First to Answer Wins

Here's something that genuinely bugs me. The local businesses that lose the most work usually aren't the ones with bad service or high prices. They're the ones that didn't get back to people fast enough.

Think about the last time you needed somebody. A contractor, a roofer, someone to look at a furnace that quit on a cold morning. You probably didn't make one call. You made a few. And whoever got back to you first, while you were still standing there thinking about it, that's who got the job. Not because they were the best. Because they were there.

That's the whole thing. When somebody reaches out to a local business, they're not browsing. They've got a problem and they want it handled. The window where they care is short. A couple hours later they've either solved it or moved on.

And here's what's frustrating about it. The businesses missing those calls are usually great at the actual work. That's exactly why they miss them. They're on a roof, under a sink, hands full, phone buzzing in a truck somewhere. By the time they hear the voicemail at six, the job's already gone.

So I'm not going to tell you to answer your phone more. You can't. You're working. What you can do is put a system in place so nobody who contacts you hears silence. Miss a call, and a text goes back on its own, in your voice. "Hey, it's Sam, saw I missed you, I'm on a job but text me what you need and I'll call this afternoon." That little text is often the whole difference. Now they're talking to you instead of dialing the next name on the list. Same goes for your website. Somebody fills out a form and hears nothing till tomorrow, that's a dead lead.

That's what a CRM is really for. Not fancy software for its own sake. It's the thing that catches every call, text, and form in one place and responds instantly, so the lead you already earned doesn't quietly leak out the back while you're busy doing the last job.

And around here, that stuff travels. The person who couldn't get a callback mentions it to their neighbor. So does the one you got back to in five minutes.

That's it for today. Go find out how long it actually takes you to get back to someone. You might not love the answer.