The missed-call audit

5 numbers that tell you how much business your phone is leaking. Takes about 5 minutes.

1. What's a new customer worth in their first year? Take the average revenue from a new customer's first job, plus a rough estimate of any repeat work in the following 12 months. Round number is fine.
   Example: a hardscape contractor at ~$4,200 per job, with maybe one small repeat = ~$5,500. A house cleaner at ~$180 per visit × 12 visits/year = ~$2,160.
2. Of last year's new customers, what percent first reached you by phone? Be honest. Not website-form, not Instagram DM, not referral — phone. For most service businesses this lands between 40% and 70%. If you don't have last year's data, estimate from last month.
3. How many unknown numbers called you in the last 7 days? Open your phone's recent-calls log right now. Count every number that isn't in your contacts. Each one is either a potential new customer or a wasted dial.
4. Of those unknown-number calls, how many did you actually answer or call back the same day? Two-day callbacks don't count — the lead has already moved on. Be strict with yourself here. The answer is usually lower than you'd guess.
5. Do the math.
   Missed calls per week = (Q3) − (Q4)
   Realistic conversion = 20–40% of missed calls would have become customers if you'd picked up
   Annual leakage = missed/week × conversion-rate × (Q1) × 52
   Most service businesses we run this on land somewhere between $15,000 and $90,000 per year of lost revenue. It's almost never zero, and it's almost always more than the cost of having something pick up every call for you.