Adding Warm Transfers to Your SAS Flex Script Workflow

Adding a warm transfer option to your script is a perfect way to use a Specialty Answering Service agent as your personal virtual receptionist. During a warm transfer, the agent will place the caller on hold and attempt to transfer them through. If the recipient of the transfer is available, they can accept the call. Before the call gets transferred through, they will hear an automated message that says "We are now transferring the caller."

This tutorial will describe how to build a block into your script so that we are attempting to transfer callers to you 24 hours a day. We'll assume we already have a script created that gathers the caller's Name, Number, and what the call is Regarding. Let's add the Warm Transfer after the Regarding. 

Transfers incur a $0.10/minute fee starting from when the patch is connected to when the call is disconnected.

In this article we'll discuss:

If you are implementing a transfer in your script, it's a good idea to save your SAS forwarding number as a contact in your phone to ensure you don't miss any calls from our agents.

Creating the Warm Transfer Block

1
Select the Script Builder icon on the left-hand navigation menu.

2
On the next page, click the Blocks tab, then select Add new block. From the Blocks list under Block Templates, locate and select the Warm Transfer 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 Warm Transfer - All Calls. You can also choose to customize the text within the Receptionist speech box.

If you want to add a note for the agents, click the Add note check box and add your text accordingly.

4
Next, under the Options tab, you will need to decide where the transfer should go. There are three options; Transfer to Profile Number,  Transfer according to warm transfer schedule, and Transfer to Number. All options are explained below. 

  • Transfer to Profile number: If you select this option, you will also need to select the Profile in which you want the call to be transferred, as well as the number to transfer to. If you haven’t already, check out this article on how to add or edit a Profile.

  • Transfer according to warm transfer schedule: If you select this option, you will also need to select the on-call schedule you want to use. If you haven’t already, check out this article for instructions on how to set up an on-call schedule.

  • Transfer to Number: If you select this option, you'll need to manually type in the number you want us to transfer to. You can also type in the name of the intended transfer party so the agents know who they are dialing.
If we're transferring to an extension, add the extension after the number in the following format: 8885324794x21

Under the Script Options section, you can customize the script the agent will use once connected to the transfer recipient. By default, our agents will say "Hello this is {{agent_name}} from SAS with a call. May I transfer them through?" However, if you'd like the message to include the caller's name or some other collected data, you can choose the Use customized script option and type in your own script as shown below.

In the event a recipient or caller refuses the transfer, you can allow agents to notate why by using the toggles next to Employee refused the transfer and Caller refused the transfer.

5
The Logic tab will show 4 pre-programmed options the operator can take depending on what happened on the call. These cannot be edited.
After the Warm Transfer block is completed, we'll need to go back and create the subsequent blocks that will match up with the options listed below. 

6
When you are done, click Save.

Creating New Closing Blocks

Once you have finished creating the Warm Transfer block, we'll need to re-configure the steps that follow this action. As we've shown above, the Warm Transfer block comes pre-programmed with the following logic options:

  • Successfully Transferred Call 
  • Employee Refused the Transfer
  • Caller Refused to be Transferred
  • Unable to Transfer Caller

Each of these options needs to point to a subsequent block. You may want agents to continue gathering more information if they're unable to transfer. However, in this tutorial, we'll be ending the call with a Closing block after the Warm Transfer.

1
First we'll create our Closing block for calls that were successfully transferred. Select the Script Builder icon on the left-hand navigation menu.

2
On the next page, click the Blocks tab, then select Add new block. From the Blocks list under Block Templates, locate and select the Closing 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 Closing - All Calls.

Within the Receptionist speech text box, you can remove the text since the agent will have already transferred the caller.

4
Under the Options tab, assign a Call Result to your Closing Block by choosing an Outcome. Then choose the Profile(s) you want messages to be sent to. You can select up to 10 Profiles per Closing Block.

If you are utilizing the SAS Email App, the SAS SMS App, or one of our available App Integrations, toggle the appropriate option, then choose your respective template and/or configuration from the drop down. 

6
Click Save.
8
Repeat the steps above to create your other Closing blocks for the remaining logic options. The only difference with these blocks will be the Operator Text, as well as how you name them. Check out our examples below.

Text to use for Employee Refused Transfer and No Answer: Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately no one is available at the moment, but I will pass your information along to have your call returned.

Text to use for Caller Refused Transfer: No problem. If you change your mind, don't hesitate to give us a call back.

If you want to save some time, you don't need to create an extra Closing block for the Employee Refused the Transfer option. You can simply link up that option to the Unable to Transfer block, since they're essentially the same.

Once all of your Closing blocks have been created, they'll need to be added to their own individual Closing Sections.

Adding the Warm Transfer Block to a Script Section

Once your Warm Transfer and subsequent script blocks have been created, we will need to add them to the appropriate script section.

1
Select the Script Builder icon on the left-hand navigation menu.

2
Select the script you would like to update. Then locate the script section you want to add the Warm Transfer block to. Click the 3-dot menu icon and select Edit. In our example, we'll add the warm transfer to our All Calls section.

3
Scroll down to the existing Closing block and click Remove. 

4
Locate your newly created Warm Transfer block under Custom blocks library, and drag it over to add it to the section. 

5
When you are done, click Save. Your script should look something like the image below. We will be completing the script in the next section.

Adjusting Your Script Workflow

Once you've finished updating/creating your Sections, it's time to re-adjust your script Workflow. 

1
Select the Script Builder icon on the left-hand navigation menu.

2
Choose your Script to bring up the Workflow.

3
Within your Workflow, you should see your newly updated Script Section with 4 open circles at the end. The open circles mean the section is incomplete. 

4
At the top left-hand side of your screen, click the + sign to Add Sections. Then click and drag the + Drage to create new section button over to your unfinished script section.

5
In the new section, click + Add Script Blocks. Then, in the pop-up window, select and drag over one of your newly created Closing blocks. We'll start with our Transferred Caller - All Calls block.

6
Once your Block has been added to your Section, name your Section, select a color (optional) and click Save. We named our Section Transferred Caller.

7
Back in the Script Workflow, link up the Successfully transferred call option to your new section, as shown below.

8
Repeat steps 5 through 7 above to create additional Sections for your other Closing blocks. Your finished script should look something like the image below. Click Save to publish your updated script.

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