Why a full voicemail kills trust and leads to people calling the next contractor on the list
Home service owners say they “want more leads,” but half of them aren’t even set up to be contacted properly.
If people do find you and can’t reach you, that’s not a marketing problem. That’s an operations problem.
If you have “too much” business to handle every single month of the year, which I know 99% of you reading this do not have, then you should think bigger – hire more people or make a connection with another company in town that can handle your overflow and pay you a “referral fee” or “commission.”
You think Amazon ever says we have too many orders sorry try again next year.
Does A-1 Garage repair a $200 million/year business have full voicemails and unreachable office staff? no. Stop holding yourself back.
Make It Stupid-Easy to Contact You
At a minimum, you should have:
- A working phone number on your website, Google Business Profile, and social media
- A contact form on your website that actually works
- Optional but powerful: chat widget or textable number
You want multiple ways for people to reach you, because you don’t know if they’re an email person, a texter, or old-school “call and leave a message.”
The Fastest Way to Lose a Lead
If your cell phone is the main business line and your voicemail is full, here’s what that tells a potential client:
- You’re not organized
- You’re not on top of your own business
- You’re probably not going to be on top of their project either
They hang up and call the next company. Simple as that.
Have a clear, professional voicemail:
- “Hey, you’ve reached [Company]. We’re probably on a job site. Leave your name, number, location, and what you need done. We’ll call you back within [X timeframe].”
Then actually call people back. Ideally:
- Within a few minutes if you can
- Within an hour or two during business hours
- Within 24 hours max, even if it’s just: “Got your message, let’s schedule a time to talk.”
Use Automation to Sharpen Your Communication
You can make this easier on yourself:
- Contact form > triggers an email and/or text notification to you or your team
- Missed Call > Auto-reply text back to the lead:
- “Thanks for reaching out to [Company]. We got your message and will get back to you during business hours: [hours].”
- Use Go Highlevel or similar to set up these simple automation tools. Or ask for help.
None of this is fancy. It’s basic blocking and tackling.
Bottom Line
You can’t complain about “not enough inbound leads” if:
- Your voicemail is full
- Your number is hard to find
- Your contact form is broken
- Nobody is watching the inbox
Inbound marketing starts with this: When someone wants to hire you, can they actually reach you and do you actually respond?
