If you get 20 calls a week about work, can't pick up 3 in 10 and 4 in 10 of those callers ring someone else, you lose about 62 jobs a year. At £150 a job, that's £9,360 of work going to someone else.
You don't fix that by answering every call. You fix it by giving the people you can't answer a reason to wait. The missed-call cost calculator works it out from your own numbers.
Count your own missed calls
Your phone already has the numbers. Go through your call log for the last week or two and count:
- calls from people about work, leaving out suppliers, family and sales calls;
- how many of those you didn't pick up;
- when you missed them: driving, up a ladder, on another job, or after hours.
If you're not sure what share of missed callers ring someone else, think about the jobs people ring you for. Someone locked out or with water through the ceiling wants someone now and tries the next number. Someone wanting a quote for next month usually waits.
Work out what they cost
In the example:
| A week | |
|---|---|
| Calls about work | 20 |
| Calls you miss (30%) | 6 |
| Callers who ring someone else (40%) | 2.4 |
| Jobs lost (50% become jobs) | 1.2 |
1.2 jobs a week for 52 weeks is 62 jobs. At an average of £150, that's £9,360 a year, or about £5,616 of profit at a 60% margin. It counts 52 weeks because people still ring while you're on holiday.
Two ways to lose fewer jobs
You can answer more calls, or you can make fewer of the people you miss go elsewhere. They're worth the same:
| Work lost a year | |
|---|---|
| As things are | £9,360 |
| Miss half as many calls | £4,680 |
| Miss the same, but half as many callers go elsewhere | £4,680 |
Answering more means stopping work or paying someone to pick up. Keeping callers is often cheaper: it's mostly about telling them what happens next.
Give people a reason to wait
- Say when you'll ring back. Record a voicemail greeting that says you're on a job and will call back within the hour, or by the end of the day. Then do it.
- Ring back numbers that didn't leave a message. Many people don't. A call back within the hour often still wins the job.
- Text back when you can't talk. A one-line text, "On a job, I'll ring you at 4", keeps someone from trying the next number.
- Give them somewhere to leave the job. A page with your prices, areas and a callback form, linked from your Google listing, lets someone who can't get through leave their name, number and what they need. If they've already seen your prices, the call back is quicker too.
Divert calls to someone who can answer
If someone else can take calls, such as a partner, someone in the office or an answering service, you can send them the calls you miss and keep the ones you answer. Most UK networks use these codes. Type the code, then the number with the first 0 replaced by +44, then #, and press call. In these examples, 07700 900123 stands for the number you're sending calls to:
| Divert when | Dial |
|---|---|
| You don't answer | **61*+447700900123# |
| You're on another call | **67*+447700900123# |
| Your phone is off or has no signal | **62*+447700900123# |
| Cancel all diverts | ##002# |
Some things to know:
- Diverts are set on the network, not the phone, so they work with any handset.
- Vodafone only offers diverts on monthly contracts. On EE you may need to set them up by calling 150. If a code doesn't work, ask your network.
- Diverted calls can be charged at your normal rate. Check your plan before you divert to a number that will get a lot of calls.
Answering services and AI receptionists
An answering service picks up when you can't, takes the details and sends them to you. Before you pay for one, compare its price with what you worked out above: if missed calls cost you £9,360 a year, a service that saves a third of those jobs is worth up to £3,120 a year to you.
An AI receptionist that answers questions on your Jobbo page is on the way, and a number that answers your missed calls is planned after that.
What to do next
- Count your missed calls for a week and put them into the missed-call cost calculator.
- Change your voicemail greeting to say when you'll ring back.
- Give people who can't get through somewhere to leave the job, and link it from your Google listing.
Questions
How many calls do tradespeople miss?
It depends on the trade and how you work. Someone on the tools alone all day misses more than a business with someone in the office. Count your own from your call log: it's the only number that matters.
Can I divert only the calls I don't answer?
Yes. The "no answer" divert, **61* then the number and #, only sends calls you don't pick up. Calls you answer are unchanged.
How do I turn diverts off?
Dial ##002# and press call. That cancels every divert on your number.