Practise the first message on yourself before going live

A lead is texted once, so the first real one shouldn’t be where you find a typo. Practising runs the whole thing for real, with one difference: each new lead’s first message comes to your phone, and the lead gets nothing.

The wording itself is written in the First message editor, the first row on the Workflows tab. See Write the first message a new lead gets.

Set up practice mode

To start practising:

1. Open Inbox, then Workflows.
2. Press Setup on the list header and type your own number under Send tests to.
3. Press First message at the top of the list.
4. Turn on the switch at the top of the editor.
5. Set Messages go to to Me, for now.
6. Press Save changes.

Once a district admin has Texting on and the sheet is being watched, the panel at the top turns amber, its heading reads Practising, so replies come to you, not the lead, and the row on the Workflows list carries a Practising chip. Until then the heading stays Automatic replies are off and the amber line under it says what is stopping it. Type the number the way you’d write it to a friend. Singapore numbers don’t need +65.

Caution

Practice messages go to the number under Send tests to. With that box empty, no first message is queued at all, and the Activity tab says test mode has no test number set.

Messages go to only appears while the switch is on. Nothing is sent from either setting until a district admin has Texting on for the district, and the panel says so when it’s off.

What still happens while you practise

Practising changes who the first message goes to. The rest carries on as normal:

• You’re still told about each new lead on WhatsApp.
• Each new lead still becomes a card in your pipeline.
• The first message goes to your phone, from the business number, with the same wait and the same pauses between parts.

What doesn’t happen is anything that needs the lead to have heard from you, so no conversation opens in Conversations. The Activity tab logs each one as sent in test mode, with the lead getting nothing.

A reply rule on the same business follows the same setting. Its reply goes to you, and the lead gets nothing.

Send one test on demand

You don’t have to wait for a lead. Under the wording in the First message editor, the button reads Send a test to and your number.

Press it and your default wording goes to that number straight away, filled in with the newest row of your sheet. It arrives in parts, paced the way a real lead would get it. The toast names the number it came from.

A few things to know about this button:

• It sends the default wording, from the box under Everyone the sources missed. A source’s own wording can’t be tested this way.
• It sends the words only. Pictures and files attached to the message aren’t included.
• You can send 20 tests an hour. Past that, the app asks you to try again in an hour.

It works whether the switch is on or not, so you can test before practice mode is even set.

Check these before you go live

Read Their lead sees beside each wording. A name that was dropped, or respelt, is explained right under the preview.

Open Every source on this sheet. A tag with no wording of its own, and no default to fall back on, is sent nothing at all.

Look at Tell me on WhatsApp. If it’s the number your alerts come from, the editor warns you, because your phone would never ring.

Then wait for a real lead or two while practising, and read what arrived on your phone.

Go live

1. Set Messages go to to The lead.
2. Press Save changes.

The heading changes to New leads are being texted automatically, the panel turns green, and the row’s chip reads Live.

Note that leads who arrived while you were practising aren’t texted when you switch. Their rows were already read, and their first message went to you.

FAQ

Does practising use up the leads in my sheet?

Yes, in the sense that those rows are done. Each lead who arrives while you practise gets their card and your alert, and their first message goes to you. Switching to The lead later doesn’t send it to them.

Can I practise a source’s own wording?

Yes, but not with the test button. Leave practice mode on until a lead with that tag arrives, and its wording comes to your phone.

I pressed the test button and nothing came. What should I check?

The number under Send tests to, then the business’s WhatsApp number. The toast says what went wrong when the send fails. See Connect or reconnect a WhatsApp number.

Who can switch a business from practice to live?

The advisor who owns the business, or a district admin. Texting for the whole district is a district admin’s.