Quick question: How long does it take you to build a custom chatbot demo for a prospect?

3 hours? 4 hours? And then they ghost you anyway? 😩

Yeah, Jeff Crandall felt that pain too. For 10 YEARS. But now he's cracked the code on creating personalized chatbot demos in under 3 minutes that look like they're already live on your prospect's Instagram, website, SMS, or Facebook.

And the best part? No high-level API drama. No Twilio nightmares. No cascade of failures when one system goes down.

Let me break down how Bot Mockups is changing the game for agencies selling AI chatbots.

The Old Way Was Absolutely Brutal 😤

Picture this: You're trying to land a plumbing client. The old-school process looked like:

• ✅ Create a whole new Instagram account (with their name + "demo" at the end)

• ✅ Set up ManyChat or MiniChat

• ✅ Build out the entire bot flow from scratch

• ✅ Make it look somewhat like their brand

• ✅ Cross your fingers it works during the demo

Time investment: 3-4 hours PER prospect. 😱

Success rate: Not great, because explaining chatbots without SHOWING them is like describing a roller coaster to someone who's never seen one.

Enter Bot Mockups: The "Holy Crap, How Did You Build That So Fast?" Tool 🚀

Jeff built Bot Mockups because he was tired of the grind. And after using it himself for a year, he opened it up to other agencies in 2024.

Here's What Makes It Different:

🎯 Not connected to HighLevel or third-party builders

• No API cascade failures

• If Anthropic goes down, it automatically switches to OpenAI

• Your demos literally NEVER break

⚡ Templates for 200+ niches

• Pre-built prompts, logos, images, names

• Or start from scratch in 3 minutes flat

📱 Works across ALL channels:

• Instagram DMs

• Facebook Messenger

• SMS

• Live website chat

• Even Facebook Ads

🎨 White-labeled everything

• Embed on your landing pages

• Send custom share links

• Looks 100% like it's already built on THEIR account

The "Comment to DM" Game-Changer 💬

Here's a use case that's CRUSHING it right now:

You know how businesses put "link in bio" on Instagram posts? And you have to:

1. Leave the feed

2. Go to their profile

3. Click the bio link

4. Navigate a Linktree

5. FINALLY get to the article/booking page

With Bot Mockups, Jeff shows prospects: "Comment 'BOOK' and we'll DM you the link instantly."

The demo looks EXACTLY like their Instagram post, shows the automated comment reply, and demonstrates the DM flowing in real-time.

Boom. Instant understanding. No confusion. They GET it.

Database Reactivation Made Visual 📊

Most small businesses don't even know what "database reactivation" means. But when you show them a Bot Mockups demo of:

• An SMS going out to their existing customer list

• The customer responding with interest

• The bot capturing their info and routing to sales

Suddenly they're like: "OH. We need that. How much?" 💰

The Live Build That Took 3 Minutes ⏱️

During the interview, Jeff built a live chatbot demo for Window Decor (a window covering business) in real-time:

1. Pasted the website URL

2. Uploaded a quick headshot

3. Let the AI generate the prompt automatically

4. Customized the colors to match the brand

5. Done.

The result? A fully-functional AI chatbot that looked like it was already embedded on their website, ready to answer customer questions about window coverings.

Total time: Under 3 minutes. 🔥

The VA Strategy That's Scaling Agencies 🌍

Here's the play that's working for Jeff's clients:

Hire a VA to build demos all day.

Since each demo takes 3 minutes, a VA can pump out dozens of personalized demos for cold outreach. Send them via:

• Instagram DMs

• LinkedIn messages

• Email with Loom/Jump Share video walkthrough

• Embedded on prospecting landing pages

You're not asking for a meeting. You're saying: "Hey, I built this quick demo for you. Check it out."

The "wow factor" speaks for itself.

Pricing That Actually Makes Sense 💵

Starter Plan - $97/month:

• 1 active mockup at a time

• Build unlimited, but only activate one

• Great for niched agencies

Agency Plan - $197/month:

• UNLIMITED active mockups

• Most popular (52% of customers choose this)

• Build demos across all channels simultaneously

Plus: 7-day free trial, and right now there's a 50% off annual deal (basically 6 months free).

Jeff said he was supposed to kill that promo last week but got too busy shipping new features. 👀

The Tech That Doesn't Break 🛠️

Remember how I said no API cascades?

Bot Mockups runs on:

• Direct connection to Anthropic (Claude)

• Automatic fallback to OpenAI if needed

• Status dashboard showing system health

• You can even use your own API keys (but don't have to - they cover the costs)

Jeff's take: Anthropic is better for conversational chat. OpenAI is more general-purpose. Bot Mockups defaults to Anthropic because it just performs better for chatbot demos.

What's Coming Next 🔮

Jeff's rolling out a knowledge base feature soon where you can:

• Load industry-specific prompts

• Save templates for your niche

• Pre-populate data for faster builds

So if you're crushing it with car dealerships, you build the "perfect" dealership prompt once and reuse it forever.

Jeff's Best Advice for Agency Owners 🎯

"Just keep going at it."

Jeff's been in the trenches. He remembers assigning his first VA random tasks (like calling hot tub repair places) because he didn't know what to delegate yet.

Now? Six people on his team.

The key: Invest in VAs early. It's the only way to scale beyond yourself.

My Take: Sell Before You Build ✨

This is EXACTLY the kind of tool that proves you should sell before you build.

Instead of spending weeks building a chatbot for a prospect who "might" close, you:

1. Build a 3-minute demo

2. Show them EXACTLY what they're getting

3. Close the deal

4. THEN build the real thing

No wasted time. No guessing games. Just results.

Ready to stop explaining chatbots and START demonstrating them?

Check out Bot Mockups at botmockups.com - 7-day free trial, no credit card required. 🚀