Your phone rings. You are on a roof. Both hands are busy, and you should not be answering anyway. It rings out. What just happened?
Most roofers know the answer. The caller did not wait. They went back to Google and tapped the next name. This post is about that moment, and what you can do about it.
What the caller does
Think about why that person called. Something is wrong. A leak. A stain on the ceiling. A tile on the lawn after a storm. They want help soon.
They call you. No answer. Now they have a few choices.
- They leave a voicemail. Some do. Many do not.
- They call the next shop on the list.
- They fill out a form on a website and wait.
- They give up for today and forget.
Plenty of people hang up at the beep. They do not feel bad about it. They were not loyal to you yet. They just needed a roofer.
Why it is worse in storm season
On the Treasure Coast, storm season runs from June to November. When a named storm moves through, roofing phones fill up. Homeowners in Port St. Lucie, Stuart, and Vero Beach call several shops at once.
In a rush like that, you cannot answer every call. Your crew is busy. You are booked. The calls you miss are often the ones that would have turned into estimates. The shop that gets back to a caller first often gets the next step.
An example, not a real shop
Let us do some simple math. These numbers are made up to show the idea. They are not from a real company.
Say a roofer misses 6 calls in one week. Say 2 of those people would have booked an estimate. Say 1 of those estimates turns into a job. That is 1 job lost in a week. Over a busy season, that adds up.
Your own numbers will be different. They could be smaller or larger. The point is that missed calls are not free. You can count yours. Look at your phone log for one week and write down every call you did not answer.
What a missed-call text does
A missed-call text is simple. When a call goes unanswered, a text goes to the caller right away. It comes from your business number. It says who you are, that you got their call, and asks what they need.
A good one sounds like a person. For example:
"Hi, this is [Your Business Name]. Sorry we missed your call. We are on a job. What do you need help with? Reply here and we will call you back."
That is all. It is not a sales blast. It is a reply to someone who just called you.
The caller feels heard. They are less likely to dial the next shop. If they reply, you can see what they need and call back when you are safe on the ground.
What it cannot do
Be honest about the limits.
- It does not book the job by itself. You still have to call back.
- It does not fix a slow callback. If the text goes out and you wait three days, you lose them anyway.
- It does not help if the number on your Google listing or website is wrong.
- It is not a person on the phone. Some callers want a voice, and that is fine.
A text is a bridge. It keeps the caller with you until you can talk.
How to set it up the right way
If you want to do this, here are the parts that matter.
- Say who you are. Use your business name in the first line.
- Keep it short. Two or three sentences at most.
- Ask one question. "What do you need help with?" is enough.
- Follow the texting rules. Honor a STOP reply right away. Do not text people who ask you to stop. The rules for business texting are real, so set this up with someone who knows them.
- Decide who calls back, and when. A text with no callback plan is a promise you will break.
- Tag the source. Know whether the call came from Google, the map, or a truck.
Set up a callback habit
The text buys you time. Use it. Pick a time each day, such as lunch and end of day, to go through missed calls and replies. Call back in order. During storm week, do it more often.
If you have an office person, give them the list. If you work alone, set a phone reminder. A simple habit beats a fancy tool you never check.
Do not answer on a roof
One more thing. If you are on a roof, do not answer the phone. Not for a big job. Not for anyone. A fall is worse than a lost call. A text-back is one more reason you do not have to.
Where this fits with the rest
Missed calls are one leak. There are others. Your Google listing may not show the right towns. Your site may not have a call button on the phone. Your estimates may go quiet after you send them. We look at all of these in a free 15-minute call and tell you which one is biggest.
If you work in Port St. Lucie, our Port St. Lucie page explains how we work with local shops. For the text-back setup, see missed-call text-back and fast reply. For roofing shops in general, read about roofing.
A short checklist
- Count your missed calls for one week.
- Set up a short text that says who you are.
- Honor STOP replies.
- Pick a callback time, and who does it.
- Check that your phone number is right everywhere.
- Never answer on a roof.
The three first steps are below. Pick the one that fits today.