How to recover missed calls and lost leads
To recover missed calls, reply fast, by text if you can’t pick up. Give after-hours callers a way to book without talking to anyone, and call back while the customer is still deciding. A caller who hears nothing usually tries the next number on the list.
By Business Genie, Mesa, ArizonaPublished Updated
- You reached them
- Heard nothing
- On a job
- Missed
- Booked with you
- Booked elsewhere
Work out what missed calls cost you
To work out what missed calls cost you, count the calls you miss for two weeks, estimate how many of those callers would have booked, and multiply by your average job value. That’s what missed calls cost you in two weeks, and it tells you how much a fix is worth. You don’t need an industry average; your own numbers are better.
For a year of it, and how much you could win back by returning the calls, the missed call calculator does the arithmetic.
Text back when you can’t pick up
When you’re under a sink or on a roof, a quick text keeps the caller from moving on. Something like:
Your text back
Hi, sorry we missed your call. We’re with another customer right now. How can we help? You can also book online here: [link]
It tells the caller you exist and you’re busy, which is a good sign, and gives them something to do other than call a competitor.
Let after-hours callers book themselves
Give after-hours callers a booking link, so they can choose a time when they call instead of calling back tomorrow or calling someone else. Many people look for a contractor in the evening, after work, when the office is closed. With online booking in Business Genie, the customer picks a time and the job goes on your schedule.
Put the link in your missed-call text, so the reply works at 9 PM as well as at noon.
Call back quickly
The sooner you call back, the more likely the customer is still deciding. Set a rule, for example returning every voicemail between jobs rather than at the end of the day, and have one person own it. A text reply buys you time. A fast callback wins the job.
Decide whether you need an answering service
If the count from the first step shows you miss calls every day, an answering service or a dedicated person on the phone during busy hours may pay for itself. Compare the monthly cost with the value of the jobs those calls would have become.
Clearly more than the service costs: it pays for itself.
Questions about missed calls
What should a missed-call text say?
Keep it short: say sorry you missed the call, give the reason (you are with a customer), ask how you can help, and include a link to book online. Send it as quickly as you can after the call.
Is an answering service worth it?
Compare its monthly cost with the value of the jobs it would recover. Count your missed calls for a couple of weeks, estimate how many would have become jobs, and multiply by your average job value. If that’s clearly more than the service costs, it pays for itself.
Take bookings while you’re on a job
Online booking puts new jobs straight on your schedule, alongside invoicing, payments and a CRM. Free for a month, and we set up your account.