Sequence steps in Aloware define what happens to a contact at each stage of an automated workflow, from calls and messages to CRM updates and cross-workflow automation.
Sequence steps in Aloware let admins automate how contacts are called, messaged, updated, and moved through follow-up workflows.
After a sequence is built, its steps run automatically based on timing and triggers. This means a contact can receive a message, get added to a dialer, have their record updated, or move into another workflow without manual work from agents.
Everything is controlled from the Steps tab inside a sequence, where admins add each step, set its delay, and define what it does.
Only admins can create and manage sequences in the Aloware admin panel.
What this looks like in use
A typical sequence runs automatically once a contact is enrolled.
A contact enters the sequence through a trigger or manual enrollment. Aloware then works through the steps in order, waiting for the delay set on each one.
Along the way, the sequence can send an SMS, place an automated call, add a tag, change the contact owner, or enroll the contact into another workflow. Each step runs on its own schedule, so outreach lands at the right time without an agent having to act.
For example, a sequence can send a welcome SMS when a tag is applied, wait two days, and then add the contact to a rep's power dialer for a follow-up call.
Where to build sequence steps
Sequence steps are configured inside each sequence in Aloware Admin. This is where you define what the workflow does and when.
Step 1: Open or create a sequence
Go to the Sequences+ tab.
Select an existing sequence or click +New Sequence and complete the setup wizard (name, schedule, line, and enrollment controls).
Step 2: Open the Steps tab
Open the sequence and go to the Steps tab.
Click Add Step. This is where every step is added and ordered.
Step 3: Add and configure a step
Choose the step type you want to add.
Set the delay (when it runs) and configure the step's details, such as message text, dialer message, or the target list or owner.
Step 4: Save and enroll
Click Save to keep the step.
Enroll a test contact to confirm the step runs as expected before enabling the sequence for live contacts.
Automated dialing
Dialer steps automate outbound calling and control how contacts are routed to calling campaigns.
Progressive dialer
The Progressive dialer step calls the contact first, confirms a person answered, then connects them to an agent through the selected inbox.
You can play a message telling the contact what to do, such as press 1 to talk, press 2 to end the call, or press 9 to stop receiving calls.
Important points:
The dialer only calls the contact if an agent is available in the selected inbox.
It requires the contact's consent to connect, so include a prompt such as "Please press 1." If no message is set, the contact hears nothing, and an opt-out phrase should be included for compliance.
An optional pre-call SMS can be sent to the contact before dialing to avoid a cold call.
Answering machine detection is built in. If a voicemail or answering machine is detected, the call does not proceed.
When testing, use a physical phone line, not a virtual one. Virtual lines may auto-answer, play the consent message early, and drop the call.
Preview dialer
The Preview dialer step calls a group of agents first, then connects one of them to the contact. Calling the agent before the contact makes it more compliant than the progressive dialer, which dials the contact first.
When a contact reaches this step, Aloware calls your agents rather than the contact.
When an agent answers, Aloware plays a short message naming who is about to be dialed, for example the contact's name and state. The agent presses a key to accept, and only then does Aloware dial the contact.
If the contact answers, the agent and contact are connected automatically, so the agent is already on the line when the contact picks up.
Important points:
Calls route through an inbox rather than to a single agent. An inbox is a group of agents that can include multiple layers of agents and supervisors. Aloware rings the inbox to find an available agent, so a call is covered even if the first person is busy, and whoever accepts is connected to the contact.
No contact is dialed until an agent accepts, so a contact is never called unless someone is available to speak with them.
Aloware repeats the agent message until someone presses a key to connect.
The agent message can include variables, such as "We're about to call [FirstName] [LastName] from [State]," so the agent has context before the contact answers.
Set the delay to control when the call is placed after the contact reaches this step: immediately, after a set amount of time, or at a specific time of day.
Add to power dialer
The Add to power dialer step places the contact into a user's power dialer queue for outbound calling. Unlike the automated dialers, the agent initiates each call from the queue.
The power dialer works through a list of contacts one at a time. The difference from the progressive and preview dialers is who starts the call: with the power dialer, the agent does. The agent can review the contact's details and prepare before dialing, which gives them the most control of the three dialer types.
Once a call ends or a contact does not answer, the agent moves to the next contact in the queue. When you add a contact through this step, Aloware drops them into the assigned user's power dialer queue in Talk, where the agent picks them up and calls.
Important points:
Assign the contact to a specific user or to an inbox. The "assign to available users only" option adds contacts only to users who are currently available.
Choose which power dialer list receives the contact. The default "My Queue" list stays at the top for quick access.
Set the queue position, either the top or bottom of the user's power dialer.
Additional options include adding to the contact owner's power dialer (with a fallback user if no owner exists), allowing multiple phone numbers when a contact has more than one, preventing duplicate contacts in the queue, and allowing or excluding international numbers.
Set the delay to control when the contact is added after they reach this step: immediately, after a set amount of time, or at a specific time of day.
Remove from power dialer
The Remove from power dialer step removes an enrolled contact from a power dialer list, even while the power dialer is in progress.
This step is useful when you need to stop calling contacts who should no longer be reached, for example prospects who have already engaged or converted.
Without it, someone would have to open each user's queue and remove the contact by hand, one list at a time. Instead, you add this step to a sequence and let it clear the contact from the queue you choose, or from every user's queue at once. Because it works while the power dialer is running, a contact can be pulled from a queue before an agent reaches them.
Important points:
Select the specific user and the power dialer list to remove the contact from.
Toggle "remove from all users' power dialer lists" to clear the contact from every user's queue across the company in a single step, including "My Queue." This applies to all users without needing a separate step for each one.
Set the delay to control when the removal runs after the contact reaches this step: immediately, after a set amount of time, or at a specific time of day.
Automated SMS messaging
Messaging steps automate text and picture messages to enrolled contacts. Each automated message includes an opt-out phrase, and a sequence can send a maximum of 10 messages per hour to a single contact.
Send SMS message
Sends an automatic text message to the enrolled contact. Personalize it with shortcodes such as [FirstName] or [TrackingNumber].
Send picture/MMS message
Sends an automatic picture or MMS message to the enrolled contact.
Send RCS Message
Sends an RCS message to the enrolled contact as part of the sequence. The Send RCS Message step is available when the sequence uses a Line with RCS enabled.
The RCS step can be used alongside Send SMS message and Send picture/MMS message steps.
If the sequence uses a Line without RCS enabled, the Send RCS Message step is not available for that Line.
Send SMS to inbox
Sends a text message to an inbox that includes the enrolled contact's information, so a team can pick up the conversation.
Contact management
Contact management steps keep CRM data accurate as contacts move through the workflow.
Add tag/ remove tag
Add tag to contact applies a tag to the enrolled contact. Remove tag from contact removes a tag, with an option to clear all tags at once by checking a single box.
Change contact disposition status
Updates the disposition status of the enrolled contact.
Mark contact as DNC
Marks the enrolled contact as Do Not Contact so they no longer receive outreach.
Change contact's owner
Reassigns the contact to a new owner, who receives an SMS notification. When more than 20 contacts are assigned at the end of a sequence, the new owner gets a single summary SMS instead of one per contact.
Round-robin change contact owner
Reassigns contacts across a set of users in a round-robin pattern to balance ownership.
Change lead source
Updates the contact's lead source value.
Add line to contact
Adds a phone line to the contact record.
Communication and voicemail
These steps extend outreach beyond SMS to email, voicemail, and external systems.
Send email to contact / inbox
Using Mailgun or SendGrid, Send email to contact emails the contact directly, and Send email to inbox emails a group with the contact's information.
Send ringless voicemail
Drops a voicemail to the contact without ringing their phone. Available in the US and Canada for verified accounts.
Send webhook
Sends a webhook carrying the enrolled contact's information as the payload, useful for passing data to external systems.
Workflow and automation
These steps connect a sequence to other automations and to AloAi agents.
Enroll to other sequence
The Enroll to other sequence step moves a contact into a different sequence, letting you chain workflows together for continued follow-up.
When a contact reaches this step, Aloware removes them from the current sequence and adds them to the one you select.
Any steps still pending in the current sequence are dropped, so the contact starts the new sequence right away rather than finishing the old one first. This lets one sequence hand a contact off to another automatically, based on where they are in your outreach.
A common setup is to run new leads through an intensive sequence, for example ten contact attempts over three days, and place this step at the end so anyone who has not responded is moved into a gentler sequence that follows up over a longer period.
Important points:The contact is removed from the current sequence and added to the new one as soon as they reach this step.
This overrides any pending steps in the current workflow, so the contact starts the new sequence without delay.
It is commonly placed at the end of a sequence, for example to move non-responders from an intensive follow-up into a gentler long-term one.
Set the delay to control when the contact is moved after they reach this step: immediately, after a set amount of time, or at a specific time of day.
Start AloAi conversation / disenroll from AloAi Agents
Start AloAi conversation hands the contact to an AloAi Agent at a chosen point in the sequence, typically to qualify or re-engage leads.
Disenroll from AloAi Agents removes the contact from assigned agents so they stop receiving AI messages, useful when a contact converts, opts out, or moves to a human.
Important points:
Outbound AI agents must have opener messages configured. Without them, the step fails to execute.
Test each agent manually first. If it does not work in manual testing, it will not work in a sequence.
Choose the correct agent type (Voice or Text, Inbound or Outbound) for the step's purpose.
Time the disenroll step carefully: remove the contact before they receive conflicting messages, but not so soon that useful AI interactions are cut off.
Step settings
Every step has timing and content settings that control when it runs and what it sends.
Delay
The delay sets how soon a step runs after the previous one:
No delay runs the step immediately.
Default delay waits a set number of minutes, hours, or days after the previous step.
Time of day combines a relative delay with an absolute time, such as two days from now at 8 AM. You can base this on the company timezone or the contact timezone.
Message text
For messaging steps, personalize the content with shortcodes such as [FirstName]. An opt-out phrase is enforced at the account level for compliance.
Dialer message
For dialer steps, write clear prompts such as "Press 1 to connect, press 2 to schedule a callback, or press 9 to be removed."
Enable Repeat message to prompt agents to press any key to connect.
Validating the setup
After adding your steps, confirm the sequence behaves as expected before enrolling live contacts.
Enroll a test contact into the sequence.
Confirm that each step runs in the right order and at the right time, including calls, messages, tag or owner changes, and any enrollment into another workflow.
Open the History tab to review completed actions, failed events, and skipped steps. Filters let you narrow the log by contact, event type, or timeframe.
Tip: Run more than one test scenario to cover the common paths contacts will take.
What to keep in mind
Steps run in the order they appear, each after its configured delay, so sequence order matters.
Place data-related steps, such as tag or owner changes, before any step that hands the contact off or ends the workflow.
Outbound sequence calls use Answering Machine Detection (AMD) automatically, so only human-answered calls count as responses. This produces lower but more accurate response counts.
Automated messages include an opt-out phrase and are limited to 10 per hour per contact.
Test the sequence after any change to confirm steps run, messages send, and records update correctly.