sales-chatbot

What this skill does

# Chatbot Marketing & Conversational Automation

Help the user build chatbot flows for sales, support, and marketing — across WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Viber, website live chat, and other messaging platforms.

## Step 1 — Gather context


If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

**What channel are you building for?**
- a) WhatsApp Business
- b) Telegram
- c) Facebook Messenger
- d) Instagram DMs
- e) Website live chat widget
- f) Viber
- g) Multiple channels / omnichannel
- h) Not sure yet — help me choose

**What's the bot's primary job?**
- a) Lead qualification — ask questions, score, route to sales
- b) FAQ / support — answer common questions automatically
- c) Product catalog / e-commerce — browse, recommend, purchase
- d) Appointment booking — schedule meetings or demos
- e) Welcome / onboarding — greet new subscribers, set expectations
- f) Re-engagement — win back inactive contacts
- g) Order tracking / transactional — status updates, notifications
- h) Full conversational sales funnel

**What's your technical comfort level?**
- a) No-code visual builder only
- b) Comfortable with webhooks and basic integrations
- c) Developer — want API-level control

## Step 2 — Strategy and approach

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for channel comparison, flow design principles, lead qualification frameworks, FAQ bot structure, platform-specific guidance (SendPulse, SWAI, ManyChat, Tidio, Intercom, Drift, HubSpot), bot-building steps, metrics benchmarks, and common mistakes.

*You no longer need the platform guide details — focus on the user's specific situation.*

## Step 3 — Actionable guidance

Based on the user's channel and bot type, provide:

1. **Platform recommendation** — which chatbot platform fits their channel, budget, and technical level
2. **Flow design** — map the conversation for their specific use case (qualification, FAQ, e-commerce, booking)
3. **Integration setup** — connect bot to CRM, calendar, or e-commerce platform
4. **Testing plan** — how to test the bot before going live
5. **Optimization** — which metrics to track and how to iterate on drop-off points

## Gotchas

*Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about platform-specific rules that may change.*

- **WhatsApp 24-hour window is strict** — if you send a non-template message outside the window, it silently fails or gets your account flagged. Always check `last_activity` timestamp before sending.
- **Facebook/Instagram 24-hour rule** — similar to WhatsApp, Messenger has a 24-hour standard messaging window. Outside it, you need message tags (limited to specific use cases like confirmed event updates or account updates).
- **Template approval takes time** — WhatsApp message templates require Meta review (hours to days). Don't wait until launch day to submit templates.
- **Bot-to-human handoff state** — most platforms pause the bot during human chat but don't always resume correctly. Test the full cycle: bot → human → bot resumes.
- **Multi-channel subscriber identity** — a user on WhatsApp and Telegram is often two separate contacts in the platform. Merging/deduplication requires matching by phone or email.

- **Self-improving**: If you discover something not covered here, append it to `references/learnings.md` with today's date.

## Before recommending a specific platform skill

This skill covers a strategy domain across many platforms. **Before pointing the user to any specific platform skill** (any `/sales-{platform}` listed in `## Related skills`, e.g., `/sales-mailshake`, `/sales-klaviyo`, `/sales-apollo`), read that platform skill's actual `SKILL.md` first. The 1-line description in `## Related skills` is enough to *identify* a candidate — it's not enough to *commit* to it or to write a prompt that invokes it well.

**How to read it:**
- If `~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` exists locally, `Read` it.
- For `sales-*` skills, `WebFetch` directly from this repo: `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` — e.g., for `sales-mailshake`: `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/sales-mailshake/SKILL.md`.
- For non-`sales-*` skills (third-party), look up `{org}/{repo}` in `~/.claude/skills/sales-do/references/skill-sources.md` if installed and fetch the same `skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` path under that repo.

**After reading,** ground your recommendation in something concrete from the SKILL.md (its scope, a sub-flow, its `argument-hint` shape, or a "Do NOT use for..." negative trigger). Align any generated invocation with the platform skill's `argument-hint`. If the platform skill turns out not to fit the user's situation, swap to another or handle the question here directly rather than recommending a poor fit.

## Step 5 — Related skills

- `/sales-zendesk` — Zendesk platform help (AI agents, chatbot automation, ticketing)
- `/sales-helpdesk-selection` — Help desk platform comparison (Zendesk vs Freshdesk vs Intercom vs Help Scout)
- `/sales-hubspot` — HubSpot platform help (chatbot builder, Conversations inbox, live chat)
- `/sales-qualified` — Qualified platform help (Piper AI SDR conversations, Salesforce-native chatbot)
- `/sales-sendpulse` — SendPulse platform help (chatbots across 7 channels, visual flow builder, Automation 360)
- `/sales-swai` — SWAI platform help (AI chat widget, autonomous lead qualification, Cal.com scheduling)
- `/sales-birdeye` — Birdeye platform help (webchat chatbot for multi-location businesses, appointment scheduling)
- `/sales-live-chat` — Live chat widget setup and optimization (non-bot focused)
- `/sales-sms-marketing` — SMS campaigns and automation (non-conversational)
- `/sales-cadence` — Multi-channel outbound sequences (email, call, social — structured outreach vs. conversational)
- `/sales-email-marketing` — Opt-in email marketing (broadcasts, automations, newsletters)
- `/sales-integration` — Connect chatbot platforms to CRM, helpdesk, and other tools
- `/sales-audience-growth` — Grow your subscriber base (pop-ups, lead magnets, opt-in forms — feed contacts into bot flows)
- `/sales-lindy` — Lindy platform help (AI agent builder with custom chatbot creation and knowledge base RAG)
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do`

## Examples

### Example 1: WhatsApp lead qualification bot
**User says**: "I want to build a WhatsApp bot that qualifies leads for my SaaS product and books demos"
**Skill does**: Recommends WhatsApp Business API setup, designs a 4-step qualification flow (greeting → role question → team size → pain point), explains 24-hour window and template requirements, configures meeting booking via calendar link, sets up hot lead handoff to sales rep
**Result**: Working WhatsApp bot that qualifies inbound leads and books demos for qualified prospects

### Example 2: Multi-channel FAQ bot
**User says**: "We get the same 20 questions on our website, Facebook, and Instagram. Can I automate this?"
**Skill does**: Recommends a platform with multi-channel support (SendPulse, ManyChat, or Tidio), structures FAQ into 5 categories with sub-menus, configures fallback to human agent after 2 failed attempts, sets up the same flow across website widget + Facebook + Instagram
**Result**: FAQ bot deployed on 3 channels, reducing support ticket volume by handling common questions automatically

### Example 3: E-commerce abandoned cart recovery via Messenger
**User says**: "I want to send abandoned cart reminders through Facebook Messenger instead of email"
**Skill does**: Explains Messenger 24-hour window and checkbox plugin for opt-in, designs flow: 1hr reminder with product image → 24hr discount offer → fallback to email if no response, configures Shopify/WooCommerce webhook to trigger the flow, adds human handoff for purchase objections
**Result**: Me