Skip to content
Elooo CRMHelp Center Go to website

Calls

How to know where a call is coming from before you answer (whisper message and Call Connect)

Go to Settings › Phone System › Phone Numbers › Edit Configuration › Advanced Settings, turn on Call Connect and write the Whisper Message (e.g. "Call from the website, press a key to accept"). Only the person answering hears it; the call connects once they press a key.

Updated on

Before you start

  • You need a phone number in your account with calls forwarded to an external phone (personal cell or landline). The whisper message only plays in that case; if you answer in the web, mobile or desktop app, it doesn't play.
  • You need permission to change phone settings.
  • Decide on the wording: short and useful, for example "Call for the clinic. Press any key to accept".
Where to find it

Settings › Phone System › Phone Numbers › ⋯ › Edit Configuration › Advanced Settings

Step by step

  1. Open Settings › Phone System and click Phone Numbers.
  2. On the number's three-dot menu, click Edit Configuration.
  3. On the Call Forwarding tab, make sure there's an External Phone Number or a team member's personal number as the destination.
  4. Open the Advanced Settings tab.
  5. Turn on Call Connect. Now whoever answers must press a key for the call to connect, so an answering machine can never "answer" on its own.
  6. Under Whisper Message, write the text the person answering will hear (the caller doesn't hear it). It's read by text-to-speech.
  7. Under Phone number I see when receiving the call, choose whether to see the caller's number or the business number they dialed (handy for telling work calls apart on a personal cell).
  8. Click Save.
  9. Call the number from another phone: when you answer you should hear the whisper, press a key, and only then speak to the caller.

Tips

  • With several numbers (front desk, ads, website), give each one a different whisper so you know right away which line the call came in on.
  • With a call-tracking number pool, the whisper can include the source ("Call from Google Ads").
  • Call Connect is what makes sure the automatic missed-call text still goes out when a call lands in a staff member's cell phone voicemail.
  • If you record calls, the recording notice is also read by text-to-speech and is set up on the same screen.

Common problems

  • I answer and don't hear the whisper → You answered in the app (web, mobile or desktop). The whisper only plays on calls forwarded to an external phone.
  • The call goes through an IVR menu and the whisper doesn't play → That's expected: the whisper applies to calls forwarded by the number configuration, not to calls handled by an IVR workflow.
  • The caller hears the whisper message → They shouldn't; the whisper is private to the person answering. Check that you wrote the text under Whisper Message and not in the recording notice, which the caller does hear.
  • The caller gets a few seconds of silence before I speak → That's the whisper plus the key press. Shorten the wording.
  • Calls nobody answered show up as answered → Call Connect is off and the cell phone's voicemail "answered". Turn on Call Connect.

Frequently asked questions

Does the whisper work on outbound calls?

No. It's only for incoming calls forwarded to an external phone.

Can I use a recorded audio instead of text-to-speech?

On the number configuration screen, the whisper is typed as text and read by text-to-speech. For your own audio, use an IVR workflow with the Play Message action.

Was this helpful?