to prevent overlap or invest in more advanced lead-tracking systems.
To stay ahead of the serial litigants, it is wise to keep your leads updated against the Do Not Call registry, and to train those who make your telemarketing calls to never deviate from those approved numbers that have consent on file.
Another challenge businesses face is balancing the need for follow-up calls with consumer preferences. While the TSR sets strict limits on telemarketing practices, consumers may still expect follow-up communication when they show interest through inbound marketing channels. However, bombarding leads with phone calls can damage relationships and lead to complaints or opt-outs.
Solution: Utilize a multichannel marketing approach to engage with leads through non-intrusive means like direct mail solicitations, email, text messages, or social media. By keeping communication varied, marketers can maintain lead interest without risking non-compliance or annoying potential customers.
Despite the restrictions introduced by the TSR, there are several opportunities for growth within the inbound marketing space. These changes could encourage businesses to develop more innovative, ethical, and consumer-friendly marketing strategies that result in higher customer satisfaction.
They also force changes that could offer significant opportunities to any entrepreneurially-minded sellers or telemarketers who are willing to find a completely new way to perform inbound marketing campaigns.
The 2025 TSR changes will force companies to focus on obtaining express informed consent from leads before making calls, using clear and conspicuous disclosure informing them that they will be receiving telemarketing calls.
In the long run, this could help businesses build stronger, more trusting relationships with higher customer satisfaction. When customers know that their preferences are being respected, they are more likely to remain engaged and loyal.
Since companies will be limited in how often they can follow up with leads by phone, there will be more pressure to provide value upfront through content and other forms of engagement. Inbound marketing strategies that emphasize high-quality content will become even more important for attracting and retaining leads.
Jeff Walker was one of the pioneers of creating lead funnels to build successful campaigns, and his book Launch highlights the importance of delivering value to your leads upfront to help increase conversions.
Marketing campaigns have moved away from the "give to get" strategy, but going back to these fundamentals may prove successful for those willing to go "back to the basics" of the inbound marketing pioneers.
The new TSR regulations could also drive innovation in the way companies engage with leads. With stricter limits on outbound calls, businesses will need to explore new technologies, such as AI-driven lead scoring, advanced data analytics, and automated lead nurturing systems, to ensure they stay competitive while remaining compliant.
The greatest innovations in the history of mankind often come through necessity, and innovation for sellers and telemarketers is likely to come from this change as well.
The 2025 changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule will bring significant challenges to businesses that rely on both inbound and outbound calls for lead conversion. By tightening consent requirements, restricting call frequency, adding TSR's recordkeeping requirements, and expanding the definition of telemarketing calls, the new rules will compel companies to rethink their inbound marketing strategies.
However, with proper planning, these changes can also present opportunities for businesses to build more meaningful, trust-based relationships with their leads while staying compliant.
By focusing on personalized, value-driven interactions and implementing robust consent management processes, companies can continue to thrive in this evolving marketing landscape. As the industry adapts to the new TSR regulations, businesses that prioritize consumer preferences, transparency, and ethical marketing practices will stand out and succeed in the long term.
