What is a DID number?
A DID (direct inward dialing) number is a phone number that routes incoming calls straight to a specific person, team or device on a phone system.
Why it matters for sales teams
With DIDs, each rep can have a personal number. Prospects who call back reach that rep directly, without a receptionist, a menu or an extension. Calls can also be tracked by number, so a team can see which rep or campaign a call belongs to.
In older office setups, DIDs pointed to extensions on a PBX, often delivered over a SIP trunk. In cloud phone systems they are usually virtual numbers that can ring a softphone, a mobile app or a desk phone.
Example
A company has a main line and gives each SDR a DID. A prospect who missed a call from a rep dials that number back, and the rep's phone rings, not the front desk.
DID vs extension
An extension is only reachable by calling the main number first and then dialing or asking for the extension. A DID is a full phone number in its own right, so it can also be used as the rep's outbound caller ID.