Following Up a Missed Enquiry: What to Send and When

A missed enquiry is not lost at the moment the phone stops ringing. It is lost in the hour afterwards, when nothing happens. Small building firms that reply quickly win work that slower firms never hear about again.

Reply while the need is fresh

The person who rang you has a problem in front of them. A reply within a few minutes reaches them while they are still looking. A reply the next morning often reaches someone who has already booked another firm.

What the first message should say

Keep it short and useful:

• Who you are, by business name.
• That you are sorry you missed them.
• One clear question, such as what the job is or the postcode.

Do not send a price list or a long introduction. The aim is to start a conversation, not to finish one.

Doing it by hand, or automatically

You can send the message yourself when you come off the tools. The weakness is obvious: the busier you are, the later it goes. The alternative is a missed call text back service, which sends the first text for you as soon as a call goes unanswered and passes the reply on to you.

The second contact

If there is no answer to your text, ring once the same day at a sensible time. Leave a short message with your name and number. After that, one more text the following day is enough. Chasing beyond that annoys people.

Keep a simple log

Write down each missed enquiry, when you replied and what happened. After a month you will see how many turn into quotes. That number tells you whether the follow-up is working.