In today's fast-paced business landscape, every missed opportunity can mean a lost business. That's why optimizing your phone system to ensure seamless call handling is paramount. Further offers one such feature that can significantly enhance your sales process and client experience.

Imagine this scenario: a prospect calls a community, eager to inquire about availability and pricing.  However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the sales representative is unavailable to pick up the call. Without an effective call redirection system in place, that valuable lead might slip through the cracks, leading to missed opportunities and potential revenue loss.

In this article, we'll delve into the benefits of leveraging Further’s Phone Assistant - Call Screening that redirects calls after the initial recipient fails to answer. Further offers the possibility to redirect calls to another available team member, a dedicated sales line, or Further can take back the phone call, restart the Phone System and let the automated process guide the prospect. This feature ensures that every incoming call is promptly addressed, maximizing sales opportunities and enhancing user satisfaction. 

In this article we’ll go over both how to set up and enable Call Screening and how to successfully restart Phone Assistant when there’s an unsuccessful connection to the community.

• Set up Call Screening
• Restart Phone Assistant in Dialog Flow

Note: Call Screening should be used in addition to Call Whisper Text, allowing the salesperson to receive instructions on the call.  This feature can only be activated by Corporate users. 

Setup Call Screening

NOTE: Call Screening can only be used when the Phone Assistant uses a simple Call Forwarding flow (not the IVR flow).

Locate the Phone flow for the community you want to update. If you need help finding your flow, see the article here. 

Click the Dialog Flows tab. 

Scroll to the module that provides the initial lead options. You should see Look For Sales and Something Else as options. 

Click Something Else to see the chat flow options. 

Under the existing module, click Insert Step. 

For Type, select Dial Community and click the green checkmark at the top. 

Make a note of the Module #. 

Scroll back up and click the Related Communities tab at the top of the page. 

Choose the desired community from the left menu. Use the search bar to find a community by name.

Scroll to the bottom of the page. Toggle the Use Call Screening switch to the right to activate the feature. 

Locate the Chat Module Overrides section. Enter the following: 

• Phone Number - Enter the phone number that the declined or missed calls that will be sent.
• Contact Name - Enter the contact name of the person to whom the number belongs.
• Module - Use the dropdown to select the Module # you added to the chat flow. 

When you’re done, click Add Contact. 

When you’re done click Publish Changes at the top right of the page.

Restart Phone Assistant in Dialog Flow

NOTE: The Restart Phone Assistant feature can only be used when the Phone Assistant is using an IVR flow (not the simple Call Forwarding).

Locate the Phone flow for the community you want to update. If you need help finding your flow, see the article here. 

Click the Dialog Flows tab. 

Scroll through the existing modules and look for the one that will connect a lead to the community. Click the arrow for Connect with Community.

Make sure the module underneath has a Dial Community tag. Click Add next step underneath this module.

In the new module, click the Add Option button.

Now enter the following information in the fields: 

• Type - Select Options in the dropdown.
• Text - Enter text letting the lead know there was a problem connecting to the community and that they will be brought back to the menu to try again.
• Option Title  - Enter a name for the option in the blue bar. 
• Jump to Module - Click the dropdown and select the module in the flow that you want the lead to go back to to try and capture their information.

When you’re done, click the green arrow at the top to save the new module.

Click Save in the top right of the page.

In the confirmation window select Save and Publish and then Confirm. 

Now, if a lead cannot connect with your community, they will be brought back to the menu options to try again or choose a different path.