{"id":15625,"date":"2022-06-07T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/?p=15625"},"modified":"2024-10-22T17:47:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T16:47:05","slug":"live-chat-sales-funnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/live-chat-sales-funnel\/","title":{"rendered":"From first touch to qualified lead: How to use live chat for sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

The promise of live chat for sales teams<\/a> is being able to connect faster with higher quality leads. But any target-focused sales professional will want to know: how well does live chat actually work?<\/p>\n

Live chat \u2013 especially when it\u2019s part of a modern customer communications platform that helps you make the most of every engagement<\/a> \u2013 is a powerful addition to your sales tech stack<\/a>. Using live chat as part of your sales funnel can grow your pipeline, help your team to work more efficiently, and ultimately boost conversion rates. Not only are the leads coming in<\/a> through live chat of higher quality, they\u2019re also 82% more likely to convert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want to get started with live chat for sales? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Why live chat is the missing ingredient in your sales funnel<\/h2>\n

For many years, B2B companies have executed their inbound sales funnel in a traditional manner that looked a little something like this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Visitor prospects<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0Lead<\/li>\n
  3. Marketing qualified lead (MQL)<\/li>\n
  4. Sales qualified lead (SQL)<\/li>\n
  5. Opportunity<\/li>\n
  6. Customer<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Much like the word \u201cfunnel\u201d suggests, the idea of the inbound sales funnel is to filter visitors and leads through each of the above stages, going from a large volume (visitor prospects) to a smaller but more relevant volume of opportunities that are ready to buy.<\/p>\n

    This traditional sales funnel requires multiple touches in order to qualify the lead and move them through the funnel. This can involve calls, emails, targeted messages, and other highly personalized one-to-one outreach.<\/p>\n

    “Using live chat for sales means that you have an always-on lead qualification machine at your fingertips, allowing you to reduce the number of stages in your sales funnel without reducing lead quality or<\/em> customer experience”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Unsurprisingly, this traditional approach takes time. This means that your sales team can get stuck in an endless cycle of lead qualification and nurture, instead of spending time where it really matters: building relationships with prospects and closing deals.<\/p>\n

    Using live chat for sales, you can:<\/p>\n