How to Create a Schedule

Before You Start

A schedule contacts leads on your behalf. Before
creating one, decide three things:

1. How leads enter the schedule. Usually via a web form submission, CSV import, or the leads API.
2. What actions the schedule performs. A sequence of dial, wait, webhook, lead-modification, and other steps.
3. Which Offer the calls route through. Outbound calls placed by a schedule route through the offer's buyer configuration just like inbound calls.

Step 1: Open the New Schedule Wizard

In the left sidebar choose Setup System -> Schedules
to open /schedules. Click the New Schedule button.
The wizard at /schedules/new requires only three
fields:

• Name (required) - pre-populated with New Schedule YYYY-MM-DD. Replace with a descriptive name.
• Select Offer (required) - the schedule routes its outbound calls through this offer's call flow and buyer configuration. The dropdown searches your existing offers; create the offer first if it does not yet exist.
• Schedule Type - either Contact Caller Schedule (the default - dials/SMSes consumers directly) or Lead Distribution Schedule (forwards leads to other schedules based on filter criteria). Schedule Type cannot be changed after creation.

An optional Manage Filters link lets you scope which
leads the schedule will accept.

Click Next Step. The schedule is created with a
fresh database id and you are redirected to
/schedules/:id/edit.

Step 2: Configure the Schedule from the Edit Dashboard

The edit page is a dashboard of cards. Each card opens
an inline editor. The cards in display order:

• Contact Lead Actions - the ordered sequence of actions the schedule executes against each lead. Click the card or its New Action link to add actions.
• When Does The Schedule End - triggers that stop the schedule for a given lead (conversion reached, max attempts, etc.).
• End Of Schedule Actions - actions executed when a schedule terminates for a lead (final webhook, status update, etc.).
• Suppression & Blacklists - attach Suppression Lists, enable TrackDrive Blacklist enforcement, TCPA Shield, and Blacklist Alliance checks.
• Outbound Call Settings - dialing number, Instant Agent toggle, Skip DNC Numbers, Skip Mobile Numbers.
• Lead Submission & SMS Options - SMS Sending Number Pool, agent approval requirement, contact field validation, default-schedule flag, traffic- source-required flag.
• Schedule Hours Of Operation - the daylight and callback windows (defaults: Daylight Open 0800, Daylight Close 2059, Callbacks Open 0800, Callbacks Close 2059). The schedule will not dial outside its configured hours.

Step 3: Add Contact Lead Actions

Click Contact Lead Actions then New Action. The
action catalog presented includes:

Place A Call, Send SMS, Schedule A Callback, Wait For,
Webhook POST, Manage Zoho CRM, Modify Lead, Data
Append, Restart Schedule, Add To Schedule, Block Lead,
Opt-Out Lead, Choice, FTP Upload, AWS S3 Upload,
Mailchimp, Sengrid, Mailgun, Infusionsoft.

A common cadence for a contact-caller schedule is:

1. Place A Call - dial the lead's phone number through the selected offer.
2. Wait For - pause for a configured duration before retrying.
3. Additional Place A Call steps to form a retry cadence.
4. Modify Lead to mark attempt counts or update lead state.
5. Choice as a terminal branch.

Use Import Actions instead of New Action to copy an
action list from another schedule.

Step 4: Test the Schedule

Before pointing production traffic at the schedule:

1. Click API Token & Examples at the top of the schedule edit page. This opens /schedules/:id/submit_leads_help and reveals the schedule's lead_token along with copy-ready Bash, PHP, Instapage, and Javascript examples.
2. Submit one test lead with your own phone number using the example URL.
3. Open the lead at /leads/:id and watch the schedule advance in real time as each action executes.

Step 5: Start the Schedule

The schedule edit page has top-bar buttons: Start,
Pause, Edit, Duplicate, Destroy. A
schedule that has never been started, or one that is
currently paused, will not dial even if leads enroll.
Click Start when you are ready for the schedule to
begin contacting leads.

If you see a banner reading "This schedule can't be
processed. The schedule's business hours are not open!"
either wait until the schedule's configured hours, or
adjust Schedule Hours Of Operation for testing.