Lead recovery & response
Missed Call Revenue Calculator
Works what unanswered calls cost, which is usually more than the marketing budget.
Result
This models missed calls that would have converted at your normal close rate. It does not count callers who try you again later, so treat it as the size of the opportunity, not a guaranteed loss.
See how it worksHow the calculation works
Calls missed times the share that would have converted times the gross margin on a typical job, giving the revenue and margin lost over a period. The conversion rate on a missed call is not zero by default, since some callers try again, but a caller with a problem now generally calls the next contractor instead.
What moves the number
- Number of calls going unanswered.
- Share that would have converted had they been answered.
- Gross margin on a typical job, not revenue.
- Whether callers try again or go elsewhere.
Where this one goes wrong
A contractor whose crew is on site all day misses calls during exactly the hours customers make them, and the loss is invisible because nobody records a call that was never answered, which is why the first step is counting them rather than estimating. Get the call records. The comparison that follows is almost always decisive: the cost of an answering service or a dedicated person against the margin on the jobs those calls represent is rarely a close decision.
Before you quote
- Get actual missed call counts from the phone records.
- Use gross margin per job, not revenue.
- Compare the loss against the cost of answering coverage.
Questions
About this calculator
How do I know how many calls I am missing?
From the phone records, which most providers make available. The loss is invisible otherwise, because nobody records a call that was never answered, which is why counting them is the first step rather than estimating.
Will callers try again?
Some do and most do not. A caller with a problem now calls the next contractor on the list, which is why missed calls in the trades convert so much worse than missed calls in businesses where the customer has no urgency.
Is an answering service worth it?
Compare its monthly cost against the gross margin on the jobs the missed calls represent. It is rarely a close decision, and it is usually a better investment than additional marketing into a phone that already goes unanswered.
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How to use this calculator
- Missed calls per month (calls). Check your phone system or carrier log for unanswered and abandoned calls. Most owners guess low.
- Average job value ($). Your average invoice, not your biggest job.
- Close rate on answered calls (%). Of the calls you do answer, what share turns into paid work?
- Assumed recovery rate (%). Share of missed callers who re-engage when they get an immediate text back. This one is an assumption you control.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to lost revenue per year, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Missed calls per month | 25 calls |
| Average job value | $450 |
| Close rate on answered calls | 40% |
| Assumed recovery rate | 35% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Lost revenue per year main result | $54,000 |
| Lost revenue per month | $4,500 |
| Jobs lost per year | 120 |
| Recoverable per year | $18,900 |
At 25 missed calls a month you may be leaving $54,000 a year on the table. Answering even 35% of them would be worth $18,900.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only average job value, this is what happens to lost revenue per year. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Average job value ($) | Lost revenue per year |
|---|---|
| $225 | $27,000 |
| $338 | $40,560 |
| $450 example above | $54,000 |
| $675 | $81,000 |
| $900 | $108,000 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Missed calls per month (calls)
- Check your phone system or carrier log for unanswered and abandoned calls. Most owners guess low.
- Average job value ($)
- Your average invoice, not your biggest job.
- Close rate on answered calls (%)
- Of the calls you do answer, what share turns into paid work?
- Assumed recovery rate (%)
- Share of missed callers who re-engage when they get an immediate text back. This one is an assumption you control.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Lost revenue per year | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Lost revenue per month | A money figure. |
| Jobs lost per year | A number. |
| Recoverable per year | A money figure. |
Keep going
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Every unanswered call gets a text back from your number within seconds, before the caller reaches the next contractor on the list.