Every owner knows a missed call costs money. Few know how much, because the money never shows up on a statement. A job you didn't get leaves no invoice. This post gives you a way to put a number on it, using your own figures and nobody else's statistics.
The formula
Calls you miss each week × average job value × the share of those calls you would have won × 4.33 weeks = what missed calls cost you each month.
There are 52 weeks in a year, so a month is 4.33 weeks. The other three numbers are yours:
- Calls you miss each week. Real customers only, not spam and not people you'd already spoken to. We show you how to count them below.
- Average job value. Your last twenty invoices, added up and divided by twenty. Use what you actually billed, not what you wish you billed.
- The share you would have won. Look at your last twenty quotes or callbacks. How many became jobs? A caller you reach quickly is usually more likely to book than one you chase, but be conservative.
Try it with your own numbers
The starting numbers are examples, not averages. Change them to match your business.
Lost to missed calls
You could be losing about $6,240 a month.
That is about $74,880 a year, from about 14 jobs a month.
8 calls a week × $450 × 40% × 4.33 weeks a month.
Wenly Starter is $99 a month. At your average job, winning back 1 job a month covers it.
Start free for 7 daysWorked examples for ten trades
These are the starting values on each industry page's calculator. They are examples, not averages, and your numbers will differ. They show how much the answer swings with the type of job.
| Trade | Missed calls a week | Average job | Share you'd win | Lost each month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garage door repair | 8 | $375 | 55% | $7,150 |
| Water damage restoration | 3 | $3,000 | 40% | $15,600 |
| HVAC | 6 | $450 | 50% | $5,850 |
| Plumbing | 7 | $350 | 50% | $5,308 |
| Electrical | 5 | $400 | 50% | $4,333 |
| Roofing | 3 | $3,500 | 25% | $11,375 |
| Towing | 10 | $175 | 60% | $4,550 |
| Locksmith | 9 | $150 | 60% | $3,510 |
| Dental | 5 | $700 | 50% | $7,583 |
| Real estate | 5 | $9,000 | 3% | $5,850 |
The pattern is worth noticing. A locksmith loses smaller jobs, so it takes more missed calls to add up. A water damage company or a roofer loses fewer, larger jobs, so three missed calls a week can matter more than ten. A realtor's average is huge and the share who close is tiny, which is why a single call is worth so little on its own and a handful a month can decide a year.
What the number leaves out
- Repeat and referral work. A customer you never met can't refer you. The formula counts one job, not the ones that would have followed.
- The calls you don't know you missed. Your phone shows the calls that rang. It doesn't show how many people gave up during the first ring, or dialled your competitor from a search page and never got as far as calling you.
- What it does to the calls you do take. An owner who is always chasing the last missed call is not a calm owner.
Find your real number this week
- For seven days, keep a list of every call you didn't answer. Your phone's recent-calls screen is enough.
- At the end of the week, call the numbers back and note which were real customers, which were spam and which were people you already knew.
- Add up your last twenty invoices and divide by twenty. That is your average job.
- Look back at your last twenty quotes. Count how many became jobs. That is your win rate.
- Put the four numbers into the calculator above.
If the answer is under a few hundred dollars a month, you probably don't need anything more than voicemail, and we'd rather you knew that. If it's in the thousands, the question changes from whether to do something about it to what.
What to do about it
You have four real options, and the real numbers post prices all of them: keep voicemail, hire someone, use a human answering service, or use an automated one. Each is right for someone.
Wenly is the last of those. It answers every call in your company's name, emails you the lead in 30 seconds, and has a real person on our team review every lead on Done-for-you, Pro and Founding. If we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay. See how it works, or start free for 7 days.