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How to capture leads with a chat bot
A contact form waits for someone to fill it in. A chat bot asks - one question at a time, at the moment the person is interested. Done well, a question flow turns "how much would a custom table cost?" into a lead with a name, a way to reply and the details you need to quote. Done badly, people give up at question two. Here's how to do it well.
Start the flow at the right moment
Trigger the flow on the words people use when they're ready: quote, price, booking, appointment, custom
order. On a website, add a quick-reply button such as "Get a quote" so visitors don't have to type. On Discord
or Telegram, a command like !apply works better than keywords, because general chat is noisy.
Ask three to five questions
Every extra question loses people. Ask only what you need to give a useful first reply:
- Name - so the reply feels personal.
- Best way to reach them - email or phone, their choice.
- What they need - one open question. People explain more here than in any form field.
- Optional: one qualifying detail - a date for bookings, a budget or quantity for quotes.
Say what happens next
The closing message should confirm what they sent and set an expectation: "Thanks Dana! We'll email a quote within
one working day." In Bamboo Bot you can repeat their answers back with {answers}, or use a single one
like {answer1} for their name.
Always let people stop
Someone who started by accident should be able to leave. Bamboo Bot flows stop when a person types cancel, and quietly drop after 30 minutes of silence, so a forgotten flow never swallows their next question.
Send the answers where you'll see them
Every completed flow is saved to the bot's Leads list, which you can export to CSV for your CRM or spreadsheet. To act fast, also send each lead to a chat you watch - a staff Discord channel, or your phone through a Telegram bot. Leads answered within an hour convert far better than ones answered tomorrow.
Templates to start from
- Lead capture - name, contact, what they need.
- Booking requests - what, when, how many people, contact. You confirm each one yourself.
- Support tickets - account or order number, what went wrong, how to reach them.
- Guild applications - for gaming communities: in-game name, power, activity, why they want to join.
Respect people's data
Collect only what you'll use, tell people why you're asking, and don't add someone to marketing messages just because they asked for a quote - in many countries you need separate consent, especially for texts. Delete leads you no longer need.