Published on: November 2026
FROM COLD CALL TO BOOKING TOKEN: A PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION CASE STUDY OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND SALES CLOSURE DURING A RESIDENTIAL PROJECT LAUNCH IN PUNE, INDIA
Divyani Prabhakar Bhatkar
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Abstract
Design/methodology. A single-site, participant-observation case study was conducted over sixty days (18 May to 17 July 2026), during which the author worked as a sales intern with a large listed developer. Data comprise recorded activity volumes (approximately 200 outbound calls per day; approximately 20–30 customers handled at the closing stage; four booking tokens), structured call and visit records, and reflective field notes. Observations were organised against funnel stages and interpreted through the hierarchy-of-effects (AIDA), perceived-risk and customer-journey literatures. Interval estimates are reported for the one quantity that was recorded.
Findings. Four tokens were generated from approximately 20–30 closing-stage customers (13–20% point estimates; 95% Wilson intervals spanning roughly 5% to 42%). Five patterns emerged: (i) the site visit marked a threshold between enquiry and evaluation; (ii) the first follow-up after a visit was the highest-value single contact, and repeated calling after delay showed diminishing returns; (iii) verifiable facts (registration status, possession date, specifications) resolved objections more effectively than persuasive claims; (iv) payment-structure flexibility frequently mattered more than headline discounts; and (v) decisions were collective, often crystallising at a second, family visit. Five of seven recurrent objection themes concerned information, process or timing rather than the product itself.
Originality and implications. The paper offers an inside account of a launch-phase sales funnel in an emerging-market housing context and converts it into five testable propositions and four low-cost managerial practices. Because the design is single-case and participant-based, findings are analytically rather than statistically generalisable.
Keywords: residential real estate; customer engagement; sales funnel; site visit; perceived risk; participant observation; Pune; India
How to Cite this Paper
Bhatkar, D. P. (2026). From Cold Call to Booking Token: A Participant-Observation Case Study of Customer Engagement and Sales Closure During a Residential Project Launch in Pune, India. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(11), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i11.015
Bhatkar, Divyani. "From Cold Call to Booking Token: A Participant-Observation Case Study of Customer Engagement and Sales Closure During a Residential Project Launch in Pune, India." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 11, 2026, pp. 1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i11.015.
Bhatkar, Divyani. "From Cold Call to Booking Token: A Participant-Observation Case Study of Customer Engagement and Sales Closure During a Residential Project Launch in Pune, India." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 11 (2026): 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i11.015.
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