Active collection: have your agent get to know every customer

An agent asks for contact details when the customer shows interest: they want a quote, a call back or to buy. With Active collection it does not wait for that moment: it tries to get to know everyone who writes, the way an attentive person behind the counter would.

What the agent does

1. It answers first. It answers what the customer asked and, at the end of that same reply, asks what to call them.

2. Then it asks how to reach them. Once it has the name, it asks for the best email or phone “in case the conversation is cut off”.

3. Then it asks your questions. One per message, when they fit the conversation: number of users, best time to call, budget, or whatever you have added.

The agent words the questions itself, in its own tone and in the customer’s language. It does not show a list or a form, and it does not ask again for what it already knows.

Turn it on

1. Open Agents, go into your agent and open the Behaviour tab.

2. Under Lead capture, check that Capture contact details is on.

3. Turn on Active collection.

4. Review the Details it asks for list and press Save changes.

It applies at once on all the agent’s channels. To go back to how it was, turn Active collection off: the agent will only ask for details when the customer wants to be contacted.

Add your own questions

Name, email and phone are the usual ones, and a new agent already has them. The rest depends on your business: someone selling a subscription per user wants to know how many users; someone who calls customers back, what time is best.

1. Under Details it asks for, press Add detail.

2. In Label, write a short name, for example “Number of users”. It is the name you will see the answer under in the lead.

3. In What the agent should find out, write what you want to know in your own words, for example “how many users the account will have”. You do not need to write the question: the agent words it.

4. Tick Required only if you really need it, and order the list with the arrows: the agent asks in that order.

5. Press Save changes.

You can have up to 10 details. Ask only for what you will use: the more questions, the more customers tire before answering.

What is saved, and when

• What the customer writes is not lost. If they write an email or a phone number in a message, it is saved at that moment, even if the agent is answering something else. Spanish 9-digit numbers and international numbers starting with + or 00 are recognised.
• The lead starts with the first contact detail. Until there is an email or a phone number, the name and the other answers are noted in the conversation, and move to the lead as soon as one of the two arrives. The inbox shows the customer’s name from the moment they give it.
• Every new answer goes to the same lead. There is one lead per conversation. The New lead notice arrives once, when it is created.
• Your questions appear in the lead. Answers to the details you added are under “Additional fields”, with their key as the name, and in the CSV export.

On WhatsApp

The agent already has the number the customer writes from, so it never asks for a phone number: it asks for the name and, if it is on your list, an email. The lead is saved with that number as soon as the customer gives their name or any other detail.

If your agent books appointments

While it is booking an appointment, the agent does not ask for these details separately: the appointment already keeps the customer’s name and contact details. The questions of active collection are for the rest of the conversation.

What it uses

Each time the agent saves a detail it takes one more step before answering: that reply can take a moment longer and, with the more expensive AI models, use a credit or so more. You see it reply by reply in the agent’s Playground tab, which is also the best place to check how it asks before leaving it with your customers: see test your agent.