Handle calls in 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive

To receive or place calls using 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive, you must:

  • Be a member of the call queue to which the call is routed.
  • Set your status to Available.

About screen pop

During an inbound or outbound call, 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive looks up the phone number of the caller and then searches for a matching record in the CRM. On finding a matching record, it presents the record for you to preview and prepare for the call. This process is referred to as screen pop.

The search may return:

  • A single match: The number is associated with a single Pipedrive People record. On an inbound call, the screen pop occurs when the call is offered. For an outbound call, the screen pop displays when the call is connected. When the agent ends the call, the Activity screen displays the call as the top entry. The matching record is also listed under the Search tab.
  • Multiple matches: The number is associated with multiple Pipedrive people records. In the event of multiple matching people records, the app lists all matches in the Search tab of the integration. By default, the call log is linked to the first record in the list. Assign the call to the appropriate user and click the Search icon to view the selected record details.
  • No match: In the absence of matching records, a call log is created in the Activity screen in Pipedrive. While the call is active, you can create a new user record for the unknown user, search for the newly-created user in the Search tab, and assign the call to the appropriate user.

Receive calls

If 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive is open and you are in the Available state, the Phone tab blinks red, indicating an inbound interaction. When you receive a call, the system looks up a matching record and pops it up for your preview. For details, see our content on screen pop. Click the Phone tab to answer the incoming call.

When a call is offered, the Phone tab blinks red. If the caller is an existing customer, the end-user record opens in a browser tab as soon as the call is offered, allowing you to preview the customer details and prepare to greet accordingly.

To handle an incoming call:

  1. Click the Phone tab to answer the call. If there is a match, a red dot appears next to the Search tab in the integration.
  2. Click the Search tab. The matching record is selected by default. Click the Search icon to view the People record’s details.
  3. Click Work Offline if you need more time to complete any post-processing tasks.
  4. Click End Post Processing, or wait for the call to terminate. At the termination of the call, a call log is automatically generated and pops in a new browser tab. For details, see our content on logging calls.

Place calls

Using the integration, 8x8 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive allows you to make outbound phone calls to:

  • Customers
  • Agents

You can place outbound calls in 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive simply by using:

  • Control Panel: Enter the number in the Phone tab and click Dial.
  • Click-to-Dial: Click and dial the phone numbers from end-user records. No setup is needed for click-to-dial functionality.
  • Search tab: Look up names and numbers and dial out from the search results.

Note: All outbound calls are two-legged calls. When you dial out, the call is first dialed out to your agent phone. Once you accept the call, the call then dials out to the party you want.

To place a call:

  1. Enter a customer phone number in the Phone tab in the integration, and click Dial. Your agent telephone rings first.
  2. Answer the call. The call is then directed to the destination. The phone number rings next.
  3. If the phone number is linked to an individual people record, the record pops after the call connects.
  4. Once you end the call, a call log is offered. Contact your supervisor for your contact center's policies to place outbound calls.

Transfer calls

Warm and cold call transfers between agents is now supported. This new integrated functionality aims to increase efficiency in communication and improve customer experience.

Let’s say as an agent, you receive a call from a customer with questions that are best suited for a more experienced agent. You can now transfer the call to the agent that can provide a solution to the customer. While on a call, click the transfer icon, and select:

  • Warm transfer: Implies notifying the agent you wish to transfer the call to before transferring the call. The customer is placed on hold while you are connected with the other agent. After briefing the agent, you can complete the transfer.
  • Cold transfer (blind transfer): The call is transferred without notifying the other agent. The agent receiving the call transfer will not see which agent transferred the call.

Notes:
- A warm/cold transfer can only be performed if the agent you are transferring the call to has the status set to Available.
- The agent receiving the warm/cold transfer via an agent/queue/direct agent routing is presented with a screen pop with the customer information if a record of the customer already exists in the CRM. If the search does not yield a matching record, the system pops a new record entry screen.
- The call context such as the reason for the call, the reason for the call transfer, the agent's notes, etc., is not transferred.

Use call controls

While on a call in Virtual Contact Center for Pipedrive, you have access to call controls that enhance your calling experience. Using the call controls, you can:

  • Dial/Talking: Enter a destination phone number in the number field, and click Dial to initiate an outbound call. The Talking button appears during an active call instead of the Dial button.
  • Mute: Mute yourself during an active call.
  • Hold: Place an active call on hold.
  • End Call: End an active call after selecting mandatory transaction codes, if any.

  • Record : Start or stop recording an active call (availability is subject to privileges). After the call is recorded, the recording is accessible via a URL in the call log. To access the recording, you need an API token from your tenant administrator.

    Note: Before recording a call, please review applicable call recording laws in your vicinity or region.

  • Transfer Lines: Transfer calls from one phone line to another.

  • Join Lines: Join calls on two telephone lines to set up a three-way conference.

    Note: The ability to make additional calls depends on how your 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive extension is set up.

Log calls

Upon terminating a call, 8x8 Contact Center for Pipedrive generates an Activity entry. The Activity list (click on the Activity button in the Pipedrive main menu) includes information such as the call’s subject, deal, person, phone, due date, and assigned user ID. The Activity list, unlike an individual call log, is updated with the latest call information. Select the most recent Activity entry for details such as caller name, transaction ID, and time of call. An activity is created for inbound and outbound interactions and automatically saved on the Activity screen in Pipedrive. Click on a specific link in the activity Subject field to display details about that call. You can change the status of the activity to Done.

The individual Activity entry includes a link to the recorded call. To access the recorded call, you need the API token from your administrator.

Depending on the number of matches, call log can be linked to the end-user record as follows:

  • Single match: If there is a matching record, a Pipedrive activity entry is created and associated to that record.
  • Multiple matches: In the event of multiple matching people records, there is no screen pop. The call is associated with the first name in the Search tab, and then appears as the first entry on the Pipedrive Activity screen.
  • No match: In the absence of a matching record, a message indicates the lack of a matching record. The call is logged as an activity on the Pipedrive Activity screen.