Notes for owners · Business growth
JustDial, IndiaMART and Sulekha: which paid listing is worth renewing
A renewal test for a paid listing: divide what you paid by the calls that were qualified, not the calls that came, and compare the three platforms on the same sheet before you sign.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
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Renew the listing where a qualified call costs you the least, and drop or shrink the ones where it costs the most. To find that, divide what you paid each platform over its last term by the calls that proved to be real prospects. Do not divide by the calls it reported. The salesperson will quote the second figure. Your own log gives the first.
Why the platform's number is the wrong number
JustDial, IndiaMART and Sulekha each report calls, leads or "enquiries". Those counts include wrong numbers, people in other cities, students, competitors checking your rates and buyers who wanted something you do not make. A platform has a reason to count generously, because the count is its evidence that you got value.
What you need is the number of calls you would have been glad to receive. That requires a rule written down in your own words, such as "wants one of our three products, in a city we deliver to, in a quantity we accept". Apply the rule to every call from every platform.
The renewal sheet
You need one row per platform and a handful of figures. Fill it from your call log, your WhatsApp enquiries and the invoices.
| Platform A | Platform B | Platform C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount paid for the term | |||
| Calls and leads reported | |||
| Calls you picked up | |||
| Qualified by your rule | |||
| Quotations sent | |||
| Orders won | |||
| Paid divided by qualified | |||
| Paid divided by orders |
The last two rows are the test. Look at both. A listing with cheap qualified calls and no orders may be bringing the wrong kind of qualified call, and the problem may be in your quotation, not in the platform. The row for orders tells you which.
What each platform tends to bring
Treat these as tendencies, not facts about your city or category. Your sheet corrects them.
JustDial is searched by local customers looking for a shop or a service near them. It suits a business with a counter or a service area: a repair shop, a coaching centre, a caterer, a wedding photographer. Calls can arrive in a rush from buyers comparing several numbers, so response time matters.
IndiaMART is searched by buyers of goods, often businesses, from across the country. It suits a manufacturer, a dealer or a distributor with a catalogue. Many enquiries are price checks, so qualifying quickly matters. Our post on how to convert IndiaMART leads covers the reply routine.
Sulekha is used for home and local services: tutors, interior work, event services, repairs. The buyer is usually a household. Whether it works depends on whether your city and category are active there, and that is a fact your sheet will show.
Names, rankings and fees of these platforms change. Ask each for the current terms in writing. A promise on a call is not a term.
For example: a commercial-kitchen equipment maker in Hyderabad
This case is invented. A firm in Hyderabad makes steel counters, exhaust hoods and cooking ranges for restaurants and canteens. It pays for JustDial, IndiaMART and Sulekha, each for a year, and has never compared them.
At renewal the owner fills in the sheet from a WhatsApp log and the accountant's call register. JustDial brought many calls, but mostly from home users wanting one stove. Wrong buyers, in volume. IndiaMART brought fewer calls. They included canteen contractors from other states, and two orders. Sulekha brought a handful of calls, of which one was a restaurant fit-out contractor.
The mistake would have been to renew all three on the strength of "we get lots of calls". The sheet shows that JustDial's calls were mostly outside the owner's rule, so its qualified count was small and its cost per qualified call the highest. The owner renews IndiaMART. JustDial moves to a cheaper option if the terms allow. Sulekha lapses. There is a snag: the two IndiaMART orders were both from one contractor, so the sheet cannot yet say whether that platform repeats the result.
When the sheet does not help
If you have no log, the sheet cannot be filled. Do not renew on faith; renew for the shortest term you can, and start recording from today. Ask every caller "How did you find us?" and write the answer down.
If your quotation process is slow or inconsistent, the listing may be blamed for what your follow-up lost. Fix the reply first. A platform that brings a good call to a slow office looks poor.
Also, do not read too much into a single term. Seasonal trades have dead months, and a listing that looks weak in the monsoon may do well before festivals. Compare the same period year on year where you can.
What to ask the salesperson
Three questions, asked at renewal, in writing if possible:
- What exactly is included at this price, and what changes if I move to a lower tier?
- How are leads counted, and can I see the ones that were not answered?
- What happens to my listing and my enquiry history if I stop?
Fill in the sheet before the next call
Pull out the invoices, the call register and the WhatsApp chats, and fill the sheet this week. If the platform charges for something you cannot see, ask, and keep the answer in writing. Once you know the figures you can decide how much of your budget belongs to listings and how much to other channels. If IndiaMART is the one you keep, IndiaMART and marketplace lead management is the service for handling the leads, and the marketing hub shows the wider picture. For a second view of your numbers before you pay again, tell us what you need.
