WhatsApp lead generation in India: the seven doors a lead comes through, consent at each one, and the minute that decides whether it was worth it
Click-to-WhatsApp ads, a wa.me link on everything you print, a website widget, Instagram, Google Business Profile, a form with the right tick-boxes, and the customers already messaging you — with what each is good for and how to measure it.
Leads reach a business's WhatsApp from seven places: Click-to-WhatsApp ads, a wa.me link or QR on everything you print, a website widget, an Instagram profile and story button, a Google Business Profile, a form that asks for the number, and the people who already message you. The ad is the cheapest entry WhatsApp has, because the first 72 hours are free and the click is attributed to the deal. All of them are wasted without a reply in the first minute.
On this page
Seven doors
| Door | How | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| Click-to-WhatsApp ads | A Meta ad whose button opens a chat; 72 hours free; attributed by a token | Paid acquisition that lands in a conversation, not a form. Guide |
| wa.me link and QR | https://wa.me/91XXXXXXXXXX?text=Hi — on the site, the signboard, the invoice, the packaging | Every physical and printed surface |
| Website widget | A button that opens WhatsApp with a pre-filled message | Visitors who would not fill a form |
| The WhatsApp button on a professional profile; a DM that moves to WhatsApp | Brands whose customers find them on Instagram | |
| Google Business Profile | The chat button, for a business with a physical presence | Local search |
| A form that asks for the number | With a tick-box for WhatsApp updates, and marketing separately | Portals, landing pages, exhibitions |
| Existing customers | The people already messaging you, asked once if they want offers | The cheapest list you will ever have |
Consent at every door
A person who messages you first has opted in to the conversation, and to utility messages about what they asked for. Marketing later needs its own yes — a tick-box on the form, a question in the thread — recorded with the source and the time. A door that produces numbers without consent produces blocks. The consent guide has what each message needs.
The first minute decides it
Whatever door the lead came through, they are on their phone now, choosing between the businesses they just messaged. A reply within a minute that uses their name, restates what they asked, names a person and asks one or two real questions is a conversation. A reply an hour later is a template to someone who has moved on. The speed-to-lead guide is about the message; this guide is about getting the door open.
What to capture, and where
Four to six facts per lead, decided once per business — budget, size, dates, product, whatever the quote needs — asked one or two at a time and written onto a record rather than left in the chat. A record with those fields filled is a lead a person can act on in one look, a score can rank, and a rule can gate; a transcript with the same facts in it is none of those. The qualifying guide has the questions by industry.
Measuring the doors
- Leads per door per week — the wa.me link on the invoice may outperform the ad.
- Time to first reply, which should be under a minute for every door, at every hour.
- Qualified leads per door — the ones whose fields got filled.
- Cost per won deal for the paid door, attributed from the click to the close.
In Linkubit
A Click-to-WhatsApp message joins the person who clicked even from a number never seen before, because the referral token is read on the way in; a website enquiry, an Instagram DM and a WhatsApp message from the same person are one contact; the assistant answers every door in the first minute and asks the questions you defined; and the report shows cost per qualified lead and per won deal by campaign.
How do I get leads on WhatsApp for free?
A wa.me link with a pre-filled message on everything you already print and publish — the website, the signboard, the invoice, the Instagram bio — and a reply in the first minute. The first is free; the second is what converts it.
Are Click-to-WhatsApp ads worth it?
For a business that sells by conversation, they are the cheapest paid entry WhatsApp has: no landing page to lose people on, 72 hours of free messaging, and attribution from the click to the deal. Only if something answers in the first minute.
Can I collect WhatsApp numbers from a form?
Yes, with a separate tick-box for WhatsApp updates and another for marketing, and the source and time recorded. A pre-ticked box is not consent under the DPDP Act.
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