GHL SMS Delivery Troubleshooting — Texts Not Reaching Clients

When GHL shows a message as "sent" but the client never receives it, use this guide to diagnose and resolve the issue. This is a high-priority problem — if clients do not receive your texts, they may think you are a scam when you call.

Symptoms

• GHL shows message status as "sent" or "delivered" but client says they never got it
• Client does not respond to any texts but answers calls
• Client accuses you of being a scam because they have no text history from you
• Contact is NOT on DND in GHL but still not receiving messages

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

Step 1: Verify in GHL

• Go to the contact record → Conversations tab
• Confirm the message shows as "Delivered" (not just "Sent" or "Failed")
• Check if the contact has DND enabled — toggle it off if so
• Verify the phone number is correct and includes the country code
• Check if the number is a landline (landlines cannot receive SMS)

Step 2: Check for Carrier Spam Filtering

This is the #1 cause of undelivered texts. Mobile carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon) aggressively filter business SMS.

Step 3: Ask the Client to Check

When you get the client on a call, ask them to:

• Check their spam/junk folder — some phones auto-filter unknown numbers
• Search for your number manually in their Messages app
• Check if they blocked the number accidentally
• Check their carrier settings — some carriers have spam filtering that can be adjusted

Step 4: Workarounds

• Have the client save your number as a contact — this dramatically reduces spam filtering
• Send a shorter, simpler first message — avoid links, emojis, and marketing language in the first text
• Try calling first, then text — once a call is established, texts are less likely to be filtered
• Use email as backup — if SMS is consistently blocked, switch to email + phone calls

Step 5: Escalate if Persistent

If the issue affects multiple clients or persists after the steps above:

• Report in #improvement-requests with: client name, phone number, what you tried, screenshots
• Tag @Sam — he can check the GHL sending reputation and A2P registration status
• Include whether this is a one-off or affecting multiple contacts

Prevention Tips

• Always introduce yourself and the company in the first message
• Avoid spam trigger words (see SMS Guidelines → Compliance section)
• Do not send rapid-fire multiple messages — compose one clear message
• Encourage clients to save your number during onboarding calls
• If a client is not responding to texts at all, switch to phone calls immediately — do not keep texting into the void

Script — When Client Thinks You Are a Scam

Page created: April 17, 2026 — triggered by team report in #improvement-requests (Reggie: clients not receiving GHL texts, thinking team is a scam)

Client-Side Fixes (When Sends Show Delivered But Client Says Nothing Received)

Added 2026-04-20 from #improvement-requests thread (Reggie + Orlie). Use these when GHL shows the message as sent/delivered but the client swears they never got it and accuses us of being a scam.

1. Have the client manually search for our number in their Messages app. On iPhone and Android, carrier spam filtering will often silently drop our texts into a hidden/filtered folder instead of the main inbox. The message is on their phone — they just cant see it in the normal thread.
2. Ask them to save our number as a contact (e.g., "Crowned Credit – 336-310-0090" and the closers direct line). Once saved, their carrier is far less likely to flag future messages as spam, and the messages will land in the main inbox instead of the filtered folder.
3. If they still cant find anything after steps 1–2, it is almost certainly their carrier blocking at the network level. Switch to calling from the main company line (336-310-0090) first, introduce yourself on the phone, then ask them to text Start to that number to re-enable delivery on their side.

Common symptoms this fixes: "Your texts keep going to my spam," "I thought you were a scam," "I never got any message from you," and "Your number shows as spam even though I have it saved" (this last one almost always means the number was saved after the carrier had already flagged it — have them delete and re-add).