How to choose a real-estate CRM in India: a buyer’s checklist

Start with the problem, not the feature list

Every CRM demo shows a long list of features. Before you watch one, write down the two or three things that actually cost you money today. For most real-estate teams it is one of these: enquiries answered late, follow-ups forgotten, nobody sure which units are available, or collections tracked from memory.

Judge every product by how it handles those specific problems with your own examples. A CRM that solves your top two problems well is a better purchase than one with a hundred features you will not use.

Check that it understands property, not just leads

A general sales CRM tracks a contact and a deal. A property sale also involves the thing being sold – a listing, a unit or a plot – with availability, a price sheet and documents. Ask to see inventory in the demo, not just the pipeline.

• Can a unit be held for a buyer, and does the hold expire on its own?
• Does booking a unit make it unavailable to everyone else immediately?
• Can it handle resale and rental listings as well as projects?
• Are amounts shown in lakh and crore, with GST components?

Test lead capture with your real sources

Ask which of your lead sources connect directly and which need manual entry. For each portal, ask what is required on the portal’s side – some only send leads to outside software on particular packages. Then send a test enquiry during the trial and time how long it takes to reach a salesperson’s phone.

Ask who can see what

Your lead database is the most valuable thing your company owns. Make sure a salesperson can be limited to their own leads, a branch manager to their branch, and that owner or buyer phone numbers can be hidden from people who do not need them. Ask whether these limits apply to exports and reports too – a restriction that only hides a button is not a restriction.

Understand the pricing fully

Per-user pricing looks small until you multiply it. Ask for the total yearly cost for your team size, what happens when you add five people, and what is charged separately: WhatsApp messages, SMS, call minutes, storage, onboarding and support.

• Is the price per user or per company?
• Which limits apply, and what happens when you reach one?
• Are messaging charges included or billed by a third party?
• Is there a setup fee or a minimum term?

Ask about leaving before you join

A trustworthy vendor makes it easy to take your data out. Ask how you export leads, contacts, inventory and payment records, in what format, and what happens to your data after you cancel. If the answer is vague, treat it as a warning.

Run a real trial

A trial is only useful if real work goes through it. Pick three salespeople, import a few hundred real leads, connect one live source and use it for two weeks. At the end ask the salespeople one question: did it save you time? If they say no, the CRM will not be used, whatever management wants.