Authorizing and Adding Websites for Use in SAS Flex
On Specialty Answering Service's advanced service level, agents can pop out directly to our customer's websites to help schedule appointments, submit quotes, process donations, and place orders.
In this article we'll show you how to:
Authorizing a Website
Before an external website can be accessed by our operators, it needs to be authorized by the SAS team to ensure functionality.
1
Within SAS Flex, go to your
User icon in the upper right-hand corner and click
Settings.
2
On the main Settings page, scroll down to the Scripts section and select
Authorize websites.
3
Next, click on the
Add website button as shown below.
4
In the pop-up window that appears on your page, you will be asked to enter the
Display Name of the website as well as the website’s
URL address. If your website requires us to enter a username and password to access it, you can use the
Require username and password toggle, then enter in the applicable information.
You can also choose to
Append URL with collected data to push variables from your script over to your website. For more information, scroll down to the last section in this article.
5
When you are finished, click
Save.
The Authorized Website request will automatically move to a Pending status. Send our support team an email at
service@specialtyansweringservice.net, and let us know how you'd like us to use your website. We will review the request within 24-48 business hours and follow up to let you know if the site has been approved or if programming changes are required.
Reasons Why a Website May Not be Authorized
Typically, most websites are approved to use by SAS. However, there are some circumstances where websites are not approved, including the following:
- Restricted Content: SAS cannot go out to any website to make purchases of marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, or any other restricted products.
- Overly Complicated: SAS cannot go out to any website that is overly complicated. Simple is best!
- Login Restrictions: SAS cannot go out to any website that is restricted to one user at a time. Since multiple agents may be handling your calls at the same time, a website needs to allow multiple logins.
Creating a Website Block
Once your website has been authorized, you can create a Website block. In our example, we want agents to use our website to submit quotes. So, we'll configure the Website block accordingly.
1
Within SAS Flex, go to the
Builder icon on the left-side menu. Then select
Blocks.
2
From the Block Templates list, find and select the
Website block.
3
Once the block populates on your screen, you'll see the
Block Type along the top of the block, and a space to add a
Block Label next to it. Block Labels will help us identify the block within the system later on. We named ours
Website - All Calls.
4
Under the
Receptionist tab, you can choose to stick with the default text, or feel free to customize what you want the operator to say to your callers.
5
Under the
Instructions tab, click the
Add instruction step button to begin adding instructions for the agents.
6
Within the pop-up, you'll see 3 sections; Heading, Instructions, and Additional Options. We will go over all 3 sections below.
Heading
The Heading section is for short instructions that don't require any additional information. You can think of each Heading as an individual step for the agents. For example, our 1st step will be to instruct the agent to select the Get Quote icon on the website. Because that is the only instruction for step 1, we will leave the Instructions section blank.
You do not need to add numbers in front of each Heading. The system will add them for you.
After adding your first step, click the Save Instruction button in the bottom right-hand corner of the block.
To continue adding additional steps, click the Add instruction step as shown below.
Instructions
The Instructions section is for instructions that might require a bit more depth. For example, our 2nd step will be to instruct the agent to enter the caller's contact information. We will put that instruction into the Heading section. Within the Instructions section, we will add the information that we want agents to enter into the form. In this case, it will be the caller's name and email address.
When you are finished with your second step, go ahead and click Save Instruction again to be brought back to the main Website block. Then, click Add Instruction step to continue adding more instructions.
Additional options
This section allows you to add any additional pieces of information within a particular step. For example, in step 2 we are instructing the agent to enter the caller's name and email. Under the Additional options section, we can activate the Note option to add a note for the agent to let them know the email they enter must be a valid address (i.e., don't enter "none@none.com")
Other additional options include;
- Agent speech: This option allows you to add text that you want the agents to say to your callers while on the website.
- Images: This option allows you to add an image to go along with your instructions so that agents can easily identify a specific part of your website, like a Submit Quote button.
- FAQs: This option allows you to associate any FAQs that you've added to your account with the website so that agents can easily access that information while on your site.
Below is an example of what the completed website instructions will look like for an agent, including an example of if a website requires a username and password to enter.
7
Under the
Options tab, select your website from the
Authorized website drop down.
8
Next move on to the
Logic tab. Here you'll see the default logic option agents will use if the website is unreachable. Click the
Add another logic option button to add more options. In our example we'll add an option for when a quote was submitted successfully, and an option for callers who might refuse to continue.
Feel free to use
tooltips and icons to help agents understand and navigate your calls more efficiently.
Keep in mind any additional logic options you create will need to have their own subsequent steps built into the script as well. For our purposes we've
created Closing blocks for each of the 3 options listed above, which we'll input into the script later.
9
The
Collector tab will have pre-set data that cannot be changed.
10
The
Used In tab will show you if this block is being used anywhere within the script. Since this is a brand new script block, it's not yet being used anywhere.
11
When you are finished editing your Website block, click
Save.
Adding a Website to your Script
Once your website has been authorized and your Website block has been created, it can be added to your script.
1
Within SAS Flex, go to the Builder icon on the left-side menu. Then select Scripts.
2
From the main Scripts page, select the script you wish to update.
3
On the next page, you'll see your script workflow. It should look something like this:
4
In our example, we want to replace our current Closing block with our Website block so agents can submit a quote. So, we'll hover over our
All Calls section and click the
Gear icon to edit.
5
Within the Section Editor, scroll down to the current Closing block and click
Remove.
6
On the left-hand side of your screen, search the
Custom Blocks Library for your website block and drag it over to the Section editor.
7
Click
Save. Your script should now look something like this:
8
Now that the Website block has been added, we'll need to add the subsequent Closing sections that will match up to the website's Logic options. We've already created our Closing blocks and sections, but if you haven't, check out
these instructions.
At the top left-hand side of your screen, click the
+ sign to
Add Sections. Then locate your Closing sections and drag them out.
9
Link up each circle within the Logic Option to its appropriate Closing. When you are done, click
Save.
Removing a Website From your Script
If you no longer want agents to go out to your website, it can easily be removed. First, we'll need to remove the website block from your script.
1
Within SAS Flex, go to the Builder icon on the left-side menu. Then select Scripts.
2
From the main Scripts page, select the script you wish to update.
3
On the next page, you'll see your script workflow. It should look something like this:
4
In our example, we want to remove our current Website block and replace it with a Closing block. So, we'll hover over our
All Calls section and click the
Gear icon to edit.
5
Within the Section Editor, scroll down to the current Website block and click
Remove.
6
On the left-hand side of your screen, search the
Custom Blocks Library for your Closing block and drag it over to the Section editor.
7
Click
Save. Your script should now look something like this:
8
Once your script has been updated, you can delete the website from your account by going to the
Authorized Websites section within your portal's
Settings. Click the
3-dot menu icon next to the website you wish to remove, and click
Delete.
Adding an Append URL to an Authorized Website
If you're having issues where the data from previous calls is auto-populating on your site, or if you want to have information auto populate onto a form after agents have collected it within the script, you can add an Append URL which allows our agents to pass information to your website via query string without having to input the same information twice.
1
Click on the Website you wish to added the Append URL to. Next, copy and paste the following query string in the
Append URL field, as shown below. The Append URL field can push any fields that the user's website allows, but for our example we'll push through the caller's name and email address.
?first_name={{first_name}}&last_name={{last_name}}&email={{email_address}}
