Electrical work has an unusual mix of calls. Some are small, like a dead outlet or a breaker that keeps tripping. Some are larger projects, like a panel upgrade, a generator hookup or an EV charger in a new garage. The larger ones usually start with a homeowner calling two or three electricians for quotes, and whoever calls back first tends to get the site visit.
That makes a missed call on a quote request more expensive than it looks. Here's a way to think it through, using example numbers you should replace with your own.
Walking through an example
The figures in this section are hypothetical. They're here to show how the math works, not to describe any real electrical contractor.
- For this example, imagine a small shop that gets 20 calls a week.
- In the example, 4 of them go to voicemail because the electricians are mid-job with the power off.
- For illustration, suppose the shop wins 3 out of every 10 quote requests it gets to bid on.
- In this example, the typical project is a $2,000 panel or circuit job.
With those example numbers, the 4 missed callers represent a bit over one lost project a week on average, or roughly $2,400 of example work each week. Change the inputs and the answer changes; a shop that mainly does small service calls would see a much smaller example figure, and a shop doing mostly large projects would see a bigger one.
Why quote callers don't wait
A homeowner collecting quotes is usually calling several companies in a row. When one goes to voicemail, they don't stop and wait. They move to the next name, and they book site visits with whoever answers. By the time you call back that evening, they may already have two visits scheduled and feel no need for a third.
Service calls work differently. Someone with half the house dark wants help today and will call until they reach a person. Either way, a ring-out tends to send the caller to someone else.
What a text-back does here
When a call goes unanswered, the caller gets a text from your business within seconds. It can ask whether they need a repair or a quote, and roughly what the job is. A reply like "want a quote on a panel upgrade for the whole house" tells you exactly what the callback is about.
The text doesn't give a quote and doesn't schedule anything. It keeps you in the running while you finish the job in front of you. You still have to call back, and quickly, because other electricians will.
Run your own numbers
Look back at a normal week of missed calls, estimate how many were quote requests, and think about how often you win the jobs you bid on. Enter your own figures in the missed-call cost calculator. It shows an estimate based only on what you type in, so it's only as good as your inputs.
If you already answer nearly every call, you likely don't need this. If your phone rings out whenever you're in a panel, it might be worth a closer look.
Related reading
Missed-Call Text-Back is a text-back tool: it replies to the calls you can't pick up, and it doesn't answer calls for you. It's $89/mo list, or $49/mo at the founding rate while founding spots last, billed monthly with no contract. If it sounds like a fit, see how Missed-Call Text-Back works.