jrselectric
The "people want a live person" instinct makes sense and isn't wrong. The real question is what's actually happening when no live person is available.
Most electrical and trades businesses miss 30 to 40 percent of inbound calls during job hours. Those calls don't leave voicemails. They just call the next company on the list. The cost of that isn't visible day to day, which is why it's easy to underestimate.
The math changes when you put a number on it. If your average job is worth $400 and you're missing four calls a week, that's a real number walking out the door every month, and none of it shows up as a loss anywhere in your books.
The goal isn't to replace the live conversation. It's to make sure the lead is still there when you're ready to have it.
