WhatsApp Sales Follow-Up Connected to Your CRM Pipeline
Sales follow-up on WhatsApp is the back and forth after the first enquiry: questions about the proposal, a change in quantity, “can we talk on Tuesday?”. AeroChat handles those replies against the deal in Pipedrive, Close or Salesmate. It updates the deal as it goes, and turns every promised next step into a task or call for the right salesperson.
What happens today
The buyer replies to a salesperson’s WhatsApp at 9pm with a question about delivery terms. The salesperson answers the next day, or forgets. The CRM still shows the deal at the stage it was a month ago.
Follow-up depends on each salesperson’s memory and their own phone. Managers can’t see what was said, and deals go quiet without anyone deciding to drop them.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The buyer messages. AeroChat finds the person and their open deal in your CRM by phone number, or by email or company name if no number comes through.
- It reads the deal stage and the latest notes, and answers questions about the proposal, delivery and specifications from the notes and your knowledge base.
- If the buyer wants to talk, it checks the deal owner’s scheduled activities, offers free times and creates the call.
- It moves the deal stage when the buyer agrees to the next step, and adds a note of the conversation.
- Anything it should not answer, such as a new price or a discount, becomes a task for the deal owner, and the buyer is told who will reply.
- To restart a deal that has gone quiet for more than 24 hours, the salesperson sends an approved template from the AeroChat inbox. When the buyer replies, AeroChat picks it up from the first step.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer with an open deal messages us, follow these steps.
- Search Pipedrive for the person by phone number. If WhatsApp did not pass a number or there is no match, ask for their email or company name and search again.
- Read their open deal, its stage and the latest notes.
- Answer questions about the proposal, delivery and product specifications from the deal notes and our knowledge base.
- If they want to meet or talk, check the deal owner’s scheduled activities, offer two free times in the next three working days, and create a call activity at the time they pick.
- If they say they are ready to go ahead, move the deal to the Negotiation stage (example) and hand the conversation to the deal owner.
- If they ask for a new price or a discount, do not answer it. Create a task for the deal owner due the next working day and tell the customer the owner will reply.
- After each conversation, add a note to the deal with a two-line summary and any date they mentioned.
Never change a price or terms. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the stage names and the task timing to match your pipeline. For Close or Salesmate, name that CRM and keep the steps.
Connect the systems behind it
- Pipedrive. AeroChat reads the person, the deal and the owner’s scheduled activities, and writes notes, stage changes and call activities.
- Close. AeroChat reads the lead and its opportunities, and creates notes, tasks and opportunity updates from the chat.
- Salesmate. AeroChat checks where the buyer’s quote or deal stands and records the conversation on the deal.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What it costs on WhatsApp
A buyer’s replies cost nothing to receive. AeroChat’s replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are service messages: free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. When a salesperson restarts a quiet deal after the window has closed, the first message must be an approved template, charged per message. Answering the buyer when they write, while the window is open, avoids paying for that template. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same follow-up workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. Whichever channel the buyer replies on, the note and the next step land on the same deal.
Who uses it
- B2B suppliers: trade buyers’ questions answered at any hour, with the sales rep handed the deal when it is ready.
Read more: WhatsApp chatbot for sales.
Questions
Can AeroChat send sales follow-up messages automatically?
AeroChat replies inside conversations. It doesn’t send timed follow-ups on its own. It creates follow-up tasks and calls in your CRM, and your salesperson sends an approved template from the AeroChat inbox to restart a quiet chat.
Will my salespeople see what was said?
Yes. Every conversation is in the AeroChat inbox and the mobile app, and a summary goes on the deal in your CRM. A salesperson can take over the chat at any point.
What is the WhatsApp 24-hour window and why does it matter for follow-up?
The window opens with the buyer’s last message. Inside it you can reply freely, and replies are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. After it closes, you can only send approved templates to buyers who opted in, charged per message.
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: lead qualification and quote requests.