Sales Handoff Criteria for Instagram Automation

CommentLink includes a human-handoff flow node and a shared inbox with assignment. Sales handoff criteria are the rules your team agrees on — the product cannot guess that a ₹20L custom job should skip the bot. This article is the if/then list of when a lead is sales-ready (or complaint-ready). The stop itself — last line, tag, coverage hours — lives in human handoff workflow. Criteria without a workflow dump threads into a pile. A workflow without criteria dumps them onto whoever is logged in.

Write the criteria down. If two closers disagree whether PRICE is a bot job, the automation will thrash. Team inbox context: team inbox. AI versus human on the same thread: AI vs human.

Handoff if any of these are true

• They ask for a human, a manager, a phone call, or “stop the bot.”
• Price is custom, not a published SKU or the rate card you already send.
• Complaint, refund, legal, medical, safety, or harassment language.
• They already bought and this is an account, delivery, or access issue.
• They failed the same qualify path twice (garbage answers, or they keep asking for a number you do not publish).
• High-ticket tag you defined (interior 4BHK, enterprise MSA, custom mentorship) even if they also commented LINK.

If any bullet is true, the next step is a person — not another PDF. The workflow article tells you how to stop. Here you only decide that the bullet fired.

Stay automated if the next answer is already published

They want the published price list, the size chart, the event ticket link, the waitlist form, tonight’s menu, or the lookbook you named in the caption. Those are facts. A closer sitting in GUIDE threads is how sales hates automation.

Should every PRICE comment go to sales? No. Send the public sheet first. Hand off when they ask for a number you do not publish or a custom scope. That if/then is the whole point of this page.

If/then examples you can argue about once

If comment is PRICE and they only wanted the sheet → automated. If they then say “4BHK resale, Koramangala, this month” → sales. Interior studio: the first is a PDF; the second is a senior advisor.

If comment is BOOK and they want Saturday 4pm at the published clinic → automated scheduler. If they say “the last session burned, I want a refund” → clinic manager. Never send the Saturday promo on a burn complaint.

If comment is DEMO and they want the public calendar → automated. If they say “procurement wants a DPA and a custom MSA this week” → AE + legal. If they say “just looking at the docs” → send the public security page, not a closer.

If they comment GUIDE → never sales, unless the same person then writes “I want to buy the ₹2L cohort this week.” The GUIDE tag stays browser until that sentence.

Who is “sales-ready” versus “support-ready”

Sales-ready: custom quote, enterprise extras, “can you do this for a team of 40,” timeline this month, they asked for a person to close. Support-ready: refund, damaged order, “I paid,” harassment, medical. Both stop the bot. They do not both go to the closer. Criteria must name the desk, not only “human.”

Assignment is how the desk is chosen — shared inbox assignment rules. Criteria here: which desk. If you only have one human, say so. Do not tag sales on a refund because that is who is awake.

Writing the criteria so the bot can enforce them

1. List phrases that always hand off: HUMAN, MANAGER, CALL, REFUND, LAWYER, plus your high-ticket words.
2. List keywords that never hand off on first send: GUIDE, MENU, LOOK, SIZE.
3. List keywords that hand off only after a condition: PRICE if they reply custom-scope; BOOK if they reply complaint.
4. Name the desk: sales, support, clinic manager — not “someone.”
5. Put the list in the flow as conditions + human-handoff. Review it when a closer complains they are drowning in GUIDE.

The product cannot infer “this feels like ₹20L.” You infer it with keywords and the sentences above. If your average deal is a ₹499 pack, almost nothing should hit sales except HUMAN and refunds-to-support.

Mistakes that send the wrong people to closers

• Handing off every PRICE. Instead: sheet first; custom later.
• Leaving GUIDE in the sales filter because “they might buy.” Instead: sales lives in BUY/MENTOR/custom PRICE, not in the PDF path.
• Using AI to decide sales-ready. Instead: if/then on words you listed. Models invent discounts; they also invent urgency.
• One tag “hot” for both refunds and enterprise. Instead: complaint versus high-ticket.
• Criteria that require a CRM CommentLink does not sync. Instead: tags in-product; copy out if you must.
• Copying the handoff workflow article’s last-line templates into this doc and calling it criteria. Instead: this page is only if/then.

Copyable if/then card

IF they type HUMAN / MANAGER / CALL / STOP → support or sales desk you named, stop bot.

IF REFUND / LAWYER / medical / harassment → support/manager, never sales promo.

IF GUIDE / MENU / LOOK / SIZE → stay automated (published asset).

IF PRICE and only want the card → automated. IF PRICE and custom scope / unpublished number → sales.

IF BOOK and published slot → automated. IF BOOK and complaint / already paid → support.

IF they asked for a person in any words → stop, even if a keyword also matched LINK.

What CommentLink cannot decide for you

We cannot guess that a custom job should skip the bot unless you wrote the condition. We cannot staff a night shift or invent an SLA. We cannot assign “the right specialist” without assignment rules. We cannot make Meta Business Agent your closer. We cannot treat a Live comment as a sales-ready event — no Live trigger.

When should Instagram automation hand off to sales? When the next answer is custom, emotional, or they asked for a person. Do not make sales live in GUIDE threads. Implement the stop in the workflow companion so the last line and the tag exist.

Not sales-ready — write the no as clearly as the yes

A restaurant MENU comment is not sales-ready. A coach NOTES comment is not sales-ready. A LOOK comment on a drop is not sales-ready. Closers who insist otherwise will drown and then disable the bot. Put “not sales” on the card next to “sales.”

Fitness studio. PLAN = 7-day outline (not sales). PT = published pack page (borderline: still automated). “I need a rehab plan after surgery” = medical, not sales, not a PT upsell. “Corporate for 40 employees in Gurgaon this month” = sales. The surgery sentence is the one teams still send to the closer. Do not.

If two keywords match the same comment (“LINK PRICE”), pick the more specific desk rule: PRICE with custom language wins over LINK. If you cannot pick, hand off rather than send two URLs. Criteria is a decision table, not a vibe.

FAQ

When should Instagram automation hand off to sales?

When the next answer is custom, emotional, or they asked for a person. Do not make sales live in GUIDE threads. Send published sheets first.

Is this the same as the handoff workflow article?

No. This page is if/then criteria (who is sales-ready). The workflow page is the stop: last line, tag, coverage, assignment habits.

Should every PRICE comment go to sales?

No. Send the public sheet first. Hand off when they ask for a number you do not publish or a custom scope.

Who gets refunds — sales or support?

Support or a manager, never a promotional closer. Tag complaint. Stop the bot.

Can AI decide who is sales-ready?

You should not let it. Use listed phrases and conditions. Keep money and legal off the model.

What does CommentLink enforce?

The conditions and human-handoff node you built. It will not infer a ₹20L job from a fire emoji. Write the bullets.

What should never go to sales?

GUIDE/MENU/LOOK first sends, refunds, medical, legal, and “stop the bot.” Closers live in custom PRICE, enterprise extras, and people who asked for a person.

Related reading

• Team inbox
• Handoff workflow
• AI vs human