Best-Fit Examples, Cost Sums and Checklists
CRM demo and free trial checklist: what to test in two weeks with your own leads
A day-by-day plan for running a CRM demo and free trial in an Indian small business — test scripts, who should take part, what evidence to collect and the questions to ask vendors.
A CRM demo shows what the software can do; a trial shows what your team will actually do with it. Run each trial for about two weeks with your own leads, your own stages and two or three real users, follow a written test script, and collect evidence — screenshots, timings, exported files, written vendor answers — rather than impressions. Trial two or three candidates in parallel or back to back with the same script so results are comparable. This guide gives the plan and the questions; it is part of the best-fit selection method and pairs with the CRM selection checklist.
Before the demo: send the vendor your script
Email each vendor a one-page brief: your lead sources, stages, team size by role, channels, accounting system and three must-have reports. Ask them to demonstrate your flow, not their standard deck. A vendor who cannot do that in a demo is unlikely to support it after you pay.
Questions to ask in the demo
| Topic | Question | Good sign |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Which tier do we need for everything you just showed? | Clear answer, in writing |
| Add-ons | What will we pay for telephony, WhatsApp, storage, AI? | Itemised list |
| Lead sources | How does a lead from our main marketplace or portal arrive, and how fast? | Live demonstration or a reference setup |
| Accounting | How do customers and orders reach Tally or our software? | Named connector, who supports it |
| Compliance | How do you handle DLT templates, 140-series calling, opt-outs, consent records? | Specific features, not "you can add a field" |
| Data | Where is data hosted, how do we export everything, what happens at exit? | Export demo; written exit terms |
| Support | Hours, languages, channels, response times by severity? | Stated in the contract or SLA |
| Price | Uplift at renewal, billing currency, minimum seats, notice period? | Willing to cap uplift in writing |
Trial plan: ten working days
| Day | Task | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set up users, roles and your stages; switch on two-factor login | Screenshot of stages and roles |
| 2 | Import 50–100 real leads (with consent or anonymised), including duplicates and messy numbers | Import report; count of merged duplicates |
| 3 | Connect the main lead source and test 5 new leads | Time from enquiry to CRM, per lead |
| 4 | Connect telephony or WhatsApp; make and receive test calls or messages | Call log on lead; message history |
| 5–7 | Two salespeople work only in the CRM, including on mobile in the field | Their notes: what was slow, what was missing |
| 8 | Build the owner's three weekly reports | Screenshot; time it took |
| 9 | Win a test deal and push it to accounting | Record in accounting; errors |
| 10 | Export all data and delete a test contact on request | Export files; deletion log |
Score the candidates against your weighted criteria at the end, as in the best-fit method.
Who should take part
- Two salespeople of different styles: one experienced and sceptical, one newer. If the sceptic will use it, others will.
- The sales head, for assignment rules and reports.
- One accounts person, for the accounting link.
- The owner, for one hour at the end to review reports and the price.
Keep the trial small and real. Ten people clicking around for a day tells you less than two people working in it for a week.
Mobile and field tests
Indian field sales often happens in places with weak networks. Test:
- Can a salesperson add notes and log a visit offline, and do they sync later without duplicates?
- Does the app work on the cheaper Android phones your team actually uses?
- Does location check-in work, and is it acceptable to your team? Location tracking of staff is personal data; tell staff what is collected and why.
- Is the app usable in English only, or in the languages your team prefers?
Compliance tests
- Add an opt-out to a test contact and check it blocks WhatsApp, SMS and email from every user.
- Check where consent source and date are stored, and whether they appear in the export.
- Ask for the vendor's data processing terms and sub-processor list. See DPDP and consent.
- If you will send SMS, ask the vendor to show how registered DLT header and template IDs are used; see TRAI rules.
Collect the price in the same format
At the end of each trial, ask for a written quote for your scenario: users by role, tier, add-ons, message volumes, setup, and three years with the uplift clause. Then compare in the TCO estimator and check the contract with the contract terms guide.
Trial traps to avoid
- Trial on the top tier. Many trials run on the highest tier; confirm that what you tested exists in the tier you will buy.
- Vendor builds everything for you. Helpful, but you will not learn whether your team can maintain it.
- No exit test. Exporting at the end of the trial is your best preview of exiting later.
- Trial data left behind. Delete trial data from rejected vendors and ask for confirmation.
FAQ
What if the free trial is only 14 days?
Ask for an extension or a one-month paid plan. A short paid month is cheap insurance against a wrong annual commitment.
Can we use real customer data in a trial?
Only if your notice to those people covers it and the vendor's terms treat you as the controller of the data. A safer route is anonymised or limited samples, or leads who enquired recently and expect follow-up.
Should we involve an implementation partner during the trial?
For simple setups, no. For complex integrations, a short paid scoping session can tell you what the real setup will cost.
Sources
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology — DPDP Act and Rules
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — DLT and calling rules
- CERT-In — security advisories and incident reporting
- Tally Solutions — integration options for accounting tests
