I Already Have A Guy For That

The guy you already have

Almost every owner says some version of this early in a conversation. I already have a guy for that. It is usually true. Somebody built the website two or three years ago. Somebody keeps the office computers running and fixes the printer when it jams. That is real, useful work, and there is no reason to replace it.

The shift nobody is covering

Here is the question that usually follows. What happens when a customer calls and you are on a job, under a sink, up a ladder, or driving between sites, and the call goes to voicemail. Most people do not leave one. They call the next name on the list instead, often within a few minutes, because they have a problem right now and someone needs to show up for it.

Your web guy did not build anything for that moment. He was not hired to. Your IT guy keeps the network up, which has nothing to do with a ringing phone at 10pm on a Tuesday while you are asleep. Nobody signed up to cover that shift, so most of the time, nobody does, and the business just absorbs it quietly.

Two different jobs, not one

This is the part that gets missed. Owners hear a pitch about missed calls or follow up and assume it is competing with the person who already handles their website or their systems. It is not. A website is a storefront. It sits there and waits for someone to visit it. The hours between a call coming in and you being able to answer it are a completely different problem. Something has to happen in real time, without you, every single time the phone rings at the wrong moment, not once a quarter when the site needs an update.

One person can do both jobs if they are set up right. Plenty of office managers do. The point is to ask the question directly instead of assuming the first guy has it handled, because in most shops, when you actually ask, nobody is covering it at all.

A five minute check

Here is a simple way to find out where you stand, no software required. For the next week, have whoever answers the phone, including voicemail, write down every call that did not get picked up live and what happened to it afterward. Did it get a callback the same day. The next day. Not at all. Most owners have never tracked this, so they are guessing when they tell you it is fine. Five minutes a day for a week tells you more than guessing ever will, and it costs nothing but a notepad by the phone.

If you want a second set of eyes

If you want someone to walk through what is actually happening with your calls, quotes, and follow up, reach out and I will take a look at your specific situation. No assumptions about what your guy already covers, just a real look at where things stand and what, if anything, is worth fixing.

Want a second set of eyes on your own setup? Send me your domain or call, and I will tell you what I see. It costs nothing to look.

Get a Free Audit

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