In India, many property buyers would rather send a WhatsApp message than fill a form or take a call. That makes WhatsApp the busiest lead channel for most builders, and often the least organised one: chats live on personal phones, nobody knows who replied, and the history leaves when a salesperson does.
Use the WhatsApp Business Platform, not personal phones
A business number connected through the WhatsApp Business Platform lets the whole sales team work from one shared inbox. Every conversation stays with the company, tied to the lead it belongs to.
Let a bot handle the first reply
Many enquiries arrive in the evening or on weekends. A bot can greet a new number, ask for the person's name and the project they are interested in, and create the lead straight away. The salesperson then starts the conversation already knowing who the buyer is.
Hand over cleanly to a person
Once a salesperson replies, the bot should step back so the buyer is not talking to both. If the salesperson wants the bot to take over again, that should be a deliberate switch.
Respect the 24-hour customer service window
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a business can send free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message. Outside that window, only pre-approved message templates can be sent. A good inbox shows whether the window is open and offers templates when it is closed, so messages are not rejected.
Keep every chat on the lead
When WhatsApp conversations sit on the lead next to calls, follow-ups and site visits, anyone picking up the lead sees the full picture.
How BuilderCRM supports this
BuilderCRM's WhatsApp inbox syncs your WhatsApp Business numbers into one shared inbox, with a conversation per customer and number tied to the lead or client. A lead-capture bot greets new numbers, asks their name and project, and creates the lead. Replying as an agent switches the conversation from bot to agent mode, and the composer guards the 24-hour window, offering templates when it has closed.