If you've activated the SMS & Inbound Calling addon (included in the Growth or Operations plans), you can text leads both manually and automatically in LeadSimple. You can also build these texts into your workflows (recommended) or send one-off texts to a lead.

We'll talk about all of these ways in this article.

Note: In order to text, you must have an agent number provisioned and assigned to you. Each user who will be using this addon needs their own provisioned number. Learn how to do that here. 3 numbers are included with the addon, but you can purchase extra as necessary.

Here is a video of the steps covered in this article.

1. Send a One-Off SMS Manually

Navigate to your lead list and click on a lead in the list. Click the button labeled "SMS" in the action bar. This will open a window where you can compose your text message.

NOTE: You must have an agent number assigned to you to send text messages. Without a provisioned number, texting tasks will appear with a red text icon and require manual intervention.

Text From: The agent number you want to send from (there will only be one option if you have only one agent number assigned to you).
Text To: The lead's mobile number you want to text. NOTE: You won't be able to send a text to the lead if they don't have a mobile number.
Message: The content of your text message.

Compose your message and click "Send". The text will be sent to the lead immediately and will appear in the activity feed.

This message will be tracked in the activity section of the lead record just like emails and outbound calls are.

1.2 Send SMS Manually with Template

To save time you can write SMS templates for common text messages and then send them manually using virtually the same steps above.

To Create a Template
Click the settings icon in the upper right corner. The SMS Templates page will then be in the sidebar on the left.

Click on "Text Message Templates" to open the page where you can create a new template.

From there, click "Create Template" or "Add Template" to start building your text message template. Just give it a name, enter your message content, and click Save. Once saved, the template will appear on the Text Message Templates page for future use.

To edit a template, just click on it, edit as needed, then save.

To Use a Template

Click "Text" on a lead's record
Click the "Use Template" button, and select a template. This will insert the template into the editor. Click "Send" and you're done.
(Like email templates Text Message templates can contain merge tags with personal information about the lead like their name or property address.)

2. Send SMS Automatically with Template

You can send text messages automatically by adding them to workflows.

You'll first need to create an SMS template as described above.

Now, go to the workflow of one of your stages and click the blue SMS step to add a text message to the workflow.
Next, attach your new sms template to it.

Last, assign this task to a user who has an inbound number assigned to them since text messages can only come from users with inbound phone numbers. If tasks are incorrectly assigned to users without provisioned numbers, these tasks will need to be manually processed after reassignment.

Set the task to "Auto".

Last, assign this task to a user who has an inbound number (LeadSimple Provisioned number ) assigned to them, since text messages can only come from users with inbound phone numbers.

2. Send One-Off SMS Automatically with Template

While we recommend adding automated text messages to your workflows, it's also possible to schedule a one-off automatic text message.

From the lead's page, click "+ Add Task."

Click on "Task Type," then select "Sms."

Click on "Attach Template" and select your desired template. (See above on how to create a text template if needed).

Choose your template.

Click "Assigned To" to select the assignee. Assign this task to a user who has an inbound number assigned to them since text messages can only come from users with inbound phone numbers. If tasks are incorrectly assigned to users without provisioned numbers, these tasks will need to be manually processed after reassignment.

Check the box next to "Send Automatically When Due."

Click "Assigned To" to select the assignee. Assign this task to a user who has an inbound number assigned to them since text messages can only come from users with inbound phone numbers.

Select your due date and time.

Click Save.

Now the task will automatically send at the due date/time you selected.

Users can respond to that text either on the lead's page in LeadSimple or directly from their email inbox.

3. Troubleshooting Texting Issues

3.1 Common Causes of Texting Failures

When texting issues occur in LeadSimple, they typically stem from one of these causes:

Unprovisioned Phone Numbers:
- When a user is not assigned a provisioned LeadSimple number, texting functionality is disabled. Instead, the system generates a manual email task as a workaround, marked with a red text icon.
Improper User Assignment:
- Texting functionality is tied to the user and their provisioned LeadSimple number. If reassignment occurs (e.g., changing the lead to another user with a provisioned number), the system may not retroactively correct prior issues, requiring manual intervention.
Special Use Cases:
- Some users may operate with unique setups, leading to different configuration requirements that might not adhere to the standard provisioned number setup.

3.2 Resolving Texting Issues

Step-by-Step Resolutions

Verify Provisioned Number Assignment:
- Access your LeadSimple profile settings to ensure a provisioned texting number is assigned to your user account.
Manual Texting for Highlighted Tasks:
- Locate the red text icon in your tasks list.
- Click on the icon to review the corresponding message, and select "Send" to manually dispatch the text. Note that this step only applies if a lead was assigned to a user without a provisioned number at an earlier stage.
Reassign Leads After Provisioning:
- If reassignments led to texting errors, review all newly assigned leads and manually fix individual texting tasks as needed.
For Special Cases:
- Confirm with your system administrator or support team if your account setup follows standard processes. Some setups may demand custom solutions based on organizational requirements.

2.2 Receiving Text Messages

When a lead sends a text message to an inbound phone number, the user assigned to that number will receive an email with the content of the text message. The name of the lead will be listed as the sender.