Exotel is an Indian cloud telephony service: it gives your business a phone number (called an ExoPhone) that can make and receive calls over the internet. Connecting Exotel to HemLead lets your team call any lead with one click, from that business number.
How it works
When you click Call, Exotel first rings your own mobile. When you answer, it connects you to the lead. The lead sees your business number, never your personal number.
What you need before you start
An Exotel account (Exotel Voice) with an ExoPhone. Note: Exotel trial accounts can only call verified numbers. To call any number, you'll need to complete Exotel's KYC (identity check).
Exotel calling switched on for your HemLead account. Ask HemLead support to enable the Exotel Calling add-on.
Each team member's own mobile number saved in Account in HemLead.
How to set up Exotel calling, step by step
1
Open Exotel Calling
Open Exotel Calling in HemLead's left menu.
2
Connect your Exotel account
Under 1. Connect your Exotel account, enter your Account SID, API Key, API Token, Exotel region, ExoPhone (your business number) and Default country code. You'll find all of these in your Exotel dashboard.
Screenshot: Exotel Calling page, 1. Connect your Exotel account form
3
Choose your options
Under 2. Options, turn on what you need: Record calls (a Play button then appears on the lead), Unknown callers become new leads (a call from a new number creates a lead automatically) and Missed-call alerts.
Screenshot: Exotel Calling page, 2. Options with Record calls, Unknown callers become new leads and Missed-call alerts
4
Every team member adds their mobile
Each team member opens Account and adds their own mobile number. This is the phone Exotel rings first when they place a call.
5
Make a call
On any lead, click the call button. On a phone, you can also use the Call button in the bottom bar to dial any number. On a computer, it's the round phone button at the bottom right.
Screenshot: Lead page with the call button, and the round phone button at the bottom right
6
Save new numbers as leads
Calling a number that isn't a lead yet? After the call starts, HemLead offers Save as lead.
7
Optional: log incoming calls
Follow 3. Log incoming calls (one-time setup in Exotel) on the same page. It adds HemLead's link to your Exotel call flow, so calls customers make to your ExoPhone are logged on the lead with recordings, and unanswered ones raise a missed-call alert.
Screenshot: Exotel Calling page, 3. Log incoming calls (one-time setup in Exotel)
What you get
One-click calling from any lead, on a computer or a phone.
Every call saved on the lead — answered or missed — with its recording, if Record calls is on.
Missed-call alerts, so an enquiry that rang out gets a callback.
Staff numbers stay private. Leads only ever see your business number.
A clear record: the Recent calls list shows who called whom and for how long.
Tips
Ask every team member to add their mobile in Account on day one — calls won't start without it.
Turn on Unknown callers become new leads if people often call you directly from your ads or website, so no caller is left out of HemLead.
Complete Exotel's KYC before you roll calling out to the whole team, so calls aren't limited to verified numbers.
Do the incoming-calls setup (step 7) too. It's one-time, and it means calls to your business are logged, not just calls you make.
Common problems
"Add your mobile number in Account settings first" — that staff member hasn't saved their mobile yet.
Exotel refuses the call — often KYC or a trial-account limit. HemLead shows Exotel's reason; complete KYC with Exotel.
Details rejected — HemLead shows which field is wrong. For example, the country code box needs only the code, like 91, not a phone number.