Chapter 05

Capture leads in context.

Stand should not turn the first message into a form. It should help first, then ask for contact details when the visitor has a reason to continue the conversation later.

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Chapter 05 of 09

Field guide

What to learn in this chapter

Good lead capture is a timing problem. The visitor is more willing to share details after the stand-in has been useful, understood the situation, or identified a reason for follow-up.

Use this chapter when you want the agent to collect names, emails, phone numbers, and follow-up intent without making the chat feel like a gate.

Ask after value, not before the first answer.

Tell the agent exactly when contact details are useful.

Use follow-up intent for callbacks, demos, quotes, and human requests.

Filter history by captured contact details later.

Timing

01

Earn the ask before asking.

A premature form says, "Give us your information before we help." A good stand-in says, "Here is the useful answer. If you want me to send this over or have someone follow up, what email should we use?"

This is especially important for expert-led businesses, consulting, real estate, agencies, and early SaaS. The visitor may not be ready to buy, but they may be ready to keep talking.

Example

Consulting inquiry

Situation
A visitor describes a messy internal workflow and asks whether you handle that kind of project.
Move
Answer the fit question first, then ask for email if they want a short follow-up or intro call.
Insight
The transcript gives the consultant a better first reply than a bare contact form ever would.

Example

SaaS pricing question

Situation
A founder asks whether Pro is enough or whether Business is needed for docs-trained agents.
Move
Explain the difference, then ask for email if they want help deciding based on their docs volume.
Insight
The lead is not just the email. The lead is the question plus the constraint behind it.

Instructions

02

Teach the agent the reason for each field.

Do not tell the stand-in to "capture leads" and leave it there. Explain when a name helps, when email helps, when phone is appropriate, and when contact collection would feel pushy.

Phone should usually be asked later than email, and only when a call is clearly useful or the visitor offers it.

Stand Followup settings showing instructions for when the agent should offer a rep follow-up and collect contact details.
Figure 5-1. The Followup skill should explain the situation that justifies contact collection, not merely list the fields to capture.

Prompt snippet

Contact capture guidance

Name
Ask once the visitor has shared a real situation or wants a personal follow-up.
Email
Ask when you need to send something, continue later, arrange a demo, or route the thread to a human.
Phone
Ask only when a callback is clearly useful, such as brokerage, real estate, urgent service, or the visitor offers it.
Follow-up flag
Use when the visitor wants a call, demo, quote, human reply, or explicit next step.

Follow-up

03

Follow up with the conversation, not just the contact.

A captured email is only useful if the rep knows why the visitor gave it. Stand stores the transcript, contact details, and follow-up state together so the rep can reply with context.

Use history filters for "has email," "has phone," or "any contact" to find leads without reading every conversation from scratch.

Practice

Try this next

  1. 01Review new contact-captured chats once per day.
  2. 02Reply with the visitor question in the first sentence.
  3. 03Turn repeated lead questions into better page copy or a stronger agent prompt.
  4. 04Track which pages capture contacts naturally and which only create idle chats.

Follow-up note

Reply with evidence, not a template

Weak first line
Thanks for reaching out. Would you like to schedule a call?
Better first line
You asked whether Business is needed for docs-trained agents; based on the docs volume you described, I would start by checking how many pages need source-backed answers.
Why it works
The reply proves the rep read the conversation and continues the decision the visitor was already trying to make.

Questions

Common reader notes

Can Stand email me when a visitor wants follow-up?

Yes. When follow-up intent is recorded, the rep can receive the transcript and captured contact details after the chat closes.

Can I find leads later?

Yes. History filters include contact presence such as has email, has phone, and any contact.

Continue the guide

Build Stand as a learning loop, one chapter at a time.

Previous chapter 04

Join at the Right Moment

Take over directly or offer to join with consent.

Next chapter 06

Learn From Visitor Conversations

Turn evaluators and skeptics into product evidence.

Try the guide on one real page.

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