What the Inbox is and how a lead reaches it

Inbox is where your business’s WhatsApp lives in the app, under CRM in the left rail. Conversations holds the threads. The other tabs decide what’s sent automatically, and to whom.

Every lead arrives one of two ways. Most come in as a new row in a lead sheet. Some start by writing to a business number themselves.

Where the sheet comes from

A business that texts new leads has a Google Sheet behind it, one row per lead. Nothing in the app connects a sheet to a business. The ActivityTracker team does that.

Once it’s connected, Setup on the business’s Workflows tab names it under This sheet. Open the sheet opens it.

What happens to a new row

The app reads the sheet once a minute. For each new row, in this order:

1. You’re told on WhatsApp, at the number under Tell me on WhatsApp.
2. The person becomes a card at the top of the first stage in your pipeline. Their number goes in Phone, and the lead source goes in Source.
3. Their first message waits out Wait before sending, then goes out from the business’s WhatsApp number.
4. Once that message has gone, a conversation opens in Conversations, and their replies land there.

A lead already in that table isn’t given a second card. The app matches on the phone number, however the sheet spells it, so +65 9123 4567 and 91234567 are one person.

The card goes into the table named under New leads go to, or your first table when none is set. See Keep more than one book and customise its stages and fields.

The first time a sheet is watched

The app starts from the bottom of the sheet as it stands. Rows already there aren’t read, and nobody in them is texted, so an old list never goes out as a flood.

A sheet whose rows are deleted is handled the same way. The app moves back to the new bottom and sends nothing twice.

When a lead writes in first

A number marked as a business line takes anybody who writes to it, as long as only one business in the district uses that number. The stranger becomes that business’s lead, and their message starts a conversation.

Somebody’s own phone is different. Only people the app has messaged, or that an advisor opened a chat with, count as leads there, and the rest of that phone stays private.

See Connect or reconnect a WhatsApp number for how a number is marked.

What stops each step

Several switches sit between a row and a message. When Conversations is empty, the line under No conversations yet. names whichever one is stopping it.

• Watching this sheet off: new rows aren’t read, nobody is told, and nobody reaches the pipeline. A district admin turns it back on.
• The switch on the First message row off: nobody is texted and no conversation starts. New leads still reach the pipeline, and you’re still told.
• Texting off under District switches: the same, for every business in the district.
• Messages go to set to Me, for now: each first message goes to your test number instead of the lead. A conversation starts only when a lead writes in.

Caution

The district’s Texting switch stops first messages and drops the ones already queued. Those leads aren’t texted later when it goes back on. Rule replies, follow-ups, workflow messages already under way, replies you type and broadcasts all keep sending.

Limits worth knowing

Most per day caps how many first messages a sheet sends in a day. Past it, the rest go out the next day, and the Activity tab says the cap was reached.

A first message that fails is tried again on later checks. After 5 failed attempts it’s dropped, and you’re told the lead never got it.

Somebody who enquires a second time is announced to you again. They aren’t sent the first message twice.

A number in the sheet that belongs to one of your own WhatsApp lines, or to an advisor, is never texted and never becomes a lead.

FAQ

Can I connect a new sheet myself?

No. The ActivityTracker team connects a sheet to a business. Nothing in the app does it.

A row is in the sheet but the lead isn’t in my pipeline. Why?

Check Watching this sheet in Setup, on the Workflows tab. With it off, no new row reaches the pipeline. Also check that the row has a usable phone number.

Where can I see what happened to one row?

On the Activity tab. It logs each alert, each queued message and each send, newest first, with the reason when something was held back. See Check what happened on your sheet.

Does a lead see which advisor they’re talking to?

No. They see the business number the message came from. See Answer a lead in Conversations.