Live Chat: From Chatbot to Sales Opportunity in Odoo Helpdesk

The Live chat integration application in Odoo provides seamless integration with other Odoo applications, making it an incredibly powerful tool for businesses. In this comprehensive tutorial, we’ll explore how to transform conversations with potential customers into sales opportunities using Odoo’s live chat capabilities. One of the greatest advantages of the live chat application is how easily it connects with helpdesk tickets, sales opportunities, and customer information, creating a unified customer experience across your business operations.

Setting Up Your Live Chat Operator Profile

Before Live chat integration diving into customer interactions, first, you need to configure your live chat operator profile correctly. This ensures that the chatbot routes conversations to the right specialist based on expertise.

Configuring Your Expertise Areas

To begin with, follow these steps to update your live chat preferences:

1. Click on your avatar icon in the top right corner of your screen
2. Select “My Profile” from the dropdown menu
3. Scroll down to the “Live Chat Expertise” field
4. Select the areas of expertise you want to handle (in this example, we’ll select “Price” and “Offers”)
5. Click “Save” to update your profile

# Important Note
The chatbot can forward conversations to operators based on their subject expertise.
If you're not assigned to a specific expertise area, the chatbot won't be able to
forward related inquiries to you.

Additionally, after setting up your expertise, you must join the Live Chat channel to start receiving chat assignments.

Configuring Your Chatbot for Sales Conversion

Once your Live chat integration operator profile is set up, you need to ensure your chatbot is properly configured to identify and route sales opportunities.

Accessing Chatbot Configuration

Follow these steps to configure your chatbot:

1. Navigate to the Live Chat application
2. Click on “Configuration” in the top menu
3. Select “Chatbots” from the dropdown menu
4. You’ll see a list of active chatbots in your database
5. Click on the “Welcome Bot” (or your specific welcome bot) to open its configuration

The welcome bot is the first point of contact when someone visits your website and engages with your chat system. This bot follows a script that you can customize to identify and route potential customers.

Setting Up Price Inquiry Routing

A critical step is configuring the chatbot to properly identify pricing inquiries and route them to sales specialists:

1. In the chatbot script, locate the “Operator” step
2. This step only triggers if the customer mentions they have pricing questions
3. In the “Operator Expertise” field, add “Price” to assign such inquiries to pricing specialists
4. Click “Save” to update the configuration

With this setup, when a potential customer indicates they have pricing questions, the chatbot will automatically forward the conversation to agents with pricing expertise—in this case, to you.

Joining the Live Chat Channel

Before you can receive any chat assignments, you must join the Live Chat channel as an operator:

1. Navigate to the “Channels” section by clicking on “Channels” in the top menu
2. To join a channel as an operator and start receiving chats, click the “Join” button for the specific channel you want to monitor
3. This step is crucial—if you’re not assigned to the channel, the chatbot cannot forward any requests to you

Handling Live Customer Interactions

When the chatbot has done its job and forwarded a conversation to you, you’ll receive a notification. Now it’s time to convert this inquiry into a sales opportunity.

Responding to Customer Inquiries

When a conversation is assigned to you:

1. Review the previous conversation with the chatbot to understand the customer’s needs
2. Use canned responses to streamline your communication (you can type “/” to see available canned responses)
3. For price inquiries, consider using the “Price” canned response
4. If the inquiry seems like it needs sales involvement, collect necessary contact information

Creating a Sales Lead from a Chat

One of the most powerful features is the ability to directly create sales opportunities from chat conversations:

1. In the chat interface, type “/lead” command
2. Add additional details about the inquiry in the query field
3. Click the link that appears to create a new opportunity
4. The system will automatically create a new sales lead with the customer information

Converting Leads to Quotes

After establishing contact with the potential customer and understanding their needs, you can move to the quoting stage:

1. Open the created opportunity
2. Add the customer’s contact information
3. After determining the appropriate products for the customer, click “New Quotation”
4. Click “Add Product” to include the products the customer is interested in
5. Add all relevant products to the quote
6. Send the quotation to the customer by clicking “Send by Email”
7. Once the customer approves, click “Confirm” to finalize the sale

Best Practices for Live Chat Sales Conversion

To maximize your success rate when converting chat inquiries to sales, consider these best practices:

Prompt Response Time

Always aim to respond within a few minutes of receiving a chat assignment. Research shows that response time significantly impacts conversion rates, with faster responses yielding higher conversions.

Personalize Your Approach

Even though canned responses save time, always add personalized elements based on the specific inquiry. Address the customer by name and reference specific details from their questions.

Record Important Information

Use the internal notes section to record important details about the conversation. This is particularly useful if you need to transfer the lead to another sales team member.

Follow Up Consistently

If a chat doesn’t immediately convert to a sale, set up follow-up tasks in the CRM to ensure you maintain contact with the potential customer.

Advanced Chat to Sales Features

Odoo’s live chat offers several advanced features to enhance your sales process:

Utilizing Chat History for Sales Intelligence

The transcripts from chat conversations provide valuable insights into customer pain points and preferences. Review these transcripts to:

1. Identify common questions or concerns
2. Understand objections that arise during sales conversations
3. Refine your canned responses based on successful conversions

Integrating with Odoo CRM Pipeline

The seamless integration between Live Chat and CRM allows you to:

1. Track the source of leads from chat interactions
2. Measure conversion rates from chat to sale
3. Analyze the effectiveness of different chatbot scripts
4. Optimize your sales funnel based on chat interaction data

Using Tags for Better Lead Qualification

When creating leads from chat conversations, utilize tags to categorize and prioritize leads:

1. Add tags like “Hot Lead,” “Price Sensitive,” or “Enterprise Customer”
2. Use these tags to filter and segment your leads in the CRM
3. Develop specific follow-up strategies based on lead categories

Troubleshooting Common Live Chat Issues

Even with a well-configured system, you might encounter some challenges when managing live chat sales conversion.

Chatbot Not Routing Correctly

If the chatbot isn’t routing conversations to the appropriate operators:

1. Verify that the operator has the correct expertise selected in their profile
2. Ensure the chatbot script has the correct expertise field configured
3. Check that operators have joined the necessary channels
4. Test the chatbot flow as a customer to identify any script issues

Missed Chat Opportunities

To minimize missed chats:

1. Set up email notifications for when you’re assigned a chat
2. Configure your status to “Away” when you can’t respond immediately
3. Establish a backup operator system for high-volume periods
4. Review missed chat analytics to identify patterns and adjust staffing accordingly

Technical Connection Issues

If experiencing technical difficulties:

1. Refresh your browser and clear cache if the chat interface isn’t loading properly
2. Ensure you have a stable internet connection
3. Check that your browser is compatible with the Odoo Live Chat interface
4. Contact your system administrator if persistent issues occur

Measuring Your Chat-to-Sale Conversion Success

To continuously improve your conversion rate, monitor these key metrics:

Key Performance Indicators

1. Chat-to-Lead Conversion Rate: The percentage of chats that convert to qualified leads
2. Lead-to-Opportunity Conversion Rate: How many leads become active opportunities
3. Average Response Time: How quickly operators respond to new chat assignments
4. Customer Satisfaction Score: Feedback from customers after chat interactions
5. Average Sale Value from Chat Leads: The typical revenue generated from chat-initiated sales

Setting Up Reporting

Odoo provides robust reporting capabilities to track these metrics:

1. Navigate to the CRM application
2. Select “Reporting” from the top menu
3. Create custom reports filtering by “Source: Live Chat”
4. Schedule weekly or monthly reviews of these reports to track progress

Conclusion

Transforming live chat conversations into sales opportunities in Odoo represents a powerful way to capture potential revenue that might otherwise be lost. By properly configuring your operator profile, ensuring the chatbot is set up correctly, and following a structured process for lead conversion, you can significantly increase your sales pipeline from website visitors.

The integration between live chat, helpdesk, and sales in Odoo creates a seamless experience for both customers and operators. This unified approach ensures that no customer inquiry falls through the cracks and every potential sales opportunity is captured.

Remember that the key to successful chat-to-sale conversion lies in quick response times, personalized interactions, and consistent follow-up. By implementing the strategies outlined in this tutorial, you’ll be well on your way to maximizing the sales potential of your live chat system.

For more information on optimizing your Odoo implementation, visit the official Odoo documentation or explore Odoo’s community forums for additional tips from experienced users.