If you run sales or marketing for a B2B company, you’ve probably heard all the promises about chatbots. “24/7 lead capture!” “Automated qualification!” “Your sales team will finally have time for yoga!” Here’s the truth: if you don’t set up your Freshchat bot right, you’ll waste prospects’ time (and yours), annoy your sales reps, and clog your CRM with junk. This guide is for folks who want to get real value out of their Freshchat bot—no fluff, just practical steps.
Let’s get into what actually works when you want your bot to qualify leads, not just collect email addresses.
1. Start With a Clear Goal
Before you even touch the bot builder, get specific about what a “qualified lead” really means for your business. Don’t just copy a generic template.
- Define the qualifiers. For B2B, you’re usually after company size, role, budget, and maybe a pain point or two.
- Know what happens next. Who on your team gets the lead? What information do they need, and what’s the follow-up?
Pro Tip: Talk to your sales team. They know what makes a lead worth their time—and what info is useless.
2. Map Out Your Conversation Flow (Low-Tech First)
Don’t jump into Freshchat and start dragging boxes around. Do this on paper or a whiteboard first.
- Start simple: Begin with a friendly welcome, a qualifying question or two, and a clear next step.
- Branch only when necessary: If the answer doesn’t affect how you qualify the lead, you probably don’t need a separate path.
- Limit the length: More than 3-4 questions and you’ll see a sharp drop-off. People don’t want a quiz.
What to ignore: Fancy scripts with jokes, random trivia, or asking for info you’ll never use. If your sales team doesn’t care about “favorite color,” don’t ask it.
3. Keep Questions Short and Direct
Bots aren’t humans. People have zero patience for rambling or cutesy. Here’s what works:
- Ask for one thing at a time. “What’s your work email?” Not “Can I please get your full name, company, and email?”
- Use simple language. Skip “May I inquire as to your annual revenue?” Try “Roughly how many employees does your company have?”
- Make it easy to answer. When possible, use buttons or quick replies instead of open text fields.
What doesn’t work: Long-winded intros, or hiding the ask behind “just a couple questions.” Be upfront.
4. Pre-Qualify With Smart Multiple Choice
Don’t make people type more than they have to. Use button choices, and keep them relevant.
For example:
- “How big is your company?”
- 1–10 employees
- 11–50 employees
- 51–200 employees
- 201+ employees
- “What’s your role?”
- Decision maker
- Influencer
- Researcher
- Just browsing
Why this works: It’s fast, it’s easy, and it lets you steer the conversation. Plus, your CRM data will be cleaner.
5. Qualify—But Don’t Grill
You want enough info to know if a lead is worth your time. But if you ask for too much, most folks will bail.
What to ask: - Name (first name is fine) - Work email (validates they’re a real company) - Company name (or website) - Role/title - One “deal-breaker” qualifier (like budget or location)
What not to ask: - Phone number, unless you’re actually going to call - Every possible pain point or use case - Irrelevant stuff just to “build rapport”
If you must ask a tough question (like budget), explain why. “So we can match you with the right specialist, what’s your ballpark budget?”
Pro Tip: If you’re getting a lot of drop-off, try dropping a question. You can always ask more after the handoff.
6. Don’t Fake Human—Be Transparent
People know when they’re talking to a bot. There’s no sense pretending otherwise.
- Open with, “I’m a virtual assistant—let’s get you to the right person.”
- Don’t use fake typing delays or signatures.
- Be clear about what the bot can and can’t do.
Why this matters: When people think they’re talking to a person and get bot-like answers, trust plummets.
7. Use Conditional Routing (But Don’t Overdo It)
Freshchat lets you set up rules to send leads to the right team or rep. Use this—just don’t get lost in the weeds.
- Route by role, company size, or region. If you have different sales reps for different segments, set up routing rules based on the answers.
- Set a fallback. If the bot can’t qualify, send to a general queue or offer a calendar link.
What to ignore: Over-complicating with a dozen routing rules for edge cases. Start with the big buckets and refine later.
8. Integrate With Your CRM—But Clean Up First
It’s tempting to push every chat straight into your CRM. Resist that urge, unless you want junk records.
- Only sync leads that meet your minimum criteria. Use Freshchat’s workflows to filter out obvious spam or unqualified contacts.
- Map fields carefully. Make sure your bot’s questions line up with your CRM’s fields—otherwise you’ll get garbage data.
- Test with real conversations. Don’t just trust the test data.
Pro Tip: Set up alerts for your sales team if a hot lead comes in, but don’t notify them for every “just browsing” visitor.
9. Don’t Set It and Forget It—Review and Iterate
Bots aren’t magic. The first version probably won’t be perfect.
- Check your drop-off points. Where are people abandoning the chat? That’s where you’re asking too much, or confusing them.
- Ask your sales team for feedback. Are the leads coming in actually any good? Are you missing key info?
- Tweak one thing at a time. Change a question, update a routing rule, and see what happens.
What to ignore: Shiny new “AI” features unless you can see exactly how they help your process. Most of the time, simple is better.
10. Respect Privacy and Compliance
Don’t get yourself in trouble over a bot.
- Be clear about what you’ll do with info. A simple “We’ll use your info to follow up about your request” goes a long way.
- Don’t ask for sensitive info you don’t need.
- Comply with GDPR, CCPA, or other relevant rules. Freshchat has tools for this, but you have to use them.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
The best Freshchat bots are the ones that qualify leads without making people jump through hoops. Don’t overthink it. Start with the basics, talk to your sales team, and tweak as you go. The fewer questions, the better. Focus on what actually moves the needle for your team—not what’s trendy or sounds impressive in a demo.
Stick to these principles, and you’ll have a bot that actually helps your business (and doesn’t drive prospects nuts).