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Collecting applications through a chatbot without programming
The form on the website loses leads for the “telephone” field: someone does not want to be called and leaves. In a chat, the same question is perceived differently - this is a conversation, not a questionnaire. Below we will look at how to build a bot in CHBT that asks for a name, phone number and email one at a time, checks that what you entered is not gobbledygook, and places the requests where you will definitely see them. There will be no code: only blocks in the constructor.
Why does a chat lead convert better than a form?
Three reasons. Firstly, consistency: the bot asks one question at a time, and each subsequent answer is psychologically cheaper than the previous one - the person is already “in the conversation.” Secondly, the context: the name and phone number are asked after answering the question about the price or showing the portfolio, and not at the entrance. Thirdly, in the messenger you have already received contact in any form - a Telegram account or VK profile, where you can write. Even if the person did not leave the phone, it is not lost.
The downside: in chat you can’t “make all fields required” and rely on the browser. The bot itself must check the format and ask again - otherwise the database will contain phone numbers like “later” and email “no”.
Basis: template and block “Data collection”
Quick start - template “Collection of applications”: greeting, name question, telephone question, gratitude. Open it in the section “flows” and look what it consists of. The key element is the block "Data collection" (category “Data”). It has six settings:
- What are we asking? — Name, Phone, E-mail or Custom field. The first three are written directly into the contact card, and their field is written into additional fields of the card (for example, “City” or “Budget”).
- Question text - what a person will see.
- Input validation — Without verification, E-mail, Phone or Number.
- Error text — what to answer if the test fails.
- Attempts — how many times to ask again (default 3).
- To a variable — save the answer also to a script variable for further use.
The “name → phone → thank you” scheme is three blocks in a row. If you want to add an email, insert another “Data Collection” between the phone number and the thank you note. Each block waits for an answer: until the person has written, the script does not go further, and the bot perceives the next message from the client as an answer to the question.
Phone and email verification: how it works
Enable verification in each block where you ask for a contact. The rules are simple and predictable:
- Phone - at least seven characters consisting of numbers, spaces, brackets and hyphens, with “+” allowed at the beginning. Will be “+7 (912) 345-67-89”, “89123456789” and “8 912 345 67 89”; “Call yourself” or “912” will not work.
- E-mail - something@something.domain without spaces. “ivan@mail.ru” will pass, “ivan@mail” and “ivan mail.ru” will not.
- Number - for budget, number of guests, area.
If the input fails, the bot will send “Text on error” and wait again. Don't leave this field blank: the standard "Try again" doesn't explain anything. Write specifically: “It looks like there are not enough numbers in the number. Write it like this: +7 900 000-00-00.” Keep the number of attempts within 2–3: after the third failure, it is better not to torture the person, but to offer the “Contact me in this chat” button - you already have a contact in the messenger.
Validation will not save you from someone else’s number being “correct in format” - this is normal. Its task is not to weed out everyone, but not to allow leads with “no” and “later” to enter the database as workers.
Benefit first, contact later
The most common mistake is asking for a phone number in the first message. The order to start with:
- Push-button selection: service, type of object, direction - what the person already wants to tell you.
- Useful answer by choice: price “from”, terms, example of work. Give an example or price list with a link - a URL button or a link in the “Messages” text: the bot sends files only in a widget on the site, not in Telegram, MAX and VK.
- The name question is the cheapest, almost no one refuses.
- Phone or email with an explanation: “Where should I send the calculation?” explains why the contact is needed, and “What is your phone number?” - No.
- Confirmation with data repetition: “Thank you, {{name}}! We will send the calculation to {{email}} today before 18:00.”
Variables {{name}}, {{phone}}, {{email}} are automatically inserted into any message - this is data from the contact card. Your field, saved “In a variable”, is also substituted by the name of the variable.
If the niche allows, give a choice of communication channel using the buttons: “Call”, “Write here”, “Email”. Those who chose “Write here” do not need a phone number - go straight to the “Operator” block, and the lead will still be in the account.
Where does the lead go and how to find out about it
Once the bot has saved the phone or email, several things happen.
Section "Contacts". A person’s card with name, phone, email, channel (Telegram, MAX, VK or widget), tags and additional fields. There is an upload to CSV with one link - for transfer to the manager or download to your system.
Letter to the owner. A “new lead” notification with a name and contact is sent to your account address. It can be turned on and off in “Account → Notifications”, enabled by default. There is also push in the browser if you want to see leads without keeping your account open.
Section "Conversations". All correspondence is saved; if at the end of the script there is an “Operator” block, the conversation will immediately go into the inbox with a mark, and the manager will answer from the account without leaving the messenger.
Tags Add the “Action” → “Add tag” block to the script (for example, “lead-September” or service name). Then it’s easy to filter contacts using tags and run targeted mailing by segment (at Basic and higher).
Submit the request to CRM, spreadsheet or manager's email
Built-in CRM in CHBT - kanban with stages in the “CRM” section. A transaction can be entered there manually and linked to a contact, or automatically - using an action "Transaction in CRM" in the “Action” block immediately after collecting the phone: the card will appear in the “New” column without the participation of the manager (for details, see the article about leads from bot in CRM). If you already have your own system - Bitrix24, amoCRM, Google spreadsheet via Make or n8n - use the action “HTTP request” in the “Action” block. The bot will send a POST to your URL with data: contact ID, tags, all script variables, last text and channel.
An important detail: this request includes variables, not card fields. Therefore, in the “Data collection” blocks, fill in “To variable” - for example, lead_phone and lead_email - and they will be in the request. For more information about the format, see the help for webhook from script.
Deduplication is on your side: the same person can go through the flow twice. In the CHBT card this will be one contact (via messenger), in an external system - check by phone.
One flow for every channel
The application collection script is not tied to the messenger. Collected for Telegram - the same bot answers in MAX, on VKontakte and in the widget on the website: channels are added in one project, leads from all go into one “Contacts”. The only amendment is that on the website you can collect the phone number without a script, using the “Leave contacts” button in the widget, and in MAX the texts should be shortened.
If you need to understand which channel brings leads, put the “Channel” condition in the script and add different tags - in a week in “Contacts” you will see where people came from.
Checklist before launch
- Go through the flow yourself from your phone: enter the wrong number and make sure that the bot replies with your text and not the standard one.
- Check that your name, phone number and email appear in “Contacts” and that you have received an lead letter.
- Make sure that after the thank you there is either “Operator” or a clear “Ask a question” button - the dead end at the end of the flow loses those who change their minds about leaving.
- If you have configured an HTTP request, send a test request and see what comes to your side.
The Free plan includes one bot and 30 conversations per month, all channels are included. This is enough to collect the first leads and decide whether Basic is needed. Create a bot for applications for free →
“Lead capture” templateHelp: Variables and FieldsHelp: webhooks