Using Lists

In ContactDrive, Lists are a place to take action on segmented groups of contacts. So there’s two concepts to really appreciate: creating segments and taking actions. Let’s dig into each.

Adding contacts to lists

Lists are deeply integrated into ContactDrive, so there are several ways to add contacts to them:

1. Add multiple contacts via the main Contacts page by checking the box for contacts then selecting More Actions > Add to List.
2. Adding a single contact via the contact details page by clicking the arrow next to the “Edit” button and then Add to List.
3. Once you go to Lists and select a list, you have several options to add contacts:
   1. Add single contact: Search your existing contacts and add an individual
   2. Add from filter: If you have created any saved filters, you can choose one and have all matching contacts added
   3. Add from tag: If all of the contacts you want have the same tag, just hit the button for that tag and you’ll see the contacts on the list momentarily
   4. Auto-update list: If the contacts on a list should be added and removed automatically when they match some set criteria, chose one or more saved filters from this option and that’s exactly what will happen.

List actions

There are several ways to leverage your lists to take action and communicate with your contacts.

Calling: ContactDrive lists have a built-in feature to let users call through the contacts on a list. Once a set of contacts have been added to a list, a green “Start Calling” button appears on the list action bar.

Clicking on this button gives the user a mobile-optimized screen where they can see some summary details about a contact with easy buttons to call, email or even text contacts. This call view can also be customized via List Actions to display buttons for a specific purpose.

For example, if a user is calling a group of contacts hoping they will host a table for an upcoming fundraiser, the buttons for that list can be customized to be “Will host”, “Will attend”, “Declined to host”, etc. Buttons can be configured to add a tag so that when the user hits this button, they will not only immediately tag the contact but also be able to leave a note with details about the conversation.

(Note: text messaging is only available if a Twilio integration is active.)

List sync: If an organization has added an integration with MailChimp or Email Octopus, users can sync the contacts on a ContactDrive list with the contacts on a list for one of these third-party services.

Users can also use a list integration to get activity for a third-party list. This makes it easy to mark unsubscribed contacts from your email service as “Do Not Contact” in ContactDrive. The benefit is that if you use multiple email lists, syncing them in ContactDrive makes it easy to make sure contacts who have unsubscribed from one list are not accidentally added to another.

Other list features

Lists give you a lot of flexibility to work with segments of contacts. Here’s a few other things you can do with lists:

Assign to user: Under List Actions > Edit List, you can assign a list to user on your account. When you assign a list to a user, it will automatically appear for them on the Dashboard.

This is a great feature for organizations that have a lot of members or volunteers making phone calls as it makes it easy for them to get started the moment they log in.

Customized call buttons: To making calling for different efforts (events, fundraising, prospecting, etc), more efficient, users can setup custom call buttons for each list. If custom buttons are set, those are the buttons a user will see while making calls in ContactDrive.

Pre-set SMS message: If you have integrated Twilio, then you can send SMS messages to your contacts with a mobile phone. To make that process even faster, you can create a pre-set message that appears as the default text message in the call view.

Contact notes: If you are a fundraiser or development officer and have asked a leader or volunteer in the organization to make calls, it can be helpful to add a quick note to make sure they know exactly what they’re calling the contact about. For example, you might add a note to ask for a premium table sponsorship, or a reminder that the contact’s spouse had a birthday recently, or that they had a loss in the family.

To add a note, click the down arrow next to View for a contact and then “Contact Note”. You’ll be able to add a short note here that will appear to the user making calls for that list.