A Text step sends a text message to the seller, the buyer, or one specific contact, from a teammate's own smrtPhone number, as part of a run. It's the text-message version of the Email step.
Before you add one
Texting has to be turned on for your team first. An admin does that on Settings > Phone system — see Connecting a phone system. Without it, the builder warns you: "Texting is off for your team. Turn it on in Settings ▸ Phone system or this step will stop and ask for attention." You can still build and publish the automator; the Text step pauses when a run reaches it. Each person who sends texts also needs to have picked their own texting number in their Profile.
Adding and setting up a Text step
- In the builder, select Add step and choose Text ("Send a text from a teammate's smrtPhone number"). It's in the Human steps group.
- A new Text step shows Needs config until you've written a message. Select it to open its settings.
- Under Text to, pick Buyer or seller and then Seller or Buyer (the deal's seller or buyer contact, using their primary phone number), or pick Specific contact and choose one person from your contacts. On an automator that runs on a contact the choices are This contact (the person the run is about — the default) or Specific contact.
- Under Sent from, pick whose number the text comes from. Step assignee is the default and means whoever owns the run. If the run has no owner, the text isn't sent — the run pauses and asks for one (a Text step never sends from the deal owner instead). You can also choose Deal owner, a Deal seat (ACQ, TC, Dispo, or PM on project deal types), or a Specific teammate. The text goes out from that person's texting number. An automator that runs on a contact has no deal, so it offers Step assignee and Specific teammate only.
- Write your text under Message. Select Insert merge field to drop in details from the deal, like the seller's first name or the property address — or one of your team's own fields, listed by name under Custom fields; they're filled in when the text is sent. On an automator that runs on a contact the menu lists the person's details instead — the Contact group (first name, owner, buyer tier, next follow-up and so on) and your contact custom fields. The counter under the box shows how long it is and how many texts it will go out as — for example "11 / 160 · 1 text". Emoji and special characters make each text shorter (70 characters), and the counter tells you when that happens. A message can be up to 1,600 characters; if a merge field wouldn't fit under that limit, TED tells you it won't fit and leaves the message as it was.
- Publish the automator as usual. See Publishing an automator.
On the step list, a Text step reads like Text Seller: "Hi {{seller.first_name}}…" so you can see who it goes to and how the message starts.
If you leave the message empty, publishing is blocked with "This text step needs a message." If it uses a merge field that doesn't exist — including a custom field that's been archived — you'll see which one.
When texts go out
Automated texts only go out during your team's texting hours — 8 AM to 9 PM in your team's timezone unless an admin changed them on Settings > Phone system. The step shows those hours under the message. If a run reaches a Text step outside them, the step waits and sends at the start of the next window. Texts your team sends by hand aren't limited by these hours.
On the deal, a running Text step reads "Sending text to the seller…". Once it has gone out, the run's timeline shows Texted the seller. A text from an automator that runs on a contact shows on that contact's timeline and isn't filed on any deal they're on.
When a Text step pauses
If TED can't send, the run pauses and a banner appears above the step. Admins see the buttons:
- "Text paused — texting isn't turned on for your team." An admin needs to turn texting on, then select Try again.
- "Text paused — the sender doesn't have a texting number." The sender hasn't picked a texting number in their Profile. Once they have, select Try again.
- "This step has no one to send from" Nothing was sent. The run has no owner, or the seat or person the text is sent from isn't on the deal. A team admin can select Set owner for this run only and the text goes out from that person; otherwise fill the seat or add the person, then select Try again. See Needs attention on a run.
- "Text paused — the recipient has no phone number on file." Add a phone number to the contact, then select Try again.
- "Text paused — the recipient opted out of texts." They replied STOP, or their number is on a do-not-text list, so TED won't text them. Select Skip this text to move on.
- "Text paused — the recipient is marked do not text." The Do not text switch is on in the Person card on their profile. TED won't text them until someone turns it off. Select Skip this text to move on.
- "Text paused — missing info for: Seller First Name." The message uses merge fields that are empty on this deal. Fill them in on the deal, then select Try again.
- "Text paused — the last send attempt failed." smrtPhone didn't accept the text, or TED couldn't reach it after several tries. Select Try again.
The three buttons are Try again (sends it as a fresh attempt), Skip this text (moves the run past the step without sending, after a confirmation), and Cancel run.
A text that may have already gone out
Sometimes TED can't tell whether a text was delivered — for example, smrtPhone didn't answer in time. The banner then says "The text may have gone out — check the conversation before sending it again." and Skip this text comes first. Look at the deal's Texts & Calls tab and the contact's phone before you do anything. Selecting Send it again asks you to confirm first ("The last attempt may have reached them already… sending again could text them twice."). TED never re-sends this kind of text on its own.
See Needs attention on a run for the other banners, and Texts and calls on a deal or contact for where the conversation lives.