By Andrew Houser · Published
Why the phone is the hardest part of running a crew
The people who know your services best are the people on the job. When a homeowner calls at 10 a.m., the person who could answer is on a ladder, in a crawl space, or inside someone's home.
Customers don't wait. Someone with a leaking fence or a faded deck often calls several companies and books the first one that engages.
Three layers of coverage
You don't have to solve this all at once. Think in layers, and add the next one only when the last one is working.
- A better voicemail: say who you are, promise a specific callback time, and ask for name, number, town and what they need.
- A quick text-back: an instant message to a missed caller saying you'll call back today and asking what they need.
- A conversational assistant: it answers, asks the follow-up questions, and hands you a complete lead. It should say it's automated, and it should be easy for a person to step in.
What to capture on every inquiry
A callback is only useful if it's complete. Aim to capture the same few things every time, so whoever calls back is prepared.
- Name and best phone number
- Town or address
- What they need, in their words
- How soon they want it
- Whether they prefer a call or a text
Decide who owns the callback
The best capture system fails if no one owns the next step. Name one person, and one backup, who is responsible for returning every inquiry, and give them a target time. Anything not picked up by then should nudge someone.
Measure what you're missing
For two weeks, keep a simple tally of calls you couldn't answer. Then estimate how many would have turned into jobs, and what a typical job is worth to you in profit. Even rough numbers tell you whether a fix is worth paying for, and how much.