Every team in ExpertConnect is required to have a team phone number, referred to as VoiceHub in ExpertConnect. There are multiple options for selecting a team's phone number. Please read this article for more information on each option. 

Team Phone Number Options

1. Choose a new phone number from ExpertConnect (area code restrictions may apply). 
2. Port an existing phone number from your legacy provider to ExpertConnect (conditions apply). 
3. Verify an existing number from your legacy provider for WhatsApp (conditions apply). 

Choose a New Phone Number from ExpertConnect

ExpertConnect partners with the leading global phone provider to allow dealerships to acquire new team phone numbers at no additional charge. Please note that area code availability is unique to each country. Please work with a Customer Success Manager to review your options. 

Once your dealership has been approved for any regulatory requirements, team managers will have the ability to search through available phone numbers when creating a new team in the Manage page. 

If you elect to use a new team phone number, it is important to route customer traffic into the team. There are two primary ways to do this: 

1. Forward (or transfer) phone calls to the new team number (recommended). 
2. Market the new number - We encourage you to consult your Marketing Department if you are marketing a new phone number. Review our Marketing Toolkit for recommendations. 

Forwarding Phone Calls into ExpertConnect

This option will require you to work with your IT Department to set-up call forwarding from your legacy phone system into ExpertConnect. Each phone provider has their own conditions for forwarding phone calls to an external system. Please consult your IT Department to discuss this option. 

Conditions: 

1. Call forwarding only routes inbound phone calls. Outbound phone calls and text messaging will send from the team's VoiceHub number. 
2. Customers will receive automated text messages from the VoiceHub number and may start using the VoiceHub number instead. We cannot prevent a customer from using the VoiceHub number if they choose, but there are VoiceHub Settings to assist with this.

Port an Existing Phone Number to ExpertConnect

We know that dealerships oftentimes have existing customer-facing phone numbers that they want to use in ExpertConnect. Porting a phone number from your legacy provider to ExpertConnect may be an option for your dealership. 

Porting a phone number means moving the number from your existing phone provider to ExpertConnect's partner provider. Please review the following conditions before deciding to start the porting process: 

1. We cannot ensure that your phone number is portable until we check the portability. Please send an email to expertconnect@johndeere.com to request a portability check. 
2. Once a number is ported to ExpertConnect, you will no longer be charged for that number with your legacy provider (benefit of porting). ExpertConnect does not charge dealers for phone numbers. 
3. Additionally, the number will no longer be tied to the legacy device. You may need to work with your phone provider to get a new number if you'd like to keep the legacy device operational.
4. Your legacy phone provider will need to approve the port-out request. Please consult them in advance of the porting plan. 
5. You will be required to submit documentation to be approved for porting a number. 

Please visit Port Your Existing Number into ExpertConnect for additional information and to begin the process. 

If you have multiple phone numbers that you would like to port, it is possible to route multiple numbers to one team. This is a great option when moving towards a centralized support strategy. Please indicate this when submitting the port request form. 

Verify an Existing Number for WhatsApp 

Another option to consider is verifying an existing phone number for usage in ExpertConnect for WhatsApp. This is different from porting in the fact that the number will stay owned by your legacy carrier. This process simply gives ExpertConnect permission to use the phone number for the team's WhatsApp profile. 

This process can be combined with another option to verify the same number for outbound phone calls, known as ‘Verified Caller ID’. 

Benefits:

• This process is much faster than the timeline for enabling a new number for WhatsApp. Bringing an existing phone number to WhatsApp takes less than one hour, whereas the process to approve a new number for WhatsApp can take 2-3 weeks. 
• You retain ownership of the phone number with your legacy provider.
• The number can continue to be used with the legacy device for SMS messages and phone calls (not WhatsApp). 

Requirements: 

• This process requires a meeting with a member of our Customer Success Team to initiate a live verification phone call. The manager of your Facebook Business Account must join the meeting to complete the process. 
• This process does not enable ExpertConnect to utilize the SMS profile, only WhatsApp. 
• If you would like to use the same phone number for phone calls, we can assist with verifying the number for outbound phone calls. To route inbound call traffic to ExpertConnect, you will need to request your phone provider to route phone calls to a backend VoiceHub number in ExpertConnect. We will assist with this process to ensure your IT Department has the information they need to complete the steps.