The catalogue, quick replies, the away message, the link that opens a pre-written conversation. One hour of setup, and your sales change pace.
In Cameroon, sales close on WhatsApp. Not in a basket, not by email: in a conversation. Yet most companies use WhatsApp exactly the way their cousin uses it — and leave money on the table.
WhatsApp Business is free. Here are the settings that matter.
1. The catalogue
You can put your products inside the app, with photo, price and description. The customer scrolls through them without leaving the conversation, and you send an item in two taps instead of resending the same photo for the tenth time.
One tip: shoot on a plain background in daylight, and keep the same framing for every item. It costs nothing and changes everything.
2. Quick replies
You type /delivery and your full text about times and zones drops in. Spend an
hour creating the ten replies you write twenty times a week: prices, delivery,
hours, address, payment methods, guarantee.
You will win that hour back in the first week, and your answers will always be complete — including when you answer fast and badly.
3. The away message and the greeting
The greeting goes out on a new customer’s first contact. It should say who you are, what you sell, and ask a question, so the conversation starts.
The away message goes out outside your hours. It should say when you will reply. “We answer from 8 a.m. tomorrow” is infinitely better than silence: the customer waits instead of calling elsewhere.
4. Labels
Sort your conversations: new, quote sent, follow up, paid, to deliver. On Friday, open the “follow up” label and write to those people. It is the most profitable move of the week, and it costs nothing.
5. The link that opens a pre-written conversation
The most ignored setting, and the most powerful. You can build a link that opens WhatsApp with a message already written. The customer only has to press send.
Every page of our site has one: from a course page the message already contains the course name. From a service page it contains the service name. The result: you know what someone is asking about before you even read.
Put that link in your Facebook bio, on your business cards as a QR code, and on every page of your website.
6. What not to do
Do not broadcast in bulk. Lists sent to people who never asked get your number blocked, and a number blocked by enough people disappears.
Do not mix your personal number with the company number. The day you hire someone to answer, you will not be able to separate anything.
Do not leave a message unanswered for two days. Better to reply “I’m looking into it and will come back to you this evening” right away.
And afterwards
When volume outgrows what one person can follow, there are tools that connect WhatsApp to management software: the order arrives, stock updates, the invoice is prepared. But do not start there. Start with the six settings above, this week.
If you want us to do them with you, one session is enough — and we leave you the written instructions.
