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Growth System stage: Response

24/7 Answering Service

Phone answering for calls you can’t take

For businesses where nobody can always pick up the phone.

Discuss this service Open the AI voice demonstration

Our booking page calls this a Growth System Review. You can use the session to discuss and buy this service on its own.

The leak

A caller who can't reach you may call someone else.

The phone rings while you're busy or closed, and a callback the next morning can be too late. A missed call can be someone ready to book.

When it happens

  1. You're with a customer when the phone rings, and it rings out.
  2. It's 7:40 in the evening. The office is closed and the call goes to voicemail.
  3. Two calls arrive at once at lunchtime. One gets answered; the other keeps ringing.
What happens next

Many callers won't leave a voicemail. Some will try another business before anyone calls back.

Why this work matters

62% of calls to small businesses weren't answered by a person: 37.8% went to voicemail and 24.3% got no response.

Review missed calls, voicemail and callback ownership against your own call logs.

411 Locals reported monitoring 85 businesses across 58 industries for 30 days in 2016: 37.8% of calls reached a person, 37.8% voicemail and 24.3% no response. The 62% without a human answer includes voicemail; this vendor sample is not a universal local-business rate.

Source: 411 Locals, 2016 · 85 businesses over 30 days · vendor research · Study context and citation →

Why this work matters

Under 3% of callers pushed to voicemail left a message, in Invoca’s platform data from calls to home-services businesses.

Do not count on voicemail to capture an inquiry; check your own call log for callers who left no message.

Invoca’s May 2024 blog post says its platform data shows less than 3% of callers who get pushed to voicemail leave a message; the same post reports 27% of calls to home-services businesses going unanswered. Invoca sells call-tracking software, and the post gives no sample size or period. It describes calls among Invoca’s home-services customers, not every business, and does not measure how many callers rang back later. The “$1,200 per missed call” sometimes credited to this post is not in it.

Source: Invoca, How Much Missed Sales Calls Cost Home Services Businesses, 2024 · vendor platform data · Study context and citation →

One leak. Your numbers.

What could this leak be costing you?

Start with an example, then move the numbers to match your business. This is a model built from the numbers you enter, not a forecast or a promise.

Response

Calls go unanswered

Start with a roofing example, then replace every assumption with your numbers.

Potential annual revenue at risk$316,800$26,400 per month
62%

of calls to small businesses weren't answered by a person: 37.8% went to voicemail and 24.3% got no response.

411 Locals, 2016 · 85 businesses over 30 days · vendor research

5 calls/day × 22 working days × 10% exposed × 30% close rate × $8,000 average value.

A modeled gross-revenue estimate from your inputs. It is not profit, a forecast, or a promise that every exposed opportunity can be recovered.

Get your LeakMap ScoreBook a call
The fix

Give every caller a useful answer.

An AI receptionist picks up and tells callers it's AI. Our team reviews the calls and keeps its answers current. It answers around the clock, including after hours, at lunch and when the line is busy. You can limit it to after hours or overflow. If a call is ever missed, a text goes back so the caller can carry on.

What we set up

Your answers

Answers come from the services, hours, area and prices you've signed off. Anything outside them goes to your team.

Call handling rules

Rules for what to answer, what to book and what to pass on, agreed with you and tested on sample calls before go-live.

Missed-call text-back

If a call is missed, the caller gets a text so the conversation can carry on by message.

Universal Inbox handoff

Each call lands in the Universal Inbox with a summary, so whoever picks it up knows what was said.

Hear it first

Try the AI receptionist in your browser. It uses a made-up business, so you can hear how a call sounds before you decide.

Open the AI voice demonstration
The managed work

What we do, and what you do

What we do

  1. Your answers and call rules

    We set up answers from your approved services, hours, area and prices, the questions that tell you if it's the right job, and the calls your team should take.

  2. Call answering

    We answer calls around the clock by default. If you'd rather, we limit cover to after hours or overflow.

  3. Booking

    We use your questions and your calendar to book people who are ready.

  4. Missed-call text-back

    When a call is missed, the caller gets a text so they can carry on by message. The text comes from your business number where it can text, or from a number we set up for you.

  5. Universal Inbox and handoffs

    Every call lands in the Universal Inbox (one place for every call, text and message) with a summary, so whoever picks it up knows what was said. Calls that need a person go to the people you choose, in your hours.

What you do

  • Sign off the answers, prices and questions it works from.
  • Choose the people who take calls that need a person.
  • Give us access to set up call forwarding, or set it up with our help.
  • Approve the texting registration for your business (carriers require it before business texts can send).
  • Tell us when your services, prices or hours change.

What to agree before we start

Your proposal lists the phone lines, hours of cover and what the AI and your team each handle.

Basic enquiry recording and Universal Inbox setup are included. You don't need a separate Process Automation project.

Apart from the missed-call text-back, website chat, texts and social messages belong to 24/7 Chat & DMs. Follow-up after the first conversation belongs to the Lead Nurture Ladder.

Standalone pricing, timing and service commitments are set out in your proposal. The Growth System’s package timing and guarantee do not automatically apply to an individual service.

What changes

Before and after

Before

Calls go to voicemail and sit in the call log until someone has time.

After

Calls are answered day and night. People who are ready get booked, calls that need a person reach your team with a summary, and if a call is ever missed, a text goes back.

Useful details

Questions about 24/7 Answering Service

What we review with you

  • Calls answered, missed and texted back
  • Calls booked or passed to your team
  • Calls needing attention
Is this a human receptionist?

No. It's an AI receptionist, and it tells callers so. It handles the questions and bookings you set up, and anything that needs a person goes to your team with a summary. Our team checks the calls and keeps the answers up to date.

Can you use our existing number and tools?

We review your phone, calendar and other systems before confirming forwarding, connections and any migration work.

What happens when a call is missed?

The caller gets a text back so they can carry on by message. Their reply lands in the Universal Inbox with the call summary, so whoever picks it up knows what was said.

Does this cover website chat and social messages?

No. 24/7 Chat & DMs answers those, from the same Universal Inbox. You can buy either one on its own.

Connected work

Related services

Prefer one managed package?

The Growth System connects work across the customer journey. We plan the work around what your business needs. Capabilities you already handle do not automatically reduce the package price.

Explore the Growth System
Your next step

Let’s talk about 24/7 Answering Service.

Book a 30-minute Growth System Review and we'll map which calls you're missing and when.

Book a Growth System Review View all services

Use our Growth System Review booking page to discuss this service. You can buy it on its own.