How to get 99acres leads into your CRM and WhatsApp

To get 99acres leads into your CRM within minutes, ask your 99acres account manager to register a webhook URL from your CRM or automation tool, so each new enquiry is pushed to it as it arrives. MagicBricks and Housing.com work the same way. The CRM then removes duplicates, assigns an executive and sends the buyer an approved WhatsApp template while they are still comparing projects.

This guide is for sales heads at developers and brokerages who buy leads from several portals and still work them from notifications and spreadsheets.

Why the first hour decides the site visit

A buyer shortlisting flats can enquire on three portals in one evening. If your team calls the next morning, the buyer may already have spoken to two other projects. Worse, three of your own executives may call them, one per portal.

The fix is a lead that reaches the CRM, gets a reply and lands on one executive's list with a deadline, without anyone typing it.

How the portals hand over leads

• Notifications and the dashboard. Someone reads each alert or downloads the list and types it in. This is where the next-morning delay comes from.
• Webhook push. Integration guides from Pabbly and LeadSquared describe one pattern for all three portals: your CRM generates a webhook URL, the portal's account manager adds it to your account (you cannot enter it yourself), and each new lead is then sent to it as it comes in.
• Pull with an API key. Some connectors fetch leads on a schedule instead; an Odoo module for MagicBricks asks for a Pull API key obtained from MagicBricks.

What your account offers depends on your plan, so ask the account manager before you build.

Setting it up, step by step

1. List every portal account and project. Portal, project, account manager and the delivery method on offer.
2. Create the receiving end. A webhook in your CRM, or in a tool such as n8n that writes to it. Send the URL to each account manager and ask for a test lead.
3. Map the fields. Name, phone, email, project, configuration, enquiry time and a source tag. Store phone numbers in one format with +91.
4. Check for duplicates before creating a lead. Match on phone and email, and add a repeat enquiry to the first record, so one buyer has one owner.
5. Send the first WhatsApp message, within the rules below.
6. Route with a deadline. Assign by project, area or language with a call task, and reassign if nobody calls in time.
7. Reconcile every day. Compare the CRM's lead count with each portal dashboard. A broken webhook fails silently; this catches it within a day.

The first WhatsApp message: what Meta allows

The buyer gave the portal a phone number, but that alone does not let you message them on WhatsApp. Meta's WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, last updated 23 September 2026, says you may contact people only if they gave you their number and you received their opt-in to hear from you on WhatsApp. Check your portal agreement, and add a consent line to your own forms.

Because the buyer has not written to you yet, the first message must be an approved template. Free-form replies are allowed only inside the 24-hour customer service window, which opens and resets each time the buyer messages you.

Meta's guidelines say a utility template must be non-promotional and specific to, or requested by, the user, and a template that mixes utility and marketing content counts as marketing. A plain acknowledgement of the enquiry that asks the buyer to pick a site visit slot may pass as utility; a brochure with a launch offer is marketing. Meta decides at review.

Meta has charged per delivered template message since 1 July 2025. From 1 October 2026 it also charges for service messages and for utility messages inside an open window, with 1,000 free service messages per number each month. Check the current India rates.

Once the buyer replies, the conversation can carry the brochure, the location pin and the qualifying questions: budget, configuration, timeline. Section 11(2) of the RERA Act 2016 requires project advertisements to show the RERA registration number and the authority's website prominently, so put both in the brochure you send.

Build in three more things. Meta's policy expects a clear route to a person whenever automation replies. Remove anyone who replies STOP. And buyer phone numbers are personal data under the DPDP Act 2023; the DPDP Rules 2025 bring notice and consent standards into force on 13 May 2027, so record where and when each buyer agreed to hear from you now.

What we build for property teams

Our real estate lead automation connects portal, ad and website leads to Desk, our CRM, which checks phone and email against existing records and keeps a first-touch timestamp on every lead. The WhatsApp side runs on our WhatsApp CRM, on an account in your own name: qualifying questions, routing, site visit reminders and follow-ups. We are not a Meta partner, and we check each portal account before promising a method.

FAQ

Does 99acres have an API that sends leads to my CRM? Not one you switch on yourself. Your 99acres account manager registers a webhook URL on your account, and each new lead is pushed to it. Ask what your plan includes.

Can I send a WhatsApp message to a portal lead straight away? Only if the buyer opted in to WhatsApp messages from you, and only with an approved template. Once they reply, you can chat freely for 24 hours.

What happens if a portal stops sending leads to the webhook? Nothing you would notice, which is the danger. Log every webhook call, keep portal notifications on as a backup, and compare daily counts.

If your portal leads still arrive as notifications and spreadsheets, we can map your sources and show you the flow from enquiry to site visit. Book a consultation.