To sell on WhatsApp, you need more than a phone number. You need a path: people find you on Instagram, tap one link in your bio, see what you sell and what it costs, open a WhatsApp chat that already says what they want, and pay without friction. This guide builds that path step by step with the WhatsApp Business app, a link page and a payment method that fits your country, with the current rules for catalogues, carts and payments taken from WhatsApp's own Help Center.

How to sell on WhatsApp: the funnel in one table

Most small businesses that sell on WhatsApp do it the same way, whether they know it or not. What changes is how many people drop off between steps.

Every step you skip adds work in the chat. If the customer can't see prices before messaging, your first ten messages are about prices. That's the main idea of this article: do the explaining on the page, and use WhatsApp to close.

Step 1: set up WhatsApp Business properly

Selling from a personal WhatsApp works until it doesn't. The WhatsApp Business app gives you the tools below, and all of them are documented in WhatsApp's Help Center:

• Business profile with hours and address. WhatsApp uses it to create default quick replies with your hours and address, and the away message's "outside of business hours" schedule needs it.
• Greeting message: sent automatically when a customer messages you for the first time, or after 14 days of inactivity in that chat.
• Away message: sent automatically when you're closed or busy.
• Quick replies: up to 50 saved messages you insert by typing "/".
• Labels: up to 20 coloured labels to organise chats. WhatsApp notes that labels are gradually being replaced by lists, so you may see "lists" instead.

If you want ready-to-copy wording for the greeting, away message and quick replies, I wrote a separate guide with WhatsApp message templates for business.

A label system that works for selling

Five labels are enough for most small shops:

1. New enquiry: first message, not answered yet.
2. Waiting for payment: you sent the total and the payment link.
3. Paid: ready to prepare or ship.
4. Shipped / delivered
5. Follow up: asked but didn't buy. Check in a few days later.

Once a week, filter by "Follow up" and "Waiting for payment". That's where the forgotten sales are.

Step 2: turn your Instagram bio into a shop window

Instagram lets you add up to 5 links to your profile. You could put WhatsApp in one, your shop in another, and so on. But a customer who taps a bare WhatsApp link arrives with nothing: no prices, no photos, no idea what to ask.

A link page fixes that. One link in the bio, and on the page:

• Your best-selling products or services with a photo and a price.
• A WhatsApp button, high on the page.
• Opening hours, delivery areas, a map if you have a physical shop.
• An FAQ with the three questions you answer the most.

Our online store template is built for this: your new collection and bestsellers with photos up top, a WhatsApp order button, an FAQ and an email sign-up:

If you sell services by appointment, like a salon, the beauty salon template puts the booking and WhatsApp buttons first, followed by the price list, opening hours and a map:

Step 3: a WhatsApp link that already says what they want

This is the small detail that changes the most. WhatsApp's click to chat lets you create a link with your number in international format, and add ?text= followed by a URL-encoded message that appears in the customer's message box when they open it. For example:

https://wa.me/351912345678?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20to%20order%3A%20

That opens a chat with "Hi, I'd like to order: " already typed. The customer finishes the sentence and decides whether to send it.

Ideas for pre-filled messages that help you sell:

• General button: "Hi, I saw your page and I'd like to order: "
• Per product: "Hi, I'd like the [product name] in size: "
• From a specific campaign: "Hi, I'm writing about the September promotion."
• Delivery question: "Hi, do you deliver to this postcode: "

Different messages per source also tell you where each sale started. Build the links with our free tool so you don't have to encode anything by hand:

Step 4: show the catalogue before the chat

You have two places to show products, and I'd use both.

The WhatsApp catalogue

WhatsApp Business has a built-in catalogue shown on your business profile. According to WhatsApp's Help Center:

• Every item needs a unique title, at least one image and the country of origin.
• Optional details include price, sale price, description, a website link and a product code.
• The ability to add prices is only available in certain countries.
• Each item can have up to 10 images or videos, and a video can be up to 50 MB.
• Every image and video is reviewed against the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, and items only become visible after they're approved.

With the cart, customers can browse your catalogue, add several items and send the cart to you as a WhatsApp message. It starts the order, but it doesn't take the payment by itself.

Products or a price list on your link page

The catalogue lives inside WhatsApp, so people only see it after they've opened a chat or your profile. Your link page is what they see first, from Instagram. On a Linktotem page you can add:

• A price list or menu with photos, good for services and small ranges.
• Products, services or tips that customers pay for directly on the page, through your own Stripe account. We take 0% commission; Stripe charges its own processing fees, like it would anywhere.

The combination is simple: people see the product and the price on the page, then either pay right there or tap WhatsApp to ask a question first.

Step 5: answer fast, with quick replies

The difference between a sale and a "never mind" is often the reply time. Quick replies are how you answer in seconds without sounding like a robot. Set these up first:

• /price the price and a link to the product on your page.
• /delivery delivery areas, times and costs.
• /pay the payment methods you accept and the payment link.
• /sizes a size guide, or a photo of it (quick replies can include images on the phone app).
• /thanks the confirmation after payment, with what happens next.

Then edit each one a little before sending. Adding the customer's name and the product takes three seconds and makes it personal.

Step 6: get paid

This is where the country you sell in really matters.

Payments inside WhatsApp

WhatsApp's Help Center says you can pay registered businesses on WhatsApp in India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia, and that there's no timeline for other countries. In Brazil, the WhatsApp Business app also has a Pix integration: you add one Pix key and can share it as an attachment, as a quick reply, or with a charge built from your catalogue items.

If you sell in Europe, the US or the UK, payment happens outside the chat.

Payments outside WhatsApp

The practical options:

1. A checkout link. You send a link, the customer pays by card or wallet. With Linktotem, each product on your page opens a checkout on your own Stripe account, so after chatting you can simply send the customer back to your page to pay.
2. Local instant payments. In Portugal, MB WAY lets people send and request money between contacts and pay in shops and online. Stripe also lists MB WAY as a payment method you can enable in your Stripe Dashboard, so check which methods your checkout shows.
3. Bank transfer, with the details in a quick reply. It works, but you'll spend time checking statements.

Whatever you choose, put it in a quick reply and on your link page, so the customer knows before they ask.

Step 7: after the sale

A WhatsApp sale doesn't end at the payment:

• Confirm with a quick reply: what they bought, when it ships or when to pick up.
• Move the label to "Paid" and later "Shipped".
• Ask for a review or a photo a few days after delivery. Happy customers posting your product is the best content you'll get.
• Keep the chat. The next sale to this person is one message away.

Mistakes that cost sales on WhatsApp

1. A bare number in the bio. People have to copy it, save it, open WhatsApp. Use a link.
2. No prices anywhere. "DM for price" makes people guess, and many won't ask.
3. Slow first reply. Set the greeting and away messages so nobody feels ignored.
4. Five links fighting for attention. One link page with a clear WhatsApp button beats a list of five destinations.
5. Promising payment methods you don't have. Check what works in your country before you advertise it.

What this costs with Linktotem

Building and publishing a Linktotem page is free, with our badge in the footer, and the WhatsApp buttons work on the Free plan. Selling products on the page is part of Starter (€5/month or €50/year, US$5/$50, after a 14-day free trial). On those sales, through your Stripe account, we take 0% commission; Stripe's own fees apply. Everything is on the pricing page.