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Smart Plans FAQs

Updated

Introduction

We get a lot of questions about our powerful tool, Smart Plans. Below is a great list of frequently asked questions about its usage. Looking for the main Smart Plans article? Go here!

 

List of FAQs

 

 

(1) If there are text messages included in a Smart Plan and the user reaches their daily text limit for the day, does the Smart Plan pause, or does the text simply fail to send?

The Smart Plan will auto-pause and the plan will then auto-restart the following day at the same time that there are additional texts that have become available. For more information regarding text packages, see Add Call or Text Packages(relink). 

 

 

(2) How do I exclude current contacts in the database from being added to Smart Plans?

If the Trigger could apply to contacts who already exist in the CRM, unchecking this box will exclude this Smart Plan from applying to those contacts. 

*Should you want to exclude more contacts, the criteria can always be edited.

 

(3) Is there a way to resubscribe Contacts to Smart Plans if the contact has accidentally unsubscribed?

To resubscribe for the contact, go to Contact Profile > Automations > Click on the gear icon at the top right. You can turn on the switch to resubscribe the contact to Smart Plans.

 

(4) Is there a limit to the number of Smart Plan steps that can be created?

No, there is no limit to the number of Smart Plan steps that can be created in a Smart Plan nor the duration of how long the Smart Plan can last.

 

(5) When building a behaviour-based Smart Plan using certain triggering behaviours, will the Smart Plan be triggered every time a contact leaves a message, saves a property, etc.? 

No. The Smart Plan will only trigger one time based on the selected triggering behaviour. It would only trigger again if it was deleted from a contact (must be done manually) and then the matching behaviour occurred again. Also, keep in mind that the triggering behaviours are an OR relationship which means that if a contact leaves a message requesting a viewing OR they save a property, the criteria here will be met. They do not have to do ALL of those (AND relationship) for the Smart Plan to trigger.

 

(6) When editing a Smart Plan, what happens to Smart Plan-generated tasks that have not yet been marked as complete?

If a Smart Plan is edited (changing the Smart Plan name, editing a step, etc.) while there are still tasks on contacts (created by that Smart Plan) that have not yet been marked as complete, the pending task will be deleted and a new task (triggered by the same Smart Plan step) will be created. For example, a contact, Beth, has a Smart Plan applied to her. Step 6 of the Smart Plan has created a task, "Call contact to follow up," but this task has not yet been marked as complete. A LoftyWorks user/agent edits the Smart Plan resulting in the task "Call contact to follow up" being deleted but replacing it with Task XYZ (Step 6 of the Smart Plan). 

 

(7) If my Smart Plan is set up to auto-apply to contacts but this isn't happening, what are some of the reasons this could be the case?

There could be multiple reasons that could cause this. Consider the following:

(a) Contact Type. Make sure to review the auto-apply criteria and that the contact type matches the contact that you expected the plan to apply to.

(b) Auto Apply Button. Make sure that the auto-apply button is turned on. This will indicate that the Smart Plan is set up to automatically apply to a contact. If it's not turned on, the plan will not automatically apply.

(c) Application Conditions. Review the application conditions

  • Contact Created = When the contact is brand new and created within LoftyWorks, this will trigger. You can use this to set up in combination with source/tag, etc. as well.
  • Contact Assignment Changed = When the contact is reassigned to another individual on the team. Manually assigning/reassigning to any role of the contact will trigger the application of this condition.
  • Contact Meets Specified Conditions = The plan will trigger when the contact matches the conditions that are selected. This trigger can apply to existing contacts.
  • Contact Permission Changed = The plan will trigger when the contact permission changes to match the setting.

(d) Time. Be sure to wait some time to see if the Smart Plan applies to a contact. The system might need a few minutes to catch up with a Smart Plan trigger.

 

(8) Why were texts/emails not sent out in the Smart Plan as they should have been?

Consider the following potential reasons:

(a) Check the text package. In most cases, the agent/user has reached the daily text limit so the auto texts failed to send. Normally, if this happens, the auto-texts will be sent the following day to continue the Smart Plan.

(b) Check subscription status (see Email Subscription Status). If the contact is unsubscribed from Smart Plans, the emails will not be sent out.

(c) Email status. If the contact does not have an email address or the email address is marked as "bounced" or "invalid", the auto email will be skipped in the Smart Plan and it will continue to the next step automatically.

(d) Phone status. If the contact does not have a phone number or the phone number is marked as "invalid", the auto text will be skipped in the Smart Plan and the next step will continue automatically. 

 

(9) Why is the Smart Plan paused with the error "Too many emails rejected"?

This error would appear on a contact profile, under Smart Plans, and directly below the Smart Plan name.

This pause reason is that the agent/user has too many bounced emails (see Bounced Emails). This agent/user will have their status marked as "bounced" and then the Smart Plans will pause automatically.

  • This Smart Plan will need to be enabled manually when paused
  • Wait two hours before reactivating
  • We also recommend checking the contact's email address because if it's not valid, it will likely cause the same issue to happen again.

 

(10) Can I copy/paste variables or do they have to be added via the drop-down menu?

Yes, you can copy the variables as long as they are in the same format as those from the drop-down menu. For example, "#lead_name#" is the right format while "Lead_Name#" and "#lead-name#" and "{lead_name}" are all wrong. Use the drop-down and copy/paste directly from that example to be sure they will still work.

 

(11) If the system has auto-paused Smart Plans, is there a way to restart them?

Yes, the Smart Plans can be resumed (a) using a built-in mass-resume feature or (b) manually resuming from a contact profile. Both cases are outlined in detail below.

(a) Situations where Smart Plans can be Mass-Resumed

  • The assignee is inactive: "Auto paused due to the assignee's account being inactive"
  • Auto-paused due to lack of variable data, especially when using auto email or auto-text tasks
  • Auto-paused due to system reasons: "Auto paused due to system exceptions. Please contact customer support and provide the contact's name for diagnosis" or "Auto paused due to delivery service exceptions. Please complete the task manually to continue the smart plan".
  • Auto-paused due to an invalid email address or phone number
  • Too many emails have bounced, the service will stop working for two hours and the Smart Plans will pause with the reason: "Too many emails rejected" (see above)

In these situations, you can resume the Smart Plans, see Smart Plans Overview - Pausing and Resuming Smart Plans for details.

(b) Situations, where Smart Plans can be Manually Resumed

  • Manually-paused: "This plan was paused manually."
  • Paused due to Smart Plan setting:
  • "Auto paused since the contact replied to emails"
  • "Auto paused since the contact texts a LoftyWorks number"
  • "Auto paused because an outbound call was logged as 'Talked'"
  • "Auto paused since the contact calls"
  • The daily text limit has been reached: "You have exceeded the daily limit. This auto text is scheduled to be sent out at the same time tomorrow."
  • Too many emails have bounced, the service will stop working for a two-hour period and the Smart Plans will pause with the reason: "Too many emails rejected" (see above)
  • The assignee is inactive: "Auto paused due to the assignee's account being inactive"
  • Auto-paused due to lack of variable data, especially when using auto email or auto-text tasks
  • Auto-paused due to system reasons: "Auto paused due to system exceptions. Please contact customer support and provide the contact's name for diagnosis" or "Auto paused due to delivery service exceptions. Please complete the task manually to continue the smart plan."

 

(12) Can I have one Smart Plan trigger multiple times for completion dates? 

Yes, this is possible but only when selecting Sales Progression Date/Lettings Application Date > "Completion Date". 

Here is where the completion date would appear on a Progression/Application as displayed on a contact profile:

If set up correctly, every time a progression has a "Completion Date" that is added and the other criteria is met, the Smart Plan will trigger (potentially multiple times if there are multiple progressions). 

If you want to have this plan applied to contacts that currently have progressions that match the criteria, you will want to turn this option on. However, in most scenarios, you will want the opposite so be sure to exclude currently applicable contacts.

 

(13) How do I use email and text variables?

Contact Variables can be found here when building an email template directly in a Smart Plan:

More information regarding contact and agent variables can be found in this article: Email and Text Variables(relink). 

 

(14) How does the "Branch" work?

With branch, you can choose different actions depending on whether the criteria is met. You choose "Closed Sales Progression - Exists" on the left and "Not met"  to the right. 

In the example above, you might be asking how we know whether the contact has closed progressions or not. You can check it in the contact's profile - Deals tab. If you ever want to view or manually add other info on a contact, navigate to a Contact Profile and click on the option to Edit Details:

Then, scroll down and you will find the fields that respond to most of these fields:

*IMPORTANT: If the field is blank and therefore the value to the field is "Unknown", the Smart Plan will simply go down the NO path.

 

(15) Can I use a Smart Plan to send out a monthly email newsletter?

Though the product is not designed for this as the main purpose, it is possible. Typically, a newsletter is related to the month that you are currently in so there is only one way within LoftyWorks to make sure the most current content is being sent out. 

Add a new Smart Plan and click on Contact Date:

You will only create one step to this Smart Plan and then you will need to come in and manually edit that step with the new content you want to send out every month. So, choose Auto Email and then put together the content that you want to send out. 

Once you turn this on and have it applied to contacts, it will trigger on the indicated day of the month. If you do not edit the content, it will send the same content out every single month. So, you will need to create a reminder to yourself (we recommend pre-defining some time on your calendar regularly) to come in and edit the email content. As long as you have edited the email content, it will send out the new stuff that you have put together once the trigger day comes around.

 

Alternative Option

An alternative to using LoftyWorks for newsletters is to consider setting up a newsletter campaign at MailChimp and then creating a trigger within LoftyWorks so that as soon as you add a contact to a group it sends them to the mailing list for MailChimp. For more information, see Connecting MailChimp to LoftyWorks.(relink) Keep in mind that requires a setup via Zapier.

 

(16)Can I add the same Smart Plan to a contact?


Yes, if "Auto Re-apply" is enabled on the Smart Plan, it will automatically apply to any contacts that meet the conditions, regardless of whether the Smart Plan has been applied to them already or not. You can also manually re-apply a Smart Plan to a contact.

 

(17)What do manual calls in the trigger below pertain to?

This originated from the suggestion to add a "New trigger: How long it has been since the last phone call", so by definition, the manual calls pertained to in the drop-down are calls made in the CRM. 

 

(18) Will automated texts from Smart Plans ALWAYS have the opt out information at the end or is it only with the first text sent? 

Automated texts from Smart Plans will include opt-out information to ensure compliance and give recipients the option to unsubscribe. If a contact opts out, they will not receive any further automated texts or emails from the Smart Plans. This opt-out option is typically included with each automated communication to maintain transparency and compliance with communication regulations.

 

Questions?

If you have any questions about this topic or anything else, please get in touch with our Support Team. You can email us at <Support@LoftyWorks.com> or call us on +44 330 321 3500.

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