New! Outreach Campaigns and Expanded Outbound Calling

We’re excited to announce more robust outreach capabilities that are customized to the unique needs of your business and automated for hands-off workflows.

Smith.ai's receptionists have been available for one-off call requests for years. Now, we're offering outbound calling solutions that put more control in your hands.

Here's what's new:

1. Outreach Campaigns: Our receptionists are now able to make calls on your behalf to recipients sent to us via a spreadsheet or our outbound API.
   
   You can arrange the pace, timing, and number of calls; provide the verbiage to use and instructions to follow; specify the on-call actions to take (such as transfers or appointment bookings); and select the start date. Additionally, you can monitor progress in the new Campaigns tab of your Smith.ai dashboard.
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2. Expanded Outbound Calling: Our receptionists can now make calls on your behalf to recipients you request on a one-off basis.
   
   You can request a call-back from a call summary either via the call summary email or the call history in your dashboard. Additionally, you can easily identify one-off outbound calls from the call history and review the summary of that call.

How outbound calls benefit your business

Answering and qualifying inbound callers is critical, but it’s only part of a strong customer engagement strategy. Smith.ai's receptionists can make a significant impact on your business when we initiate calls on your behalf.

By making outbound calls, we can help business owners and operators achieve a wide range of objectives, including but not limited to:

• Immediate lead follow-up (e.g., calling people who fill out an online contact form)
• Routine calls to existing clients (e.g., appointment reminders, work status updates)
• Prospective client engagement and nurturing (e.g., calls made to event registrants or webinar attendees)
• Information gathering and appointment booking for prospects from lead-gen platforms (e.g., Yelp, Thumbtack, Nextdoor)
• Payment requests for clients with past-due invoices (without the 30-50% fee that collection agencies charge)
• Review requests to boost online reputation efforts (e.g., calls to recent satisfied customers)

These activities can be completed one-time, for a specific duration, or on a recurring basis without a set "end date" — to as many contacts as you wish. All you need is an active Virtual Receptionists plan and a set of instructions for our agents, and we can begin making calls within days, if not sooner.

Clients are delighted by Smith.ai's outbound calling capabilities. Aaron R. Winston of Express Legal Funding had this to say:

"Smith.ai has been a game-changer for us. They expertly handle the outbound calls to individuals who complete an online application on our website. They took the time to really learn about our company and its services, so we have total confidence when they do outreach on our behalf. Smith.ai is way more than a worthwhile investment for us. They are a true business partner, and have become an important factor in our success as a provider of low-cost pre-settlement funding."

Custom settings for your outbound calling campaigns

One-time call-backs have individualized instructions attached to them, so those are straightforward. Tell us the objective (e.g., schedule a consultation with this lead), when to call, and what to do if we can't reach the person, and we'll take care of it to your specifications (more on that here).

Campaigns present more options for maximum control and flexibility. You can:

• Set up a sequence of 2+ calls (e.g., first contact, second follow-up, third follow-up)
• Set a time delay between each call in the sequence (e.g., 4 hours, 2 days, 3 weeks, 1 year)
• Include instructions that require add-on services, like appointment booking, payment collection, post-call email/SMS messages, intake form completion)
• Specify what actions to take if the recipient is unreachable on any attempt (e.g., leave a voicemail)
• Determine if and when call transfers should be initiated to you and your staff (e.g., if we're calling leads at 7 p.m., it's up to you if we interrupt dinnertime)
• Share fixed lists of recipients to call or provide an ongoing stream of recipients (e.g., via web form submissions)
• Show your Smith.ai number on caller ID, or choose to have your business number appear to the recipient

No matter what options you choose, our receptionists will provide the same professional, friendly, and helpful service you expect from Smith.ai. We'll sound just like we're "in-house" at your business. Only you will know you're getting a great deal on 24/7 outsourced sales and support services.

How to get started with outbound calls

An active Virtual Receptionists plan is required for our agents to begin making outbound calls for you; if you don't yet have a plan, schedule a free consultation so we may help you identify the best plan to meet your needs.

Campaigns

Whether you will be sending us a list of people to call via spreadsheet or API, starting a Campaign works the same way. Follow the instructions provided in our Outbound Calling help document, under “Getting Started.”

Call-backs and one-off call requests

For incidental, one-off outbound calls like call-backs, either use the "request a call back" link at the bottom of your call summary email, or use the "request a call" link on the call summary within your dashboard. Learn more about one-off outbound call-back requests.

How outbound calls appear in the dashboard

Once you’re up and running with outbound calls, you can track all outreach activities within the Smith.ai dashboard.

For Campaign-based calls

To monitor activities related to Campaign-based calls, go to the Campaigns tab of your dashboard and select an active Campaign to view (e.g., a Campaign that is not marked "draft").

Under the details and schedule sections, you'll see recipients. ‍Within the recipients section, you can:

• Monitor all outbound call attempts
• View upcoming activity (if you've scheduled calls to occur in the future, e.g., for multi-attempt Campaigns)
• See if we've been able to reach the person

Learn more about tracking the progress of outbound call campaigns.

For one-off calls and call-backs

If you've asked us to make one-off calls, you'll see these calls on the Call History tab of your dashboard. These calls are distinguished by a left-facing arrow, indicating they are outbound calls. You'll also see a status of "outbound call." Learn more about outbound call-backs.

Need more information? We’re here to help.

For more detailed information on any of the above features, and for answers to commonly asked questions, please refer to our Outbound Calling help documents or contact us at support@smith.ai. 

Get started with Smith.ai today

You have a business to run. Leave your leads in the hands of a top sales outsourcing provider: Smith.ai. As part of our Outreach Campaign services, we’ll work with you to create a custom call strategy so you can reach, engage, and convert more leads without having to lift a finger.

Book a 30-minute consultation to explore options that best suit your business needs.