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Portal User Guide

OAT Compliance FAQ

Welcome to the SmartAsset OAT (Outreach Automation Tool) Compliance FAQ

This guide addresses common compliance questions about OAT, a solution designed to help you manage and engage leads effectively. OAT streamlines your workflow with features like automated campaigns—a series of drip emails, text messages, and next calls designed to build your daily outreach call list—and CRM integration. It helps ensure all written communications are properly archived: emails are sent directly from your email address, and text messages are stored in the advisor’s email for easy record-keeping. For more information about OAT features, see the OAT User Guide.

1. Are my emails captured?

Section titled “1. Are my emails captured?”

Yes, emails sent through OAT are delivered directly from your email address so that they can be automatically captured by your existing email archiving system, such as Smarsh, Proofpoint, Global Relay, or Barracuda. OAT itself does not store or archive emails.

2. Do my emails send from my actual email address?

Section titled “2. Do my emails send from my actual email address?”

Yes, OAT uses protocols to send emails directly from your email address. Emails appear in your sent folder and utilize your existing email encryption and archiving systems.

3. Why do you need access to my email?

Section titled “3. Why do you need access to my email?”

OAT requires send and read permissions to your email account. However, the software never reads or stores your emails. Read permissions are only used as a stopping mechanism to detect responses from leads, allowing OAT to pause automated outreach when a lead replies.

4. How do you ensure texting compliance?

Section titled “4. How do you ensure texting compliance?”

OAT sends the advisors a monthly email with all text messages sent and received so they can be automatically captured by the advisors email archiving systems. Advisors can also opt-in for daily text message archiving and have the option to CC a separate email address if needed. Advisors can append disclosures to texts for compliance. Additionally, OAT processes opt-outs automatically when leads respond with “stop” or “unsubscribe”.

5. Does your system pull customer information from my CRM?

Section titled “5. Does your system pull customer information from my CRM?”

No, OAT integrates with your CRM in a one-way manner. It pushes data, such as lead information and notes, into your CRM to save advisors time and ensure accurate data entry. The only data OAT retrieves is metadata, used solely to let you specify fields, tags, or other organizational settings. No customer information is pulled or stored.

6. How do you handle opt-outs when a lead responds “stop” or “unsubscribe”?

Section titled “6. How do you handle opt-outs when a lead responds “stop” or “unsubscribe”?”

If a lead replies with “stop” or “unsubscribe,” OAT automatically stops all communication to that lead. This ensures compliance with opt-out and anti-spam regulations.

7. What phone number is used to call through your system?

Section titled “7. What phone number is used to call through your system?”

Calls are made using a dedicated OAT phone number, which advisors can select based on their preferences. OAT phone numbers are assigned to the Lead Source (e.g., SmartAsset) or Lead Type (typically segmented by the SmartAsset matching account’s zip code), ensuring leads see a local phone number for incoming calls.

Advisors can create a business profile through the OAT system, enabling them to:

  • Register CNAM (Caller ID) to display their business name on outgoing calls.
  • Set up SHAKEN/STIR certification to show calls as “verified,” reducing the chances of being flagged as spam.
  • Register for Voice Integrity to remediate spam labels with major phone carriers.

Once the business profile and caller ID are set up, the OAT phone number can display the advisor’s or firm’s preferred caller ID. If a lead calls the OAT number back, the call is forwarded to the advisor’s designated call forwarding number. Real-time text and email notifications can also alert advisors about incoming calls.

8. What phone number is used to text through your system?

Section titled “8. What phone number is used to text through your system?”

Text messages are sent through the same dedicated OAT phone number selected by the advisor. These numbers are assigned based on the Lead Source or Lead Type and are local to the lead’s area code for a more personal experience.

9. Can features be turned on or off independently?

Section titled “9. Can features be turned on or off independently?”

Yes, OAT allows features to be enabled or disabled based on advisor preferences. For instance, advisors can use the platform for automated email outreach while opting out of the text messaging features. Or, an advisor can use our automated outreach without connecting their CRM.