AI Chatbot Guide

01 Setting Up Your First Chatbot

The Chatbot Builder lets you create a fully functional AI support bot in under 5 minutes. Here's how to get started:

• Open the Chatbot Builder from your Soldi dashboard and click the "+ New" button in the sidebar to create a fresh chatbot.
• Enter the business name and description. Be detailed here — this is the core knowledge the AI uses. Include what the business does, who they serve, and what makes them unique.
• Add services. Type each service and press Enter. Add every service the business offers — the more you add, the smarter the chatbot becomes at routing questions.
• Add FAQs. Click "+ Add FAQ" and enter common questions with their answers. Pull these from the business website, Google reviews, or ask the business owner directly. Aim for 5-10 FAQs minimum.
• Set the tone and brand color. Choose a tone (Friendly, Professional, Casual, or Technical) that matches the business personality. Pick their brand color so the widget looks native on their website.
• Write a welcome message. This is the first thing visitors see. Keep it short and inviting: "Hi! How can I help you today?" works great.
• Click Save and switch to the Preview tab to test it live. Ask it questions as if you were a customer.

02 Customizing for Maximum Impact

Account & Support Info

The builder has dedicated fields for support-related information that help the chatbot handle common requests:

• Login / Signup URL — so the bot can direct users to create accounts or log in
• Password Reset URL — for "I forgot my password" questions (extremely common)
• Support Email & Phone — the bot will provide these when it can't answer a question
• Business Hours — "Are you open right now?" is one of the top questions for local businesses
• Return / Refund Policy — handles the #1 support question for e-commerce
• Billing FAQ — for subscription businesses, reduces support tickets massively

Custom Instructions

This is your secret weapon. Use custom instructions to fine-tune how the chatbot behaves:

• "Always suggest booking a free consultation for pricing questions"
• "Never discuss competitor products or pricing"
• "If someone asks about [specific topic], direct them to call [phone number]"
• "Always end conversations by asking if they'd like to schedule an appointment"
• "Respond in both English and Spanish when the user writes in Spanish"

03 Who to Sell To

Not every business needs a chatbot — but most do. Focus on businesses that have high website traffic, lots of repetitive questions, or limited staff to answer inquiries.

Highest-Converting Niches

• Dental offices & medical clinics — appointment scheduling, insurance questions, hours. They lose patients when no one answers the phone.
• HVAC, plumbing & home services — service area questions, emergency availability, pricing estimates. These businesses get calls 24/7.
• Real estate agents — property inquiries, showing requests, pre-qualification questions. Leads go cold fast if no one responds.
• E-commerce stores — shipping, returns, product questions, sizing. Reduces abandoned carts and support tickets.
• Restaurants & cafes — hours, menus, reservations, catering inquiries. Simple questions that shouldn't require a phone call.
• Gyms & fitness studios — membership pricing, class schedules, trial offers. High volume of the same questions.
• Law firms & accountants — practice areas, consultation booking, office hours. Professional services with high-value leads.
• Auto shops & car dealers — service scheduling, inventory questions, financing. Lots of repetitive inquiries.

How to Find Prospects

• Google Maps: Search "[business type] near me" and look for businesses with websites but no chat widget
• Yelp: Businesses with good reviews but complaints about slow response times
• Instagram/Facebook: Local businesses with active social but no website chat
• Chamber of Commerce: Local business directories with owner contact info
• BNI / networking groups: Meet business owners in person, demo on the spot

04 Best Outreach Methods

The key to selling chatbots is showing, not telling. Every outreach method below is designed to get you a demo opportunity.

1. Cold Email (Best for Scale)

Find the business owner's email from their website contact page or use tools like Hunter.io. Send a short, personalized email:

2. Loom / Screen Recording (Highest Conversion)

This is the most effective method. Before reaching out:

1. Build a chatbot for the prospect's business using info from their website
2. Record a 30-60 second Loom video showing the chatbot answering real questions about their business
3. Send the video link via email, DM, or text

When they see their own business info coming out of the chatbot, it stops being theoretical — they can immediately see the value.

3. Walk-In / In-Person (Best for Local)

For local businesses, nothing beats showing up with a demo ready on your phone or laptop:

• Walk in during a slow period (avoid lunch rush for restaurants, Monday mornings for offices)
• Ask to speak with the owner or manager
• Show them the chatbot on your phone: "I built this for your business — want to see it?"
• Let them ask it questions about their own business

4. Instagram / Facebook DMs (Best for Engagement)

Many local businesses are active on social media. Engage with their content first (comment, like), then DM:

5. LinkedIn (Best for B2B / Professional Services)

Connect with business owners, engage with their posts, then send a personalized message referencing something specific about their business. Works especially well for law firms, accounting firms, and SaaS companies.

6. Google Business Profile Reviews

Look for businesses with reviews mentioning slow response times, unanswered calls, or difficulty getting info. These are perfect prospects — reference the reviews in your outreach to show you understand their pain point.

05 The Perfect Pitch

Your pitch should follow a simple framework: Problem → Agitate → Solution → Demo

Lead with Pain Points

Ask questions that make the business owner think about the problem:

• "How many website visitors leave without contacting you?"
• "How many calls and emails do you miss after hours?"
• "How much time does your staff spend answering the same questions over and over?"
• "What happens when someone visits your site at midnight with a question?"

Present the Solution

Position the chatbot as a tireless employee:

• "This is basically a customer service rep that works 24/7, never takes a break, and costs less than a day's pay per month"
• "It handles the 80% of questions that are repetitive, so your team can focus on real conversations"
• "It captures leads while you sleep — every visitor gets an instant response"

The ROI Argument

Tie it to money. One converted lead from an after-hours chat covers months of the service. For a dentist, one new patient is worth $1,000+ per year. For HVAC, one emergency call is $300+. The chatbot pays for itself many times over.

06 Pricing Your Service

Your Soldi membership includes unlimited chatbot creation at no extra cost. Here's how to price your service to clients:

The Real Money: Monthly Retainers (MRR)

The setup fee is nice, but the monthly retainer is how you build real, predictable income. Every client you sign to a retainer adds to your Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) — money that hits your account every single month without you having to find new clients.

What the Monthly Retainer Includes

Position the retainer as ongoing chatbot management, not just "maintenance." It sounds more valuable because it is:

• FAQ & response updates — when the business adds new services, changes hours, runs promotions, or gets new common questions, you update the chatbot
• Performance reviews — check in monthly with a quick summary: "Your chatbot handled X conversations this month, here's what people are asking about most"
• Tone & prompt tuning — refine the chatbot's personality and responses based on real conversations and feedback
• Priority support — if something breaks or they need a quick change, they get it same-day because they're on your retainer
• Seasonal updates — holiday hours, seasonal menu changes, special promotions, etc.

How to Pitch the Retainer

Never make the retainer optional. Build it into every proposal as the default. Here's how to frame it:

Retainer Pricing Tiers

Offer 2-3 tiers so clients can choose (most will pick the middle one):

Collecting Payment

• Stripe or Square invoicing — set up recurring invoices so payment is automatic. No chasing clients.
• Collect first month upfront — always charge the first month's retainer with the setup fee. "The total to get started is $500 setup + $150 first month = $650."
• Offer quarterly/annual discounts — 10% off for quarterly prepay, 20% off for annual. Locks clients in and reduces churn.
• Net-30 for larger businesses — some businesses (especially ones with accounting departments) prefer invoicing. Use Stripe's invoice feature or send a PDF via email.

General Pricing Tips

• Offer a free trial week — let them see the value before the retainer kicks in. Once it's handling customer questions, they won't want to remove it.
• Bundle setup + 3 months — offer a discount for quarterly or annual prepayment to reduce churn.
• Agency model — manage 10+ chatbots and charge per bot. Scales fast with minimal extra work per client.
• Your cost is $0 — everything is included in your Soldi membership. Setup fees and retainers are pure profit.
• Raise prices as you grow — start at $75/mo to build your portfolio, then raise to $150+ once you have testimonials and case studies.

07 The 5-Minute Live Demo

This is the most powerful sales tool you have. A live demo where you build the chatbot in front of the prospect (or show one you already built) closes more deals than any email or call.

Step-by-Step Demo Script

• Open the Chatbot Builder and click "+ New"
• Type in the prospect's business name and a quick description (pull from their website/Google listing)
• Add 3-5 of their most common services
• Add 3-5 FAQs — use questions from their Google reviews or website
• Pick their brand color (grab it from their website) and set a friendly welcome message
• Hit Save, switch to the Preview tab, and ask: "What services do you offer?" and "What are your hours?"
• Show them the Embed tab: "One line of code and this is live on your website"

08 Handling Objections

"We already have live chat"

"That's great — this doesn't replace your team, it handles the 80% of questions that are repetitive so your staff can focus on complex conversations. Think of it as your first line of defense."

"AI gives wrong answers"

"We configure it with your exact business info and FAQs. It only answers what it's been trained on, and for anything it doesn't know, it directs customers to contact you directly. You control the knowledge."

"Our customers won't use it"

"Studies show 70%+ of website visitors prefer instant chat over filling out forms or calling. Especially younger demographics — they expect instant responses."

"It's too expensive"

"One converted lead from a midnight inquiry pays for months of the service. If a single customer finds you through the chatbot, it's already paid for itself."

"I need to think about it"

"Totally understand. How about this — I'll install it for free for one week. If it doesn't capture a single lead or save your team any time, I'll remove it, no charge. Fair?"

"Can I just build this myself?"

"Absolutely — but you'd be spending hours researching AI tools, configuring prompts, and writing code. I handle all of that, plus ongoing maintenance and updates. Your time is better spent running your business."

09 Installing on Existing Websites

After saving a chatbot, go to the Embed tab in the builder to grab the embed code. It's a single <script> tag that works on any website.

WordPress

Option A — Plugin (Recommended)

1. Install the free WPCode or Insert Headers and Footers plugin
2. Go to the plugin settings and paste the embed code in the "Footer" section
3. Save — the chatbot appears on every page automatically

Option B — Theme Editor

1. Go to Appearance > Theme File Editor
2. Select footer.php from the file list
3. Paste the embed code right before the </body> tag
4. Click "Update File"

Shopify

1. Go to Online Store > Themes > Edit Code
2. Open theme.liquid
3. Paste the embed code right before </body>
4. Click Save

Squarespace

1. Go to Settings > Advanced > Code Injection
2. Paste the embed code in the Footer field
3. Click Save

Wix

1. Go to Settings > Custom Code
2. Click "+ Add Code"
3. Paste the embed code, set placement to "Body - End"
4. Apply to All Pages and Save

Webflow

1. Go to Project Settings > Custom Code
2. Paste the embed code in the "Footer Code" section
3. Publish the site

GoDaddy Website Builder

1. Open the website editor and go to Settings > Site-Wide Code
2. Paste the embed code in the footer section
3. Publish

Any HTML Website

1. Open the HTML file(s) in a text editor
2. Find the </body> closing tag
3. Paste the embed code on the line right above it
4. Save and upload

10 Building a New Website with a Chatbot

Many small businesses don't have a website at all. This is a massive upsell opportunity — offer a simple website + chatbot package.

Free / Low-Cost Platforms

Carrd (Free — Best for Simple Sites)

1. Sign up at carrd.co (free plan works for one site)
2. Choose a clean template and add the business name, services, contact info, and photos
3. Add an Embed element, switch to "Code" mode, and paste the chatbot embed code
4. Publish — they now have a website with a live AI chatbot

Google Sites (Free)

1. Go to sites.google.com and create a new site
2. Add business info, images, hours, and a contact section
3. Click Insert > Embed > Embed code and paste the chatbot script
4. Publish — free hosting with a Google domain

WordPress.com (Free tier available)

1. Create a free WordPress.com site with a business-appropriate theme
2. Add pages for services, about, and contact
3. Use the Custom HTML block or upgrade to a plan that allows custom code injection to add the chatbot

Paid Platforms (Better for Charging Clients)

Framer / Webflow

Professional-looking websites with drag-and-drop builders. Both support custom code injection for the chatbot embed. Charge clients $800+ for a polished site with an integrated chatbot.

Netlify / Vercel (Free Hosting for Custom Sites)

1. Build a simple HTML/CSS website (or use a template)
2. Add the chatbot embed code before </body>
3. Deploy for free on Netlify or Vercel
4. Connect the client's custom domain if they have one

The Website + Chatbot Bundle

This is one of the highest-margin offers you can make:

• Charge $800 - $2,000 for a simple website with a built-in AI chatbot
• Add $100 - $200/month retainer for ongoing management (website updates + chatbot tuning) — this is your MRR
• Your actual cost: domain name (~$12/year) + hosting (free on most platforms)
• Position it as: "A 24/7 online presence with an AI receptionist for your business"