A step-by-step checklist for Indian small businesses choosing a CRM: requirements, demo on your own leads, compliance, pricing, data and contract.
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Work through the list in order: requirements first, demo second, price and contract last. Most small businesses do it the other way round and end up comparing per-user prices of products that would not fit their process.
How to use it. Tick an item only when you have evidence: a written answer from the vendor, a test you ran yourself during the trial, or a clause in the order form. Keep the evidence in one folder per vendor. Where a vendor answers "yes, with a custom integration" or "on a higher plan", write down the extra cost, because that is where most surprises come from.
Worked example. A 12-person distributor shortlists three CRMs. All three pass the requirements and demo groups. Only one can pull marketplace leads automatically on the tier the team can afford; another needs a higher tier for that, adding an illustrative ₹6,000 per seat per year. The checklist turns that difference into a number you can put into the TCO estimator.
Limits. The list is a starting point, not legal advice. Add your sector's rules (for example lending, insurance or healthcare data) and check TRAI and DPDP requirements at the source. The best-fit method explains how to weight the items.
Best-Fit Examples, Cost Sums and Checklists
A repeatable method for Indian small businesses to choose a CRM — map your sales process, set weighted criteria, test on your own leads, cost three years and check the contract.
Failure Patterns, Contracts and Official Sources
The clauses an Indian small business should read in a CRM order form and terms — term and auto-renewal, uplifts, data export and deletion, SLA, support, liability and processing terms.
Best-Fit Examples, Cost Sums and Checklists
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.
Failure Patterns, Contracts and Official Sources
The common reasons Indian small businesses abandon a CRM — low adoption, wrong tier, messy data, blocked campaigns, no owner — with warning signs and fixes for each.
CRM Costs, Price Drivers and 2026 Rules
What each CRM function does for an Indian small business, which tier it usually sits in, how it is charged and which features you can safely skip at the start.
Best-Fit Examples, Cost Sums and Checklists
How a small-business CRM connects to Tally or other accounting software, B2B marketplaces and ad lead forms, cloud telephony and email — options, costs, data flows and tests.
