Why Martial Arts Schools Shouldn’t Worry About Blocked or Unknown Calls

By Tracy Lee Thomas, Founder of Go2Karate, and Dr. Greg Moody, VP of Development

The Concern: What Happens When a Prospect Hides Their Number?

You might see a parent dialing *67 (or just calling from “Unknown”), and wonder: Will RevConnect360’s AI Employee take the call? Or will it drop it, and will we lose that prospect?

The truth is, this scenario is extremely rare in the realm of real prospective parents, and the way RevConnect360 handles hidden/anonymous calls is not a weakness — it’s part of the infrastructure that keeps your enrollment process clean, efficient, and focused on what converts.

How RevConnect360 Manages Calls With No Caller ID

When a call arrives with caller ID suppressed or “Unknown,” RevConnect360’s system can ring it through, but with significant constraints:

• Because there’s no number, the system cannot create a contact record tied to a name/phone
• It cannot place them into marketing or nurturing workflows (confirmation texts, reminders, follow-ups)
• Links (trial-class scheduling, calendar invites) cannot be sent
• The call may be heard, but it cannot fully enter your pipeline

Effectively, the call becomes a “one-time interaction” with no downstream value unless the caller reveals their number.

That filtering is intentional. The AI Employee is built to allocate resources and automation only to those prospects who make themselves reachable.

Why This Is a Protection, Not a Drawback

Some might say: “But what if I just missed a student?” Let’s put that idea to bed:

• A parent genuinely interested in signing their child up doesn’t block their number (when was the last time YOU blocked your number while signing your kid up for soccer?). They want confirmation texts. They want reminders. They want to be in the system.
• If someone hides their number, they’ve already disqualified themselves from the very process that leads to enrollment.
• Hidden calls are far more likely to be spam, robocalls, misdials, or junk.

By rejecting or not fully routing hidden calls, your system stays protected: no wasted text credits, no broken workflows, no ghost leads.

Neil Patel says:

“Customer loyalty is earned when you consistently delight people.”  You can’t delight someone you can’t follow up with.

Pre-Qualifying: Doing Business the Right Way

In every industry, smart businesses pre-qualify customers before they ever spend energy, time, or marketing dollars on them. Pre-qualification ensures you’re working with people who are serious, committed, and willing to participate in the process.

RevConnect360’s AI Employee pre-qualifies every caller the moment the phone rings. And the very first filter is simple: Are they willing to identify themselves with a real number?

If the answer is yes, the system can:

• Build a record in your CRM
• Trigger automated workflows
• Send texts, links, and reminders
• Move that parent seamlessly toward showing up for a trial and enrolling

If the answer is no, the system knows not to invest further energy. That isn’t lost business — that’s smart business.

You’re not missing students by ignoring blocked calls. You’re ensuring your staff, your automation, and your ad dollars only serve parents who are actually willing to engage.

Think of it like your trial class process. You don’t accept anyone who refuses to fill out a waiver, refuses to provide contact information, or refuses to engage in the sign-up. Why? Because they’re not serious.

The same principle applies here. A blocked number isn’t a prospect — it’s someone who has opted out of being served. By filtering them, you’re not shutting the door on opportunity. You’re pre-qualifying the right kind of opportunity.

This isn’t harsh. It’s discipline. And discipline is what turns chaotic businesses into scalable, profitable schools.

The Marketing Viewpoint: Invest Automation Where It Counts

Your energy, time, and automation flows should go toward families who want to connect — not anonymous shadows.

• The families you attract via Facebook, Google, your site — those do not block their numbers
• They expect confirmations, reminders, quick replies
• By filtering out anonymous calls, RevConnect360 keeps your automation focused on real prospects
• You won’t have half-baked processes (some people get texts, some don’t) — that inconsistency weakens trust

As Russell Brunson once put it:

“A confused mind always says no.” If your system is inconsistent, potential parents get confused. Filtering hidden calls helps maintain clarity and consistency.

It’s Industry Norm: Other Platforms & Telecom Systems Do This Too

You’re not alone in rejecting or filtering hidden callers — multiple systems, VoIP platforms, and telephone networks do this by default:

• Anonymous Call Rejection (network feature): Many landline and VoIP systems have built-in anonymous call rejection (ACR). If caller ID is blocked, the system automatically rejects the call or plays a message that says, “This call cannot be accepted unless you unblock your number.”
• Nextiva (VoIP provider): Offers anonymous call rejection as a feature to block calls without caller ID.
• GoTo Connect (business VoIP): Includes call screening features that filter unnecessary calls, including “No Caller ID.”
• Zoom Phone (enterprise): Provides the option to block all calls from “Unknown Caller.”
• AT&T: Offers Anonymous Call Rejection (*77), which tells callers to unblock and call again.
• Xfinity: Automatically rejects calls with blocked ID if the feature is enabled.
• TDS Telecom: Explicitly prevents calls dialed with *67 from going through.
• FCC Regulations: Require businesses making legitimate calls to transmit caller ID information.

These systems don’t make exceptions for anonymous callers. They all follow the same principle: no caller ID, no service.

Legal & Telecom Foundations in Your Favor

Some deeper background that reinforces your position:

• Truth in Caller ID Act (2009): Makes it illegal to spoof caller ID with intent to defraud or harm. Blocking is allowed, but spoofing is not.
• STIR / SHAKEN protocols: Validate caller IDs; calls without verification may be flagged or filtered.
• FCC call-blocking guidelines: Endorse consumer and business tools to reject anonymous or suspicious calls.

This proves RevConnect360 isn’t making up rules — it’s following the same standards telecom giants use.

The Paradigm Shift: Phone = Pipeline, Not Just Ringing Box

In the past, school owners would chase every ring, scribble notes, or hope for callbacks. That’s how you lose leads.

Now: a call without a number is unusable data. No text, no follow-up, no nurture. Chasing blocked calls is like sparring against an invisible opponent—you sweat, but you never score.

The smarter model: only accept calls you can follow up on. That’s how you turn your phone into a conversion engine instead of a distraction.

Transparency & Integrity

You should lead with honesty and clarity. Here’s how you or your staff can state it:

“Because we send confirmations and reminders by SMS, only calls from numbers we can text are answered. If a parent hides their caller ID, they can still speak — but the system can’t send them texts or follow-up workflows. It’s for your protection.”

That message reassures prospects: you’re not rejecting people out of arrogance — you’re running disciplined business operations.

The Choice Every School Owner Must Make

You can decide:

• Do you chase every possible call — even those you can’t follow up on?
• Or do you set the system so your energy, staff, and automation are only spent on leads who allow communication?

When you reject or filter anonymous calls, you don’t lose real students — you save your system from noise. That’s alignment with how telecom, VoIP, and enterprise systems operate.

Services and References

Here are just a few of the companies and platforms that block anonymous or blocked calls as a standard practice. These examples show that what we’re doing isn’t unusual — it’s industry norm.

• Nextiva – Offers Anonymous Call Rejection, a built-in feature to block calls without caller ID. This protects businesses from wasting time on spam or unqualified callers.
• GoTo Connect – Provides call screening tools, including automatic rejection of “No Caller ID” calls, to ensure only real prospects get through.
• Zoom Phone – Includes the option to block or filter anonymous callers so staff time is reserved for real customer interactions.
• AT&T – Offers the *77 Anonymous Call Rejection feature, requiring callers to unblock their number before the call goes through.
• Xfinity (Comcast) – Allows users to automatically reject calls from blocked or unknown numbers as part of their call management suite.
• TDS Telecom – Explicitly prevents calls made with *67 (blocked ID) from reaching the line, requiring callers to reveal their number.
• FCC Guidelines – The Federal Communications Commission actively supports and encourages blocking tools that filter out anonymous, spam, or suspicious calls.