Messenger Overview

The Messenger is the primary interface for all leads interactions. Much like an email inbox but optimized specifically for high-volume SMS and voice communication, it is where you will spend the majority of your time. Mastering this workspace is the key to maintaining a professional, efficient, and profitable workflow.

Managing Active Conversations

The Messenger functions in real time. Whenever you receive a reply or an incoming call, that lead automatically moves to the top of your Inbox.

• Priority at a glance: The message preview allows you to quickly assess a lead's sentiment before opening the chat, helping you prioritize high-value responses.

• Multi-channel communication: Within a conversation, you are not limited to text. You can share files, record voice notes, or place a call directly using the same outbound number the lead has already seen.
  
  Attachments add up rather than replace each other. Selecting another image adds it to what you've already attached, so you can build the set one file at a time. As you attach, the counter switches to MMS and shows what the message will cost, updating as you add or remove files. Files and voice notes are one or the other: starting a recording pauses attaching, and attaching pauses recording.

• Efficiency Tools:

  • Quick replies: Use pre-saved responses integrated with custom fields to answer common questions instantly while maintaining a personal touch.

  • Scheduling: Plan single messages or entire sequences of up to nine messages to ensure your messages reach your leads at the ideal time.

  • Message length: A 1:1 conversation message can run up to 10 segments. Quick replies allow up to 5, and message templates up to 3. You'll see the cost before you save a template, and a heads up if a quick reply runs long.

Manual Messaging and New Contacts

The Messenger isn't just for managing existing campaigns. It's also built for immediate action.

• Add contacts on the fly: If a lead provides a new number or you need to reach out to someone new, you can manually add a contact in just a few clicks.

• Instant initiation: Start a call or text immediately after adding a contact so you never lose momentum on a fresh lead.

• Favorites: Mark high-value leads to keep them a priority. Use the Favorites filter to instantly access these key conversations and stay focused on your most important deals.

The Contact Info Panel

Located on the right side of the chat window, the Info section provides the full context of your lead without requiring you to navigate away from the conversation.

• Live editing: Update contact details on the fly. Any changes made here are saved automatically to the database.

• Property fields: Specialized data points tailored for real estate and land investment, available immediately.
• Custom fields: Track up to 20 unique data points by enabling them in your account settings. These appear at the bottom of the information panel for quick reference, and each one is searchable by name.

• Line management: You can switch your outbound phone number directly from this view, which is useful if you are rotating lines or need to call from a specific local presence.

Deal Flow and Collaboration

The Messenger is designed to move leads through your pipeline.

• Setting appointments: You can set calendar follow-ups directly from the chat, so you never miss a scheduled call while the lead is still top of mind.

• Team collaboration: Use the Notes section to document internal memos or attach photos. This keeps essential conversation details accessible and your entire team aligned.

• Tracking success: Once a lead is converted, mark the deal as Closed to track your ROI and team performance.

• Automation: Add high-priority contacts to a Workflow to put follow-ups on autopilot.

Labels and Actions

Labels are the most critical component of a clean workflow. They act as the primary tool for sorting and filtering your entire pipeline.

• Consistency is key: Leads are automatically assigned default labels based on your settings, but it is a best practice to update these manually at the end of every conversation.

• Bulk actions: To save time, you can manage labels in bulk. Select multiple records to add or remove labels, mark messages as read or unread, or delete old conversations to keep your workspace clutter free.

Navigating Your Inbox

As your database grows, using filters and custom views becomes essential to prevent leads from falling through the cracks.

Filters

Every Messenger page has a single Filters panel where you can combine multiple parameters into a single view:

• Labels: include or exclude specific labels
• Response date: focus on recent activity or follow up on older leads
• Area code: narrow your view to a specific region
• Campaigns and groups: display only the leads tied to a specific campaign or group
• Favorites and closed deals: jump straight to your starred conversations or won deals

Whatever you set applies across all your folders at once. The Filters button shows a live count of everything you have active. Remove individual filters with a single click, or hit Reset to clear them all.

Saved Filters

Built a filter combination you'll use again? Save it. Saved filters live in the left-side menu, so applying one later is a single click. You can rename, edit, delete, and drag to reorder them, so your most-used views stay at the top.

Sorting

Click the Date column header to sort your conversations from oldest to newest. Click it again for newest first.

Live Contact Count

Every filter and saved view shows exactly how many contacts it holds, right in the header, so you always know the size of the audience you're about to work with.

Custom Inbox Views

• All: The master view of your inbox, showing every interaction across your account.
• Unread: Catch up on all new incoming activity.
• Missed calls: Prioritize callbacks to leads who tried to reach you.
• Unreplied: View leads who are currently waiting for a response from your team.
• Awaiting reply: Identify leads who haven't responded to your last nudge, perfect for a quick follow-up.
• Opted-out: Review contacts who replied "STOP" or were flagged by the AI filtering system.
• Deleted: Access conversations that have been removed from your active inbox, where you can review or recover past interactions.

Search

Search finds conversations by far more than name and phone number. Click the search field and you'll see two sections.

Broad search covers name and phone, both on by default. Just start typing.

Detailed search scopes your search to one field at a time:

• Email
• Address: street, city, state, or ZIP. Each one covers both the property value and the mailing value, so it doesn't matter which you stored it in.
• Parcel details: APN, parcel county, parcel acres, and parcel state, each its own option under Address.
• Message content: the words inside the conversation itself, not just the contact's details.
• Custom fields: each under its own name. The seven you use most appear first, and "Show more" opens the rest.
  
  

Scoping to a single field is what keeps results fast on large accounts. Your choice persists across sessions and between Messenger and Contacts, so you don't have to reset it each time.

Search also respects your active filters. Unread, Missed calls, and Unreplied keep working alongside it.

How matching works

Search behaves differently depending on what you're searching.

Names and phone numbers match on a fragment. Typing har finds Harold.

Address, parcel, email, and custom fields match whole words, with each value split at its punctuation. So 9549 Elbow Lake Rd will answer to elbow, and a dashed APN will answer to its middle section. This also means tam won't find Tampa Bay, and a ZIP code needs all five digits. State abbreviations are the exception and work with two letters, so FL or CA is enough.

Message content matches whole words and includes related forms of the word, so searching selling also turns up sells and seller. It begins searching from the third letter.

If a search isn't returning what you expect, check whether you've typed a partial word. That's the most common cause.

Export

If you need to move data to an external CRM, use the Export feature to download contacts, push them to your DNC list, or send them directly to your integrated tools.

By using these organizational tools, you stop chasing data and start focusing on the conversations that actually move your business forward.

Ready to scale? Learn how to build a high-converting Drip Campaign to fuel your Messenger with active leads here.

With 💙,
The Smarter Contact Team