A website chatbot should help the visitor first, then collect useful sales context when the visitor wants to buy. These five questions are options for a relevant path, not a form every visitor must complete. Below are example phrasings and ways to use each answer.
Keep each turn short. Let the bot ask one question at a time and use the visitor’s reply to decide the next step.
Q1 — "What brings you to our site today?"
Why ask it This is an open, low-friction starter. It reveals intent (research, pricing, support, order lookup) and often gives you keywords you can use to route the conversation.
How to phrase it
- Friendly and neutral: "What brings you to our site today?"
- If you need to nudge options: "Looking for product info, pricing, order help, or something else?"
What to do with the answers
- If they say “pricing” or “buy”: mark as commercial intent and follow up with product choice and budget question (Q2).
- If they say “support” or “order”: route to support flows; verify order details if necessary.
- If they’re vague or say “just browsing”: offer helpful resources and a soft capture (newsletter or optional demo).
Follow-up examples
- For buying intent: "Which product are you looking at?" (lead for Q2)
- For research: send a product comparison or buying guide and ask permission to follow up later.
Q2 — "Which product or service are you interested in?"
Why ask it Knowing the exact product narrows the lead profile, helps match an agent by expertise, and makes follow-up personal and relevant.
How to phrase it
- Direct: "Which product or service are you interested in?"
- If you sell many SKUs, offer quick buttons for the top categories plus "Other."
What to do with the answers
- Map the product to a sales playbook: high-value or custom products should trigger a human handoff or booking.
- If they pick "Other" or type a product name, capture that text in the lead record and use it in the follow-up.
Routing tip If the product implies a long sales cycle or a demo (e.g., custom work), present an immediate calendar booking or ask permission to have a rep call.
Q3 — "When are you looking to decide or start?"
Why ask it Timing distinguishes hot leads from long-term prospects. It also sets expectations for follow-up cadence.
How to phrase it
- Simple: "When are you planning to decide or get started?"
- Give choices if you prefer buttons: "This week / This month / In a few months / Just researching"
What to do with the answers
- Use the timing to prioritize: sooner timelines get higher priority for call scheduling and quicker email follow-up.
- If they say "just researching," shift to nurture: send educational content and ask if they'd like to receive updates.
Privacy note Don’t push a hard close. Timing is an input for prioritisation, not a commitment.
Q4 — "Who’s the decision‑maker for this project?"
Why ask it This reveals whether you’re talking to a user, researcher or decision-maker and helps you tailor the next step without assuming the visitor can approve a purchase.
How to phrase it
- Polite and direct: "Who will sign off on this project?"
- If you must be softer: "Is this for you, your team, or someone else?"
What to do with the answers
- If they are the decision-maker, offer immediate next steps: demo, quote, or phone call.
- If they are not, offer a summary they can share or a joint call. Ask for another person's contact details only with that person's consent.
How to handle evasive replies If they skip the question, continue helping without labeling the visitor or forcing a sales path.
Q5 — "Can I get your email so I can send details or book a call?"
Why ask it You need permission and a contact route for a later follow-up. Ask for email after you have provided useful information.
How to phrase it
- Clear and optional: "Can I get your email to send product details or to set up a call?"
- Offer value you can actually deliver: "If you leave an email, I can send the product guide."
What to do with the answers
- Confirm the email format and test any optional confirmation flow your tool supports.
- Record the email and relevant answers in your CRM only after explaining the follow-up purpose.
- If they refuse, keep helping in the current chat without asking again.
Compliance and UX Be explicit about what you’ll use the email for. Include a link to your privacy policy for GDPR and similar regulations.
How to structure the conversation flow
- Start with Q1. Let the visitor’s answer determine whether any qualification question is relevant or whether support is the better path.
- Keep one question per turn. Avoid multi-question messages that overwhelm the visitor.
- Use buttons for common answers to reduce friction and improve analytics.
- Always offer human help as a prominent option. Some visitors will want a person rather than a bot.
Scoring and routing (no guesswork)
Instead of assigning made-up scores, decide qualitatively:
- Which answers indicate immediate sales opportunity (e.g., buying now, decision-maker present)?
- Which answers mean support or order lookup?
- Which answers mean nurture?
Create rules that map answers to three clear outcomes: immediate handoff, send targeted content and add to nurture, or route to support. Test and adjust those rules weekly based on chat outcomes.
What to measure and iterate
Track these metrics, and iterate on wording or flow based on the trends:
- Chat-to-lead conversion rate (how many chats produce an email or CRM record).
- Lead-to-opportunity conversion (how many chat leads become sales opportunities).
- Handoff success rate and average time to human response.
- CSAT and sentiment on qualification flows to check whether questions feel pushy.
- Knowledge gaps: common questions the bot can’t answer so you can add content.
Use chat transcripts to spot where people drop off or get confused. Update phrasing, shorten questions, or add clarifying options.
Hand-off and CRM hygiene
- Always send a transcript and context to the human agent: what the visitor said, product of interest, timing, and whether they’re the decision-maker.
- Add tags for product, intent, and priority so sales can filter leads.
- If your platform captures leads and conversations into a CRM automatically, confirm that fields map correctly and test the workflow with a few sample chats.
If you use a bot that trains on your content and supports human handoff with transcripts and lead capture (for example, SuperBot), make sure your help articles and product pages are up to date so the bot answers consistently and cites the right source.
Avoid these common mistakes
- Asking for email first. Visitors abandon if the first thing you ask for is contact info.
- Overloading with questions. Keep it to the five core questions and one optional follow-up.
- Neglecting routing. A qualified lead sent to a generic support queue will cool off fast.
- Not tracking outcomes. If you don’t measure what happens to chat leads, you’ll never tune the process.
What to do this week
- Review your chatbot flow and ask only the questions relevant to the visitor's request.
- Create routing rules for three outcomes: handoff, nurture, support.
- Add clear email capture wording and a privacy link.
- Run five test chats and inspect the CRM records and handoff transcripts.
- Review chat transcripts for any confusing prompts and shorten language where needed.
