One WhatsApp number for several salespeople: how to organize it
How to split inquiries among salespeople, keep two of them from serving the same customer and keep the history when someone leaves the company, using a single number.
In a nutshell
Having each salesperson use their own WhatsApp seems practical until someone leaves the company and takes the customers with them on their phone. A single company number, with conversations distributed across the team, solves that without losing the personal touch.
Why one WhatsApp per salesperson doesn't work
With personal numbers, the company can't see the conversations, can't measure response times and loses the history when a salesperson changes jobs. The customer also doesn't know whom to write to if their salesperson doesn't reply.
A company number keeps the customer relationship inside the business.
- History stays on a personal phone.
- No visibility for the sales manager.
- No backup when someone is out.
- No way to measure the team.
How to split inquiries
There are three common criteria: by area or branch, by product line, or first come, first served among whoever is available. An initial menu can ask the customer what they need and send the conversation to the right department.
If a customer already has an assigned salesperson, it makes sense for their next inquiry to reach the same person.
- By area or branch.
- By product line.
- By availability.
- Respect the salesperson who already has the customer.
Avoiding clashes between salespeople
Two salespeople answering the same customer with different prices is the most expensive mistake. It's avoided with a simple rule: every conversation has an owner and the others can see it, but don't take it without reassigning it.
If the business needs it, you can go further and have each salesperson stop seeing conversations assigned to someone else.
- Visible owner per conversation.
- Explicit reassignment.
- Internal notes between salespeople.
- Per-conversation privacy if needed.
When a salesperson leaves
With a company number, removing a salesperson doesn't delete anything: their conversations stay in the inbox, with the full history, and can be reassigned to someone else. In Volga, when you remove someone, their open conversations go back to the queue without an owner.
It's best to do it on the day they leave, so no customer is left waiting for a reply that won't come.
- Remove the user, not the history.
- Reassign their open conversations.
- Review their pending follow-ups.
- Each conversation's history shows the change.
How it's done with Volga
Volga connects the company's WhatsApp number and distributes conversations across the team, manually or with a menu that sends each inquiry to the right department. Each salesperson has their own user and the app on their phone, with notifications.
The administrator sees everything, reassigns, checks reports by salesperson and can turn on per-conversation privacy: each salesperson stops seeing conversations assigned to someone else, and conversations that were never assigned stay visible so someone can pick them up.
- One number, many users.
- Routing by department.
- Mobile app for each salesperson.
- Reports by salesperson.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about this guide
Does the customer notice that a different person is serving them?
The customer always writes to the same company number. If the person replying changes, the new person has the full history, so the conversation continues without the customer having to repeat anything.
Can I stop one salesperson from seeing another's customers?
Yes, if the tool supports per-conversation privacy. In Volga it's turned on for the team: each agent stops seeing conversations assigned to someone else, those that were never assigned stay visible to be picked up, and administrators keep seeing everything.