Kanban
Visual column-based management method born at Toyota, today the foundation of many CRMs.
Kanban is a visual column-based management method born at Toyota's production line in the 1940s. The word means "card" or "signal" in Japanese. Today it underlies almost every modern CRM — including WhatsApp CRMs.
How it works
Each work item (in sales, a lead) is shown as a card. Cards move between columns representing stages — for example: "New", "In qualification", "Proposal sent", "In negotiation", "Closed", "Lost". The strength of Kanban: immediate funnel visibility.
Why Kanban works on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a chat channel — chronological, linear. Without Kanban, an agent must open each conversation to recall the stage. With Kanban inside WhatsApp Web (as Zapext offers), the lead is a visible card and dragging it to another column closes the cycle.
Typical 5-stage WhatsApp sales funnel
- New lead — first chat.
- Qualified — 2-3 questions answered.
- In negotiation — proposal sent.
- Customer — closed, gets onboarding.
- Lost — re-marketing in 30 days.
See also: WhatsApp CRM and sales funnel.