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Every lead your dealership generates — whether from a web form, a Facebook ad, an inbound text, or a live chat widget — lands in one place: the Dealer Funnel Conversations inbox. Instead of bouncing between your SMS platform, your email client, and your Facebook page, your agents see every message, every channel, and every lead in a single unified thread. That means faster response times, fewer dropped conversations, and a clearer picture of where every lead stands in your sales process.

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How Conversations Are Created

Conversations appear in your inbox automatically whenever a new lead reaches Dealer Funnel. You don’t have to create them manually — the platform creates a thread the moment contact is made and keeps every subsequent touchpoint attached to that same record.
When a prospect texts one of your Dealer Funnel tracking numbers, the platform creates a new conversation and routes it to the appropriate inbox based on your routing rules. The lead’s phone number is matched against existing records to avoid duplicates.
Leads imported via CSV or pushed from third-party sources (Cars.com, CarGurus, AutoTrader, your website’s OEM form, etc.) are ingested automatically and appear as new conversations. Any prior contact history that is included in the import is attached to the thread.
Submissions from Dealer Funnel landing pages and embedded web forms instantly generate a conversation. The lead’s name, email, phone, and vehicle interest are pre-populated from the form fields, so your agents have context before they send the first message.
When a prospect submits a Facebook Lead Ad form or sends a message to your dealership’s Facebook Page, Dealer Funnel pulls that conversation into your inbox. Replies you send from within Dealer Funnel are delivered back to the prospect through Facebook Messenger.
If your dealership uses the Dealer Funnel live chat widget on your website, chat sessions are captured as conversations. When the session ends, the full transcript is preserved in the thread alongside any subsequent SMS or email exchanges.

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The Conversation Lifecycle

A conversation moves through predictable stages as your team works a lead from first contact to final outcome. Understanding this lifecycle helps you set statuses correctly and use reporting accurately.
1

New

A lead enters your inbox for the first time. No agent has replied yet. The conversation appears unread and, depending on your settings, may trigger an automated welcome message from one of your funnels.
2

In Progress

An agent has engaged with the lead. Back-and-forth messages are happening. The lead is being qualified and nurtured toward an appointment.
3

Appointment Set

The lead has agreed to visit the dealership or attend a virtual appointment. The appointment is recorded in the lead detail panel and visible to the whole team.
4

Sold or Dead

The lead reaches a final outcome — either a vehicle sale (Sold) or a confirmed disqualification (Dead). These statuses move the conversation out of active queues and into your historical reporting.

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Lead Status Types

Every conversation carries a status that tells your team — at a glance — how engaged the lead is and what action is needed next. Set statuses deliberately so your filters and reports stay meaningful.
Use Hot sparingly. If every lead is Hot, none of them are. Reserve this status for leads who have confirmed strong purchase intent — for example, a prospect who says “I want to come in this weekend” — so your agents know exactly where to focus first.

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Key Panels in the UI

The Conversations view is divided into three panels, each serving a distinct purpose. Learning to move fluidly between them makes your team faster and more accurate. Left Panel — Conversation List This is your inbox. Every active conversation appears here as a thread card showing the lead’s name, their most recent message, the timestamp of last activity, their current status badge, and any assigned agent avatar. Use the search bar and filters at the top of this panel to narrow your view. Center Panel — Message Thread Click any conversation to open the full message thread. All channels — SMS, email, Facebook Messenger, and live chat — appear in chronological order in a single timeline. The message composer at the bottom lets you reply on any channel, schedule messages, use saved templates, or call on Carly, your AI reply assistant. Right Panel — Lead Detail The right panel is your lead’s profile. It shows their contact information, vehicle interest, lead score, lead source, appointment history, and any custom fields your team has filled in. This is also where you assign the conversation to an agent, change the lead status, add labels, and escalate to a manager.

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Explore the Conversations Section

Inbox

Learn how to filter, search, sort, and assign conversations to keep your team focused on the right leads.

Messaging

Send SMS, email, and Facebook messages — with scheduling, AI-drafted replies, and saved templates.

Call Log

Review every inbound and outbound call, play recordings, and access AI call summaries.