Module 03 · Lead Handling
Auto-Tagging and Qualifying Leads in WATI
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On this lesson
Course outline
Module 1 · WhatsApp Business Foundations
Module 2 · Chatbot Design
Module 3 · Lead Handling
Module 4 · Sales Automation
Module 5 · Scaling Your WhatsApp Channel
Qualification is a routing decision, not a judgment about a person. Tags and attributes should describe the customer’s stated need and the business’s ability to serve it. They should never infer wealth, religion, ethnicity, gender, health, or another sensitive characteristic.
After this lesson, you can create a small qualification schema, deterministic scoring rules, and an audit sample that prevents automation from silently excluding valid customers.
// concept
Define the Minimum Qualification Rule
For each question, write the business reason and allowed values:
| Field | Why needed | Allowed values | Unknown behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| service_code | selects trained team | catalog IDs | show menu/human |
| city | checks coverage | controlled list | manual coverage review |
| timing | prioritizes legitimate urgency | now / 7 days / later | ask once, then unknown |
| budget_band | checks offer fit if necessary | published bands | prefer quote/human |
| consent_marketing | controls future offers | true / false | false |
Use eligibility rules before scores. If a service is unavailable in an area, mark coverage_review or provide alternatives; do not call the person a “bad lead.”
If a score is useful, make every point explainable:
2 points: supported service selected
2 points: supported city confirmed
1 point: timing within seven days
0 points: unknown answer
route ≥4 to sales; otherwise nurture only with consent or human reviewThe score is a queue aid, not evidence of ability to pay or likelihood to buy.
// worked_example
Worked Example
An Islamabad bookkeeping firm serves registered small businesses and freelancers. Its flow records service, city, business type selected by the customer, urgency, and preferred consultation time. A lead requesting a service outside scope receives a truthful explanation and a human-review option.
One contact selects payroll setup, Islamabad, registered company, within seven days. The system sets attributes and adds sales_priority, then creates an event containing the rule version. Another says “not sure” to business type. The bot does not invent a category; it adds needs_discovery and routes to a consultation queue. A monthly audit compares 30 automated classifications with human review and records false routing.
// failure_cases
Failure Cases to Diagnose
7 cases to diagnose
Tags accumulate forever
define who removes them and when.
Free text becomes an uncontrolled category
map to allowed values or preserve
unknown.Unknown scores as zero and suppresses the lead
route uncertain cases for review.
Sensitive traits used as proxies
remove the field and review prior decisions.
Agent can overwrite consent casually
protect the authoritative consent ledger.
Rule changes without version
attach a version to qualification events.
High score triggers marketing without permission
operational priority and marketing consent are separate.
// pakistan_angle
Pakistan Angle
City coverage can be precise without being discriminatory. Ask the customer’s requested service area rather than inferring location from their mobile prefix, name, or language. For nationwide digital services, avoid using city as a quality score merely because clients from certain areas historically purchased more.
Budget questions can feel intrusive. Publish price bands first and allow need recommendation or human help. Quote in PKR, clarify tax and payment terms, and do not imply that a lower-budget lead deserves slower support if the business accepted the enquiry.
// hands_on
Hands-On Exercise
5 steps
Define five or fewer qualification fields and their business purposes.
Create controlled values plus unknown behavior.
Write deterministic eligibility and optional scoring rules.
Configure attributes/tags on internal test contacts.
Manually audit at least ten classifications and log disagreements.
// completion_rubric
Completion Rubric
6 checks — tick as you verify
// sources
Sources
// check_yourself
Check yourself
4 questions · answers and options are taken word-for-word from this course
1 / 4 · diagnose
Your work shows this failure mode: “Tags accumulate forever.” What does the lesson tell you to do about it?