First day followup
Set up the calls and texts a brand-new lead gets on the day they arrive from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or your landing pages.
Where First day followup lives, adding SMS, Call and MMS steps with delays, picking the intro the AI uses, and (on accounts with sequences) routing different leads to different sequences with rules.
First day followup is the run of calls and messages a new lead receives as soon as they reach Bigly. It's meant for leads that arrive from third-party sources such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or your landing pages. The first step goes out right after the lead is received, and each later step waits for the delay you set.
Speed matters with new leads. A call or text in the first few minutes is far more likely to get an answer than one the next day.
Before you start
- Create at least one intro under AI › Teach Your Bot › Intros, so the AI knows how to open its calls. See Intros.
- Connect your lead source, for example Facebook Lead Ads, TikTok Lead Ads or a landing page.
- On AI › Configure, make sure Enable FollowUp Configuration is on, and check your Working hours. See AI settings. Steps only run inside your working hours. If a step falls outside them (for example after 10 PM), it runs on the next working day at your start time.
Open the screen from AI › First day followup config.
Most accounts see a single list of steps that every new lead runs through. Some accounts have sequences turned on, which let you build several step lists and send different leads to different ones. Both are covered below. If you'd like sequences, contact support.
Build your first-day steps
- Go to AI › First day followup config.
- If you have intros, choose one under Select Intro. The AI uses it on the call steps.
- Click SMS, Call or MMS to add a step. Steps run in the order they appear.
- For each step, enter a number in Duration and pick Minute or Hour. This is how long to wait before the step runs.
- Fill in the step:
- Message: type the text, or leave it empty to let the AI write the message.
- Call: nothing else to fill in. The AI calls the lead using your intro and voice prompt.
- MMS: type the text and click Upload to attach an image, PDF, audio or video file.
- To remove a step, click the delete icon on its card.
- Click Update to save.
AI › First day followup config, with the SMS, Call and MMS buttons at the top, an intro chosen under Select Intro, three step cards (1 - Call, 2 - Message, 3 - MMS) each with a Duration and Minute/Hour picker, and the Update button.
Use sequences to target different leads
On accounts with sequences, the screen is titled First day followup and shows a list of sequences instead of one step list. Each sequence has its own steps, its own intro and, optionally, rules that decide which leads it takes.
Create a sequence
- Go to AI › First day followup config and click New sequence (or Create the first sequence if the list is empty).
- Type a name in Name this sequence.
- Under Voice intro, pick the intro its call steps use, or leave Use the tenant default.
- Under Steps, click SMS, Call or MMS next to Add step.
- For each step, set the wait. Type a number and choose Min or Hr, or click a preset: 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 5h or 1d. The first step's wait is labelled Delay before this step, and later ones Wait after the previous step.
- Use the arrows to reorder steps, or the remove icon to delete one.
- Click Save.
The sequence editor with a name filled in, the Active toggle, a Voice intro picker, a Who runs this sequence section with two rules, and a Steps list with an SMS step and a Call step showing their delay presets.
Decide who runs a sequence
Under Who runs this sequence, click + Add rule. Each rule looks at a contact attribute or the contact's tags.
- Pick an Attribute, then a Comparison, then type a Value.
- For tag rules, choose Has tag or Does not have tag and pick one or more tags.
- With more than one rule, choose Match all (every rule must match) or Match any (one is enough).
A sequence with no rules is the catch-all. It runs for every lead that matches no other sequence.
| Comparison | Matches when the attribute… |
|---|---|
| Equals / Not equals | is (or isn't) exactly the value |
| One of / Not one of | is (or isn't) any of a comma-separated list |
| Contains / Starts with | contains, or starts with, the text |
| Has any value / Has no value | is filled in, or empty |
| Has tag / Does not have tag | the contact carries any of the tags (or none of them) |
How a lead is matched
- Sequences with rules are checked first, in the order shown in the list. The first one that matches wins.
- If none match, the lead runs the catch-all.
- Under Leads that match no rule, choose Run the catch-all or Do not enrol them if you only want matching leads followed up.
- Use the up and down arrows on a sequence card to change the order sequences are checked in.
- Set a sequence to Inactive to stop it taking new leads. Contacts already part-way through it still finish.
Move your existing steps into a sequence
If you set up first-day steps before sequences were turned on, you'll see a notice saying Your existing first day followup has not been moved over yet. Your old steps keep running for leads that match no rule. Click Move to new system to turn them into a normal sequence you can rename and add rules to. Nothing is re-sent, and contacts part-way through carry on where they are.
When follow-up stops
Bigly stops a lead's first-day steps early once the follow-up has done its job, for example when the lead books a meeting or converts, or when a call reaches them. A lead who already has a booked meeting isn't enrolled at all. A lead without a phone number isn't enrolled either.
Common questions
My new leads aren't getting anything. Check that Enable FollowUp Configuration is on under AI › Configure, that you have at least one step saved, and that the lead has a phone number. On accounts with sequences, check that a sequence matches the lead, or that Run the catch-all is selected.
Does this apply to leads I import from a spreadsheet? It's built for leads arriving from integrations and landing pages. For imported lists, use SMS campaigns or a call campaign.
What's the difference from the Followup Sequence tab? First day followup runs once, when a lead is created. Followup sequences keep following up with interested leads over the following days. A lead in the middle of its first-day steps isn't picked up by the other follow-up until its first-day steps finish.