Guides
One question per guide, answered directly. Written by Karim Diabate.
- A second number is a handoff decision before it is a branding decision
Most advice for getting a business number argues about looking professional. The useful test is whether anyone other than you will ever answer it.
- The quoted range is three billing units averaged together
Published answering service ranges are wide because they average three incompatible billing units. Here is how to work out your own number instead.
- Deciding which calls get a text matters more than the wording
Every vendor hands you a template. The harder question is which missed calls deserve an automatic text at all, and what that text has to ask to be useful.
- The emergency call is your best paid job of the week
For a trade, the evening emergency is the best paid job of the week and it goes to whoever picks up. What coverage has to do to win it.
- Three different calls ring the same out of hours line
A property manager out of hours line carries emergencies, money questions and prospects. Here is what separates them and what the script has to ask.
- Most of what rings after closing can wait until morning
An after hours answering service pays for itself on calls that lose their value overnight. Work out which of yours those are before you buy coverage.
- Your call mix decides this, not the feature list
An AI receptionist suits some call mixes and fails others. Work out which calls you actually get, then choose between software, a human service and voicemail.
- The missed call is usually a scheduling problem, not a phone problem
Missed calls are treated as a phone problem and solved with more phones. The pattern underneath is usually about timing, and it points at a different fix.