Looking to stop wasting your sales team’s time on bad leads? Want to automate the “Are you actually a fit?” questions without sounding like a robot? This guide is for you. We’ll walk through setting up a lead qualification chatbot workflow in ChatBot.com. No fluff, no hype—just concrete steps, honest advice, and a few shortcuts that’ll save you hours.
Let’s get into it.
What’s a Lead Qualification Chatbot, Really?
Before we dive into buttons and flows, let’s cut through the buzzwords. A lead qualification chatbot is just a digital assistant that asks visitors a few key questions—like budget, needs, or company size—and sorts out who’s worth a follow-up. It’s not going to close deals for you, but it can filter out the tire-kickers, collect contact info, and hand off the good stuff to your sales folks.
If you think a chatbot will magically double your sales, you’re in for disappointment. But if you want to cut down on junk leads and automate some repetitive conversations, this is right up your alley.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Qualifying Questions
Don’t even open ChatBot.com yet. The #1 mistake? Jumping into design before you know what you need to ask.
Figure out: - What do your sales reps need to know before they’ll bother with a lead? - Which questions actually filter out the time-wasters? - What info is nice to have versus must-have?
Typical qualifying questions: - What’s your company size? - What problem are you looking to solve? - What’s your budget? - How soon are you looking to buy? - What’s your role in the company? - Best way to reach you?
Pro tip: Keep it to 3–5 questions. Any more, and people start bailing.
Skip: “How did you hear about us?” or other marketing vanity questions. They don’t help qualify leads.
Step 2: Map Out a Simple Conversation Flow
You don’t need a fancy diagram, but know the basics:
- Greeting: Welcome message with a clear value (“I can help you see if we’re a good fit”).
- Qualifying Questions: One at a time, with quick-reply buttons if possible.
- Branching: If someone’s obviously not a fit (wrong budget, wrong location), politely end the chat.
- Contact Info: Ask for email/phone after you’ve built a little trust.
- Handoff: What happens if someone qualifies? (Book a call? Send to sales? Just collect info?)
Sketch it out on paper, whiteboard, or even a sticky note. If you try to build as you go, you’ll end up with a mess.
Step 3: Create a New Story in ChatBot.com
Now you can log in to ChatBot.com and get to work.
- Go to the Stories tab.
- Click “Create new Story.”
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Name it something obvious like “Lead Qualification.”
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Set Up Your Welcome Message.
- Keep it casual and helpful, not salesy.
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Example: “Hi! I’ll ask a few quick questions to see if we can help you. Ready?”
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Add Your Qualifying Questions.
- Use “Question” blocks.
- For multiple-choice (like company size or budget), use button options instead of open text. It makes sorting easier later.
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For open-ended (“What problem are you trying to solve?”), use text input.
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Set Up Branching Logic.
- For disqualifying answers (e.g., “Budget under $100”), send a polite “Sorry, we’re probably not the right fit” message and end the chat.
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For promising answers, move to the next question.
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Ask for Contact Info Last.
- Once you know they’re worth it, ask for email (and maybe phone).
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Example: “Looks like you might be a fit! What’s the best email for us to follow up?”
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Add a Thank You & Next Steps.
- Tell them what happens next. “Thanks! Our team will reach out within one business day.”
Step 4: Set Up Lead Capture and Notifications
Don’t trust the chatbot to magically put leads in your CRM. You’ve got to set up integrations.
Your options: - Email Notifications: Set up an “Action” block to email new lead info to your sales team. It’s basic, but it works. - Zapier Integration: If you use a CRM like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive, connect ChatBot.com to Zapier. Send leads straight to your CRM without manual copy-paste. - Google Sheets: For a bare-bones solution, send responses to a spreadsheet for later review.
What doesn’t work great: Relying on chat transcripts. You’ll lose stuff, and it’s a pain to parse.
Pro tip: Test each integration yourself using a fake lead. Don’t assume it works—check the data arrives where it should.
Step 5: Add the Chatbot to Your Website
Once your flow’s working and tested, it’s time to go live.
- Get the Widget Code in ChatBot.com.
- Go to “Channels” > “Website.”
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Copy the JavaScript snippet.
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Paste the Code on Your Site.
- Stick it in the
<head>or before the closing</body>tag on the pages you want the chatbot. -
If you use WordPress, there are plugins to help with this.
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Set Display Rules (Optional).
- Don’t pop up the bot on every single page load. Consider showing it only on pricing, contact, or demo pages where people are more likely to be leads.
- In ChatBot.com, you can set when and where the bot appears.
Step 6: Test, Tweak, and Don’t Overthink It
Here’s where most people get stuck: endless tweaking. Don’t. The first version won’t be perfect, and that’s fine.
- Test with real humans. Ask a teammate or a friend to go through the flow. Watch where they hesitate or drop off.
- Check the data. Are the right leads coming in? Are your sales reps happy, or still complaining about junk?
- Tweak questions and responses. If people keep giving weird answers, your question’s probably not clear.
- Don’t chase every feature. Skip AI “personalization” or fancy NLP unless you’ve nailed the basics and have real volume.
What works: Simplicity. The more straightforward your chatbot, the more likely people are to finish.
What doesn’t: Trying to make your bot sound like a human. People know they’re talking to a bot. Be clear, not clever.
FAQs & Honest Takes
Should I use AI features or stick to rule-based?
For lead qualification, rule-based (buttons, simple logic) is plenty. AI often adds confusion and weird responses.
Should I qualify leads on the website at all?
Yes—if you get lots of unqualified inquiries. But if you only get a handful of leads a week, a simple contact form and a human might be easier.
Can this replace my sales team?
No. It’s just a filter. Good leads still want to talk to a person.
How do I avoid annoying visitors?
Don’t make the chatbot pop up instantly or cover the whole screen. Give people control.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
You don’t need a perfect chatbot on day one. Start with a basic workflow, see what comes in, and adjust. Don’t waste time on fancy features you don’t need. The goal is to save your team time and get better leads—not to win a chatbot design award.
Build, launch, learn. Keep things real, and you’ll get results.