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How to Build an Incoming Call Flow

Use the Flow Builder to direct smrtPhone on where to route your inbound calls

Ellen Sluder avatar
Written by Ellen Sluder
Updated over a week ago

One of the best things about smrtPhone is the total control you have over how incoming calls and texts are handled, improving your ability to create an optimal customer experience.

You tell the system how to route inbound communications by designing Call Flows and SMS Flows and assigning phone numbers to them.

  • You can assign multiple numbers to a single flow

  • Each phone number can only be assigned to one call flow and one SMS/text flow

It's helpful to think of Flows as a series of questions the system will ask to determine how to route the call/text and you get to program the answers - all of which will happen in an instant.

When a call or a text comes in on a specific phone number, your smrtPhone system will look for the Flow assigned to that number and do what you've programmed it to do.

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Where You Manage Flows

You will find our drag-and-drop Flow Builder in the Admin Menu, under Call Flows.


How to Build a Call Flow

  1. Once in the Call Flow Dashboard, click the green ✅ Create a New Flow button from the upper right corner.

  2. Name your flow something meaningful (you can rename it later if needed) and click Create Flow.

  3. Drag the desired Applet from the right to the dotted-line boxes within the call flow dialogue window beneath where it says When a call begins, what should we do?

  4. The Applet dialogue window will appear below; make sure you set all of the options exactly as you want them.

  5. If you want to use more than one Applet in a flow, you can let the finished Applet dialogue window open and drag the next one over.

  6. You can Save your flow at any time during the process by pressing the green ✅ Save Flow button.

  7. To close the Flow Builder, click the gray Close button from the right-hand menu.

  8. To delete an Applet from a flow, use the ⛔️ icon on the applet and confirm you would like to delete it.

  9. To replace/swap apples, you can simply drag a new Applet on top of an existing one and confirm you would like to replace it.

The Applet options available for Call Flows include:

  • 📞 Dial Applet - Ring a user or team of users

  • 👥 Round Robin - Ring a team, one user at a time

  • 🔢 IVR Phone Menu - Present customizable options to the caller

  • Voicemail - Send inbound communication to a message inbox

  • 🗣️ Greeting - Set a recorded message that automatically plays (such as listing hours of operation)

  • Business Hours - Determine if different actions/routing should happen at different times of day/days of the week

  • 📵 DNC- Gives your callers the power to unsubscribe or opt-out from your calls and texts

  • ☎️ Hangup - Disconnects the call

pick an applet

Another option for building a custom call flow is to take an existing call flow, duplicate it, and make any needed adjustments.


How to Build an SMS/Text Flow

To build an SMS Flow, you must already have a Call Flow enabled.

Once you create the Call Flow, you will see a pop-up notice leading you to the Flow builder menu.

Of course, if you already are in the Flow builder menu, click the red Create an SMS Flow button affiliated with the desired Call Flow. Similar to how the Call Flow Builder works, you simply drag the SMS Applets into the dialogue box.

The Applet options available for Call Flows include:

  • Business Hours - Determine if different actions/routing should happen at different times of day/days of the week

  • 📨 Save & Reply - Send the message to a specific user or team inbox and send a pre-programmed automated message back

  • ✉️ SMS Inbox - Send the message to a specific user or team inbox

  • 🔡 Menu - Give customers options

Call flows or SMS flows that are empty cannot be saved.


After You Have Built a Flow

After you have built a call flow or an SMS flow, you must test it to make sure it behaves the way you expect.

Sometimes you may have missed a simple setting or things need to be adjusted to create the best caller and smrtPhone user experience.

Please keep in mind some important information:

  • You cannot assign a flow that doesn't have both Call and SMS configured

  • Empty flow can not be saved

  • When a Call flow is created, you will be redirected also to create an SMS flow (if not already configured) and the other way around.

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