You know how many jobs you did last week. Do you know how many calls you missed?
Most small contractors don't. Here's a ten-minute check to do every Monday morning, before the first job.
Four numbers
- Rang: how many calls came in (not counting spam you know)
- Answered: how many you or a helper picked up
- Texted back: of the missed ones, how many got a text within a minute
- Booked: how many turned into a visit or an estimate
Your phone's call log has the first two. Your text-back tool or messages have the third. Your calendar has the fourth.
What good looks like
- Answered or texted back: close to every call. If more than one in five rang out with nothing, that's the leak.
- Booked: depends on your trade and your ads. Watch whether it's going up or down more than the exact number.
When the numbers are off
- Lots of missed calls at the same time of day? That's when you're on the roof or driving. Shrink your ad hours or forward those hours. See how to forward only the calls you miss.
- Texts go out but nobody replies? Change the question. Make it easier to answer. See the missed-call text that never gives a price.
- Lots of answered calls, few booked? Listen to how you're answering. Are you giving prices on the phone? Are you calling back the next day?
- Spam everywhere? Most phones and carriers have a spam filter. Turn it on, but check the blocked list once a week so you don't lose a real customer.
Let AI do the counting
Export or screenshot your call log and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude: "Count the calls by day and hour, and show which hours I missed the most." It's a two-minute job. You still decide what to change.
Why now
Google now charges for some missed Local Services Ads calls. If you run those ads, this check isn't optional anymore. Compare your missed calls against your LSA bill every month.
A notebook in the truck works fine. What matters is looking every week.
