--- title: "Know Which Contacts Will Pick Up — Before You Dial" url: "https://optimaldial.com/answer-intent" description: "Two signals on every number: will it pick up, and is it your contact's? About 1 in 5 numbers on a bought list isn't — OptimalDial Identity flags them before you dial." --- Answer Intent # Know Which Contacts Will Pick Up — Before You Dial Most people don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Some people do — consistently. OptimalDial detects that behavioral pattern behind every number on your list, so your reps call the right people first and hit 25–30% connect rates. [Get Started →](https://app.optimaldial.com) [Book a Demo](#) 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee Your list, sorted best first SM Sarah Mitchell VP Sales, Acme Corp Likely Right-Party Answer JR James Rivera Director BDR, TechFlow Likely Right-Party Answer MJ Marcus Johnson SDR Manager, DataSync Likely Right-Party Call Screening EC Emily Chen Head of Sales, CloudBase Likely Right-Party Voicemail LP Lisa Park RevOps Lead, ScaleUp Non-Mobile DW David Williams AE, GrowthStack Likely Wrong Number How It Works ## How Answer Intent Works Five steps to transform your cold calling results. Step 01 ### Upload Your Call List Send us your CSV with contacts and phone numbers from Apollo, ZoomInfo, or any data source you use. Currently supports +1 numbers only (US / CA) Step 02 ### We Verify Mobile Numbers Carrier lookups filter out landlines, VOIP, and invalid numbers. You only get numbers you can actually reach directly. Step 03 ### We Analyze Answering Behavior This is where we do the work — testing and analyzing each contact to understand who's likely to pick up. We're collecting behavioral data, not making educated guesses. Step 04 ### You Get a Prioritized List Every number comes back with one OptimalDial Status — what is likely to happen when you dial it, and whether it is your contact's number. The file arrives sorted, best first, so reps just work down the list. Returned List Sorted best first Contact Phone OptimalDial Status Sarah Mitchell (415) 555-0142 Likely Right-Party Answer James Rivera (212) 555-0198 Likely Right-Party Answer Marcus Johnson (650) 555-0331 Likely Right-Party Call Screening Emily Chen (312) 555-0267 Likely Right-Party Voicemail Lisa Park (512) 555-0089 Non-Mobile David Williams (303) 555-0455 Likely Wrong Number Step 05 ### Your Team Sees Results Call the Likely Answer numbers first and hit 25–30% connect rates instead of 3–5%. Why This Works ## Real Behavioral Data. Not Database Guesswork. We're validating actual behavior through multiple signals. The numbers we flag have demonstrated patterns that make them significantly more likely to engage. Not database lookups. Observed behavior. 0–30% connect rate with Answer Intent 0x average improvement over unfiltered lists 0+ extra meetings per month, per rep Validation Depth ## Choose how deep we go on every list Same answer-intent analysis, two depths — identity runs on every list with names, at either depth. Match the depth to what's at stake — a big list you want validated and dialing fast, or a short, hard-won list where every number counts. Standard Big lists, contacts to spare Flagged as likely answerers ~12–18% Turnaround 1–2 business days Cost 1 credit / number Validated and dialing fastest, at the lowest cost per number. MAX New Small, hard-won lists Flagged as likely answerers ~22–25% Turnaround 2–4 business days Cost 1.5 credits / number A wider net — far more answerable numbers on the same list to call. On a 1,000-number list, MAX typically yields **~57% more total conversations** from the same names — and identity tells you which of them are your contact's. [Read the MAX announcement →](/blog/introducing-max-validation) OptimalDial Identity Public beta ## The number picked up. It just wasn't your contact. About one in five numbers on a bought list belongs to someone else. Those dials still connect, still take a rep's time, and still go nowhere — and nothing in a connect rate tells you they happened. Identity checks every number against the contact named on that row and flags the ones that don't match, before anyone dials. It runs on the file you already upload; the only thing it needs from you is a name column. Identity is in public beta. It's working well enough to ship, and we're still improving it — if you run a list through it, we want to hear what you saw. 48% fewer wrong-number conversations On one customer's 3,870-dial file, wrong numbers fell from 9.4 to 4.9 per 100 dials once they worked right-party first — and right-person connects per dial went _up_, not down. Identity returns a signal on **80–90%** of a typical list, including the numbers that never pick up. Approaches that only learn from answered calls reach a fraction of that. [How we work it out →](/blog/introducing-optimaldial-identity) What You Get Back ## OptimalDial Status — the values a list comes back with Every number gets one of these, ranked best to worst. The rule behind it is one sentence: take the Answer Intent value; if identity is Medium or better, insert "Right-Party"; if identity is Low, replace it entirely with "Likely Wrong Number". Identity Unknown triggers neither branch, so those rows come out as tier 2, 4 or 6. The numeric prefix exists so the column sorts correctly as plain text in Sheets, Excel and dialer imports. | OptimalDial_Status | What it means | | --- | --- | | 1 - Likely Right-Party Answer | Likely to answer, and likely to be your contact. | | 2 - Likely Answer | Likely to answer. We can't say whose number it is. | | 3 - Likely Right-Party Call Screening | Likely to reach iOS, Android, or Samsung call screening, and likely to be your contact. | | 4 - Likely Call Screening | Likely to reach iOS, Android, or Samsung call screening. We can't say whose number it is. | | 5 - Likely Right-Party Voicemail | Likely to go to voicemail, and likely to be your contact. | | 6 - Likely Voicemail | Likely to go to voicemail. We can't say whose number it is. | | 7 - Non-Mobile | A landline or VoIP number. These carry no identity signal. | | 8 - Likely Wrong Number | Unlikely to be your contact. | ## The same file, sorted best first. Every number comes back with one OptimalDial Status: what's likely to happen when you dial it, and whether it's your contact's number. Reps work down from the top, and each part of the list gets the channel it actually responds to. your-list-scored.csv Sorted best first First Name Last Name Phone OptimalDial Status Arabel Rosales (415) 555-0142 Likely Right-Party Answer David Lewien (212) 555-0198 Likely Right-Party Answer Shannon Kidd (646) 555-0177 Likely Answer Marcus Johnson (650) 555-0331 Likely Right-Party Call Screening Priya Raman (408) 555-0210 Likely Call Screening Emily Chen (312) 555-0267 Likely Right-Party Voicemail Tom Bradley (773) 555-0384 Likely Voicemail Lisa Park (512) 555-0089 Non-Mobile Andres Gaitan (303) 555-0455 Likely Wrong Number Swipe for the status column → Likely Right-Party Answer · Likely Answer ### Go phone-heavy They pick up, and the right-party ones are your contact. Build a call-first sequence here — this is where cold calling works the way it is supposed to. Likely Right-Party Call Screening · Likely Call Screening ### Dial with a plan Screened numbers aren't dead numbers, but they need their own approach. Work these once you've been through the right-party answers, when you have the bandwidth. Likely Right-Party Voicemail · Likely Voicemail ### Go multi-channel Usually the biggest group by some distance. Send the email first, then call and leave a voicemail that references it — that pairing outperforms dialing alone. Non-Mobile · Likely Wrong Number ### Get better data A landline won't become a mobile and a wrong number won't become the right one. Find an alternative number, or move them to other channels. **Those are recommendations, not rules.** What works against VPs at enterprises isn't what works against owner-operators, and your sequence, your market and your team's capacity all move the answer. It's why we hand back every signal rather than just the rows we'd dial ourselves — so you can see what your own campaign responds to and act on it. You know your ICP better than we do; the data is there so the decision is yours. Your own columns come back untouched, in their original order, and you choose which statuses and which columns go into each export. A small share come back **Unknown**, with no result either way — treat those as unknown rather than safe. [Learn more →](/blog/introducing-optimaldial-identity) Call Screening Detection ## Detect iOS, Android & Samsung Call Screening Know which numbers on your list have call screening enabled before you dial. Call screening on iOS, Android, and Samsung devices can prompt unknown callers to state their reason for calling before the prospect decides whether to answer. Our data shows 15–20% of mobile numbers have this enabled. OptimalDial detects which ones, so you can factor that into your outbound strategy. ![iPhone showing iOS Silence Unknown Callers feature](/_astro/ios-call-screening.ypy4C-7a.png) iOS Call Screening ![Android phone showing built-in call screening](/_astro/google-call-screening-nobg.D4Dwe48S.png) Android Call Screening Available via API ### Score every number — programmatically. Skip the CSV round-trip. Submit contacts via the OptimalDial API and get the same OptimalDial Status back — filtered to the tiers you want — with webhook notifications when each list is ready. [Explore the API →](/developers) ## Real EOD reports before and after introducing OptimalDial Before ![EOD report before OptimalDial — 4% connect rate](/_astro/BEFORE1.CmSvVbf3.png) 4% connect rate After ![EOD report after OptimalDial — 33% connect rate](/_astro/AFTER1.g-CgF08H.png) 33% connect rate Before ![EOD report before OptimalDial — 9% connect rate](/_astro/BEFORE2.CJyYo1TV.png) 9% connect rate After ![EOD report after OptimalDial — 28% connect rate](/_astro/AFTER2.Dh4qlhVd.png) 28% connect rate Before ![EOD report before OptimalDial — 2.6% connect rate](/_astro/BEFORE3.BjQmOiBC.png) 2.6% connect rate After ![EOD report after OptimalDial — 31% connect rate](/_astro/AFTER3.jmrVl3fS.png) 31% connect rate Click any image to enlarge. Results from 863 dials calling sales leaders to pitch OptimalDial. Average connect rate: 10.3% without OptimalDial → 26.88% with OptimalDial. **A 2.6x improvement.** × Your data stays yours We never sell or share your contact lists. 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee Try it risk-free on your own list. US & Canada Supports all +1 numbers. Integrations ## Works With Your Existing Stack Upload from any data source. Export to any dialer. Data Sources Upload lists from any source ![Apollo](/_astro/apollo-logo-png_seeklogo-616172.SgOavq2E.png)![ZoomInfo](/_astro/zoominfo-logo-png_seeklogo-451593.4771-_PD.png)![Cognism](/_astro/cognism-logo-png_seeklogo-471385.BLZ4QSSB.png)![Lusha](/_astro/lusha-logo-png_seeklogo-410142.BQiw0Asl.png) \+ Any CSV Source Dialers & CRMs Export results to your tools ![HubSpot](/_astro/hubspot-logo-png_seeklogo-273533.CZUJwNe_.png)![Salesforce](/_astro/salesforce-logo-png_seeklogo-256541.CrdqxmM_.png)![Outreach](/_astro/outreach-logo-png_seeklogo-353777.DMTzri-Q.png)![SalesLoft](/_astro/salesloft-logo-png_seeklogo-441116.COFKYIDa.png) \+ Any Dialer/CRM Or build your own — [explore the API →](/developers) FAQ ## Common Questions [Talk to us →](#) How is this different from phone validation? Phone validation checks if a number is real and active. Answer Intent goes further — we analyze whether the person behind that number actually picks up calls from unknown numbers. A number can be perfectly valid but go to voicemail every time. Does it actually work? The numbers we flag as “Likely Answer” connect at 25–30% on average — versus 3–5% without. We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee so you can test it on your own data. What about the people who are not likely to answer? Push them to your email and LinkedIn sequences. You were probably doing multi-channel anyway — now you know which channel to prioritize for each number instead of guessing. What if my target persona is different? Our analysis works across personas — whether you’re calling IT leaders, executives, or operations managers. The answering behavior patterns we detect apply regardless of title or industry. Do I need to change my dialer or CRM? No. You upload a CSV and get a CSV back with every number labeled with an OptimalDial Status, and you pick which tiers and which columns go into the export. Upload it to whatever dialer you’re already using. What’s the difference between Standard and MAX validation? Both analyze the answer intent behind every number. Standard flags ~12–18% of your list as likely answerers — the fastest, lowest-cost option, best when you have a large list. MAX studies answering behavior across more times of day and days of the week, flagging close to double the share — so the same list yields more total conversations, ideal for smaller, hard-won lists. Standard is 1 credit per number; MAX is 1.5. You choose the depth per upload. How much does it cost? Check out our pricing page for detailed plans and per-credit pricing. Answer Intent and Spam Monitoring are both included in every plan. What is OptimalDial Identity? Identity is a second signal that runs alongside Answer Intent on the same upload. Answer Intent asks whether a number will pick up. Identity asks whether that number belongs to the contact named on the same row. It judges the number you already have — it never finds, appends, or replaces a phone number. The only extra input is a name column. How much of my list gets an identity result? Typically 80–90% of the dialable numbers on a list, including ones that never pick up. Identity is mobile-only — landlines and VoIP come back Non-Mobile and carry no identity signal — so a list of office numbers will see far less coverage than a list of mobiles. Is OptimalDial Identity finished? It’s in public beta. It runs on every list with a name column today and carries no separate charge, and we’re still improving accuracy as more accounts send back call dispositions. If you run a list through it, tell us what you saw — especially any number we called a likely wrong number where your rep reached the right person. Do I have to send names to use OptimalDial? No. Without a name column you get the Answer Intent values exactly as before — whether each number is likely to answer, screen, or go to voicemail. Map a full-name column, or first and last name, and the identity signal is folded in, so each row also tells you whether the number is your contact’s. Identity is on by default when names are present, and you can turn it off. ## Ready to Hit 25–30% Connect Rates? Start with your own list today, or book a demo to see how it works. [Get Started →](https://app.optimaldial.com) [Book a Demo](#) 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee · Your Data Stays Yours · US & Canada