WhatsApp for Sales: How to Organise Sales Conversations
WhatsApp for Sales: How to Organise Sales Conversations
WhatsApp for sales means running your inbound sales conversations on one number that several people can answer, with an AI agent covering the gaps when nobody is free. The shared inbox handles the handovers, the AI answers from your own knowledge base and hands the conversation to a human the moment it is unsure, and the whole thing runs on a flat monthly price instead of per-message fees.
In brief
- One number, several people. A shared WhatsApp inbox means the whole team sees the same conversations, so nobody has to trade screenshots of a customer's chat.
- The AI agent answers only from your knowledge base. If it has no confident answer, it stops and hands the conversation to a person.
- Flat pricing in USD: $39, $67 or $139 per month, unlimited team members on every plan, and you can start free without a card.
- Meta's rules still apply. Since 1 October 2026, service messages are paid, with the first 1,000 per month per business number free (they do not roll over).
- No broadcasts, no follow-up sequences, no calendar booking. Bzzip is a shared inbox plus a support AI, not a marketing blasting tool.
In this guide
- What "WhatsApp for sales" actually means
- Three setups compared
- How to set up WhatsApp for sales, step by step
- Honest limits
- FAQ
- Sources and verification
Disclosure: this guide compares Bzzip with the WhatsApp Business app and Meta's official platform. Bzzip publishes this content and is one of the products being compared.
What "WhatsApp for sales" actually means
For a small business, the interesting version of WhatsApp for sales is not the catalogue in a chat window. It is the unglamorous part: a customer sends a message at 9pm, two people are on shift, one of them is in a delivery, and the other does not know the price list. The lead cools down while everyone figures out who answers.
That is what a shared inbox solves. A WhatsApp shared inbox is a single workspace where multiple team members handle conversations coming from one WhatsApp Business number — each chat is assigned, the full history is visible to everyone, and the business can keep replying when an individual person is offline. There is a longer explanation in what a shared WhatsApp inbox is and how to choose one.
The AI agent is the second layer. It answers when no human can: hours, whether you deliver to a certain zip code, what the deposit is, whether Friday slots are still open. And it answers from your knowledge base, so it sounds like your business and not like a generic assistant. When it is unsure, it stops and routes the conversation to a human instead of improvising. The mechanics are covered in the AI agent setup guide.
Together, those two things are what people usually mean by a WhatsApp sales funnel: the conversation comes in on the channel the customer already uses, the bot handles the repetitive qualification, and the human closes.
Three setups compared
| WhatsApp Business app alone | WhatsApp Business Platform through a large provider | Bzzip | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can reply | One person, one phone | Several agents, shared inbox | Several agents, shared inbox |
| Works when one person is off | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI agent included | No | Usually, depends on the plan | Yes — included on paid plans with no key needed; if you bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key, the AI agent costs you only provider tokens |
| AI answers from your knowledge base | No | Varies by provider | Yes, and it hands over to a human when unsure |
| Pricing model | Free app, but no shared inbox | Subscription, often with per-message or per-seat add-ons | Flat monthly price: $39 / $67 / $139 |
| Team members | One | Often priced per agent | Unlimited on every plan |
| Instagram Direct | No | Some providers offer it | Available on paid plans, switched on by request, replies only |
| Message types | Free-form, no platform rules | Templates, 24-hour window | Replies and templates — no broadcasts, no follow-up sequences |
| Best for | A one-person business with low volume | A large team with enterprise needs | A small team that wants one number, several people and an AI |
Two notes on this table. The large-provider column is deliberately generic: pricing changes with region, agent count and message volume, so check the current price sheet of whichever provider you are evaluating. And Bzzip connects your number by QR code using the WhatsApp Business app, or through the official API.
How to set up WhatsApp for sales, step by step
1. Decide what a "sales conversation" means in your business
Write down the actual stages. For a US home services company: customer asks about availability → gets a quote → books → job done. For a small Brazilian shop selling to wholesale clients: customer sends the product list → you confirm stock and minimum order → you send a price. For a Mexican clinic: general question → which specialist → available slot.
2. Write the knowledge base
This is the least glamorous step and the one that decides whether the AI is useful. It answers only from this material, so write it as if someone had to answer from it with no other context:
- What you sell or do, in plain language
- Prices, ranges and what is included
- Coverage: which cities, neighbourhoods, delivery areas
- Availability, opening hours, how quickly you reply
- Payment terms, deposit, cancellation policy
Write it in your own voice. If your customers say "kit" instead of "package", the knowledge base should say "kit".
3. Connect the number
- By QR code — you scan a code from the Bzzip interface with the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. Fastest route, no infrastructure.
- Via the official API — for businesses that need a formal platform connection and someone to handle the credentials.
One important detail: a number connected by QR code is not billed per message by Meta, because it is not an official API link. That is a real cost advantage — and a real constraint. Never mass-send on a QR-connected number: it violates Meta's terms and puts the number at risk.
4. Route conversations to the right people
Decide up front who handles what: which sales conversations go to the founder, which to a junior teammate, which the AI can close on its own, and which should always be escalated. Bzzip's unified inbox is where several people work from the same number; the AI agent is the layer that fills the gaps and qualifies incoming leads.
5. Set expectations about Meta's rules
This is where most surprise comes from, so it is worth being concrete.
Since 1 October 2026, service messages are paid. The good news: the first 1,000 service messages per month per business number are free, though unused ones do not roll over. Per-message price in USD:
| Country | Price per service message (USD) |
|---|---|
| Colombia | $0.0008 |
| Brazil | $0.0068 |
| Mexico | $0.0085 |
| Spain | $0.0200 |
| Argentina | $0.0260 |
| Peru | $0.0300 |
Always check Meta's rate card, because prices change and this table is a snapshot.
The other rule that shapes daily work: free-form replies are only allowed inside the 24-hour window after the customer's last message. After that, you can only send pre-approved templates. A sales conversation that goes quiet for two days cannot be revived with a free-typed message — you need a template. Build a small set of approved follow-ups, keep them short and honest, and accept that WhatsApp for sales is a conversational channel, not a newsletter.
6. Decide what the AI is allowed to do
The Bzzip AI agent answers from the knowledge base, hands over when unsure, and does not do broadcasts, does not run follow-up sequences, and does not book appointments in a calendar. If you bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key — Bzzip adds no markup and sets no message limit, the provider charges you for tokens (typically cents per day for a small shop), and your key is stored encrypted. On paid plans the AI agent is included and no key is needed. Only Anthropic and OpenAI are supported.
Honest limits
- No broadcast and no mass messaging. If you need campaigns, you need a separate tool that respects Meta's rules.
- No follow-up sequences. There is no automated "remind them in 3 days" chain — follow-up stays a human decision.
- No calendar booking. The AI does not book appointments; a human closes the slot.
- The AI only knows what you wrote down. A thin knowledge base gives thin answers.
- It hands over when unsure. By design — and it means you need humans available during business hours.
- Facebook Messenger and TikTok are not available yet. They are on the way, not live.
- Telegram is not a channel. Bzzip is WhatsApp-first.
- Instagram Direct works, with caveats. Available on paid plans, switched on by request, through Unipile — a third-party service, not an official Meta connection. Instagram may request account verification, and you log in on Unipile's page, never on Bzzip, so Bzzip never sees your password. It is replies only, never mass messages.
- Pricing is USD only. $39, $67 or $139 per month. Free to start without a card. Unlimited team members on every plan.
FAQ
How to use WhatsApp for sales?
Start by defining what a sales conversation looks like in your business, then write a knowledge base that answers the questions you get every day — prices, availability, coverage, payment terms. Connect your number by QR code with the WhatsApp Business app or via the official API, put your team into one shared inbox, and let the AI agent answer the routine questions while it routes anything it is not sure about to a person. Then set your Meta expectations: free-form replies only inside the 24-hour window, and the first 1,000 service messages per month per business number free.
How much does WhatsApp for business cost?
Bzzip costs $39, $67 or $139 per month in USD, with unlimited team members on every plan, and you can start free without a card. Separately, Meta charges per service message since 1 October 2026, with the first 1,000 per month per business number free. That Meta cost is usually the smaller number for a small shop, and a QR-connected number is not billed per message by Meta at all — which is exactly why you should never mass-send on it.
Why are people getting rid of WhatsApp?
Mostly because of the noise and the rules, not the channel itself. Business-initiated messages have been paid since 1 October 2026, free-form replies outside the 24-hour window are limited to pre-approved templates, and broadcast lists are the kind of thing that gets a number restricted. What people move away from is WhatsApp as a marketing channel, not WhatsApp as a customer conversation. Keep it conversational — answer people who write to you, keep the volume sane, respect the window.
Is using WhatsApp a red flag?
Rarely for a legitimate business. Scams do exist, mostly around "your account will be closed, pay now" messages and fake job or prize offers — that argues for verifying customers, not for avoiding WhatsApp. Two habits cover most of it: never take payment through a link a customer sends you unsolicited, and never move a conversation to another platform just to complete a transaction. In Bzzip, the AI agent only answers from your own knowledge base, which limits what it will say to strangers.
Sources and verification
Every product claim was checked on 23 October 2026 against three live pages: Bzzip channels (channels and how the number connects), the AI agent page (how the agent answers and handles keys) and the homepage (plan prices). Meta's rules come from WhatsApp pricing and the conversation window documentation. Always re-check Meta's rate card before projecting a cost. Reviewed by the Bzzip team on 23 October 2026.