WhatsApp Lead Capture Straight Into Your CRM
Lead capture on WhatsApp means every person who messages about buying ends up in your CRM, with their details and what they asked about. AeroChat answers the enquiry, collects the details, checks HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Zoho CRM or GoHighLevel for an existing record, and creates or updates it with a note of the conversation.
What happens today
Enquiries come in on WhatsApp all day. The person replying means to add them to the CRM later. Some get added, some get added twice, and many stay in a phone.
When sales reports on lead sources, WhatsApp barely shows up, even though it brought in a good share of the conversations. When a salesperson leaves, the leads in their phone leave with them.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The lead asks a question. AeroChat answers it first, from your knowledge base.
- It asks for the details it is missing, such as name, email and what they are interested in.
- It searches your CRM by phone number, then by email. If WhatsApp did not pass a phone number, it asks for one or for an email address.
- It creates the contact or lead, or updates the existing one, with WhatsApp as the source.
- It adds a note with a short summary of what the lead asked and anything they said about budget or timing.
- If the lead already has an owner, the conversation goes to that person. If not, your CRM’s own assignment rules decide.
- If the lead asks for a person, AeroChat hands the conversation over in the inbox or on the mobile app.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone asks about our products or services, answer their question first from our knowledge base. Then follow these steps.
- If we do not have their name and email, ask: “Can I take your name and email so our team can follow up?”
- Search Pipedrive for a person with their phone number, then with their email. If WhatsApp did not pass a phone number, ask for one.
- If the person exists, update any missing details. If not, create the person and a lead titled with their name and the product they asked about.
- Set the lead source to WhatsApp and add the label New (example).
- Add a note to the lead with a two-line summary of what they asked about and anything they said about budget or timing.
- If they ask to speak to someone, hand the conversation to the person’s owner in Pipedrive, or to our sales team if there is no owner.
Do not ask for their email more than once. If they don’t want to share it, carry on helping and create the lead with their phone number. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the label and source values to the ones your Pipedrive account uses. For HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM or GoHighLevel, name that CRM instead and keep the steps.
Connect the systems behind it
- HubSpot. AeroChat finds or creates the contact, sets the lead source and adds a note of the conversation.
- Pipedrive. AeroChat creates the person and the lead, and adds a note your salespeople see on the lead.
- Salesforce. AeroChat creates the Salesforce lead and logs the conversation as a task on it.
- Zoho CRM. AeroChat creates the lead in Zoho CRM and adds a note with what the customer asked.
- GoHighLevel. AeroChat creates the contact, adds tags and opens an opportunity in your pipeline.
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 lead’s messages to you are free. 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. If the lead came from a click-to-WhatsApp ad in the WhatsApp app on Android or iOS, a free window of up to 7 days opens and your messages in it are free. Collecting the details in one or two questions instead of five keeps the cost down. 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 lead capture workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. Every lead lands in the same CRM with the channel recorded as the source, so you can see which channels bring in leads. See this workflow on Instagram and on Messenger.
Who uses it
- Property agents: listing enquiries recorded with the property, budget and timing before an agent calls.
Read more: WhatsApp lead generation.
Questions
Can WhatsApp leads go into my CRM automatically?
Yes. AeroChat creates or updates the contact or lead in your CRM during the conversation, with the source and a note of what the lead asked. Nobody has to type it in afterwards.
What if the lead is already in my CRM?
AeroChat searches by phone number and email before it creates anything. If the lead exists, it updates the record and adds a note instead of creating a duplicate.
What if WhatsApp doesn’t show the customer’s phone number?
Some customers use a WhatsApp username, and their number may not come through. AeroChat then asks for a phone number or email, and uses that to find or create the record.
What does WhatsApp charge for lead conversations?
The lead’s messages are free. Your replies within 24 hours of their last message are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. Messaging the lead after that window needs their opt-in and an approved template, charged per message.
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: click-to-WhatsApp ad conversations and lead qualification.