Setup
How to set up lead capture for a CRM free trial
How to set up lead capture for a CRM free trial — answered from your own docs. See how CRM teams use Chatref (lead-capture) to solve it. Start free.
To set up lead capture for a CRM free trial, enable the lead-capture feature in your Chatref agent, define the fields you want to collect (name, email, company, and any qualification details), and embed the widget on your trial signup or product pages. When a visitor asks about the trial, Chatref prompts them for details, and the lead lands in your conversation inbox for sales follow-up.
Before you start
- You need an active Chatref account. Sign up at app.chatref.ai – no credit card, $50 free credit, no expiry.
- Your website must be able to embed the Chatref widget. Typically you will place it on your pricing page, trial signup page, and key product pages.
- Decide which fields you need to qualify a trial lead for your CRM. Common fields are name, email, phone, company, and a free-text “use case” field. You will configure these in the lead capture form.
- If you have not yet built an agent that answers trial-related questions, create one and train it on your CRM help docs, trial FAQs, and pricing. This is optional for lead capture itself, but it increases conversion because the agent resolves questions before asking for contact details.
- If you are new to Chatref for CRM platforms, see CRM platforms.
Step-by-step setup
- Log into your Chatref workspace at app.chatref.ai and select the agent you want to configure (or create a new one).
- From the left sidebar, go to Settings > Lead capture.
- Toggle Enable lead capture on.
- Choose the fields to include. Check the built-in fields you need – Name, Email, Phone, Company – and add custom fields for trial qualification, like “Team size”, “Current CRM”, or “What prompted your interest?”. For CRM trials, at minimum collect name and email, plus a short free-text field for use case.
- Write the request message that appears above the form. Keep it in your brand voice. Example: “Ready to try [Your CRM] free? Leave your details and we will set you up right away.”
- Set when the form appears. You can trigger it immediately when the chat opens or after a set number of messages. For trial capture, we recommend after 1–3 exchanges – the visitor has shown interest, and the request feels natural.
- Save the settings.
- Go to Settings > Embed and copy the widget JavaScript snippet. Paste it into the
<head>or before the closing</body>of every page where you want lead capture to run – typically your/trial,/pricing, and product pages. If you already have the widget embedded, the changes apply automatically.
Check it works
- Open a private browser window and visit a page where the widget is live.
- Click the chat bubble and start a conversation. Ask a question like “What does the free trial include?”
- After the configured trigger (or immediately), the lead capture form should appear. Fill in a test name and email, and submit.
- In your Chatref dashboard, go to the Inbox and filter by the Lead tag. You should see the test conversation with the submitted details alongside the transcript.
- If you do not see the lead, verify that lead capture is still enabled for that agent and that you are viewing the same agent’s inbox. Also try disabling browser extensions that block chat widgets, and clear your cache.
Common issues
The lead capture form does not show up at all.
- Confirm lead capture is enabled for the agent you are testing. The toggle is per agent. Also ensure the page you are visiting contains the correct embed code. Test in an incognito window without extensions.
- Some ad blockers or privacy tools suppress chat widgets. Disable them temporarily while testing.
The form triggers too early or too late.
- Adjust the message threshold in the lead capture settings. If it appears on open, it can feel intrusive. A threshold of 1–3 questions after a user asks something works better for trial contexts.
- After changing the threshold, re-save the settings and hard-refresh the page where the widget lives.
Captured leads do not flow into your CRM.
- Chatref natively stores lead details inside the conversation inbox. There is no built-in push-to-CRM integration. Open the conversation, copy the contact fields, and enter them into your CRM manually. You can also monitor the Inbox regularly or filter for leads to process them in batches.
- For automated transfer, you would need a third-party automation tool that reads from the conversations. Chatref’s lead capture is designed to surface interested visitors to your team directly in the product.
FAQ
How do I capture trial signups?
Enable lead capture in your Chatref agent and embed the widget on pages where trial interest is highest – your pricing page, trial landing page, and in-app onboarding flow. The form appears as part of the chat conversation, so visitors who engage with your chatbot will be prompted to leave their details. You can also trigger the form proactively by setting the message threshold to zero, though a triggered-after-questions approach often feels more natural.
What fields should a lead form have?
At minimum, collect name and email. For a CRM trial, adding company name helps your sales team qualify the account size. One or two custom fields – such as “How many users will you need?” or “What do you use today?” – add enough context to prioritize follow-up without making the form feel long. A free-text “Anything else we should know?” field is a useful catch-all that often surfaces the real pain point.
Related guides
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