What is Call Forwarding?

Call Forwarding

Call forwarding automatically redirects incoming calls from an existing phone number to another number. In this case, a business:

1. Forwards its existing number their Sloane Number
2. Doesn't need to make changes to their existing number
3. Doesn't need to pay someone to answer calls

📞 Forwarding Calls to Sloane

Sloane is designed to answer calls for your business -- but there are different ways she can do this

• Most businesses use Conditional Call Forwarding where calls are intially forwarded to Sloane if no one picks up -- and, if certain conditions are met, Sloane will transfer the live caller to the business after filtering who they are/ what they are calling about
• Other businesses use Unconditional Call Forwarding which always forwards all calls to Sloane to handle -- in this case, Sloane will never transfer a live caller to the business and instead takes a message, answers questions or collects information from the caller
• You decide how and when calls route to your Sloane Number based upon which settings you configure
• Call Forwarding lets Sloane pick up, respond, and manage calls on behalf of your business -— without needing to change your existing number

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Which Call Forwarding is Right For Your Business?

📳 Unconditional Forwarding

• Every call is always forwarded
• Call forwarding happens immediately (your phone never rings)
• Sloane is unable to transfer a live call to you
• Businesses that prefer not to speak to callers when they first call commonly use Unconditional Forwarding
• Many businesses use Unconditional Forwarding as a form of call screening where the caller must leave a message with Sloane first -- and then the business decides whether or not they will call back the caller
• Some common use-cases for Unconditional Forwarding include:
• Handling callers through a scripted menu
• Sloane provides informational only to common FAQs (pricing, services, products, etc.)
• Sloane is a verbal version of a customer intake form (she collects info from customers and gives to the business)

🤙🏾 Conditional Forwarding

• There are three types of Conditional Forwarding:
• Forward if Busy - calls route to Sloane only when your line is currently in use
• Forward if No Answer - calls route to Sloane only after a set number of rings when you don't pick up
• Forward if Unreachable - calls route to Sloane only if your phone is off or out of service
• Businesses that want to speak to some callers and filter out others use Forward if No Answer in conjunction with Sloane's Transfer Calls Feature so Sloane:
• Handles spam calls
• Handles callers with general questions (e.g., business hours)
• Transfers live callers to the business who are identified as potential high-value customers

☎️ Conditional Forwarding: Important Considerations

• Not all phone services are the same
• Each type of Conditional Forwarding needs to be configured separately with its own dial code
• Not all phone services support every type of Conditional Forwarding

✅ Configuring Live Call Transfers with Conditional Forwarding

• Businesses most commonly configure their phones to conditionally forward to Sloane using Forward if No Answer which instructs Sloane to transfer them live calls if specific conditions are met
• To turn on Forward if No Answer on your phone, look up the dial code specific to your phone service here: Call Forwarding Setup Guide and follow the instructions

⚙️ How to Setup Call Forwarding

Most phone services let you turn on call forwarding in the settings app on your device. Alternatively, there are codes that you can dial to turn on call forwarding that are specific to your phone service and device. Look up your phone service and device to find these instructions in our Call Forwarding Setup Guide.

⚠️ Service Provider Codes Vary

Check our Call Forwarding Setup Guide to see what your service provider allows.

1. Identify which phone service and device you have
2. See which types of call forwarding options that your phone provider offers in our Call Forwarding Setup Guide
3. Decide which type of call forwarding is right for your business