The problem
It's July in Tulsa. You're in an attic and the phone buzzes. By the time you climb down, the caller has already found someone else whose phone was answered. A missed call is often a missed job.
The robot
Every call you don't answer gets an automatic text back from your business number within a minute. It says sorry, asks what they need, and gives them a link to book a time. You call back when you're off the ladder, and half the time the job is already on your calendar.
Step 1: Get a booking link (5 minutes)
If your job software has online booking (Housecall Pro, Jobber and ServiceTitan all do), copy that link. If not, a free booking page works fine: Google Calendar's appointment schedules or the free plan of Calendly. Set the hours you actually take calls and the length of a typical visit.
Step 2: Turn on the auto-text (10 minutes)
Log in to the service that runs your business number and look in its settings for "auto-reply", "missed call text" or "instant response". Many business phone services include it. Grasshopper calls it Instant Response, and OpenPhone has auto-replies for missed calls. If your business line is an Android phone, a free auto-reply app from the Google Play store can do the same job. If your line is a plain cell phone on iPhone, there's no built-in way; that's when a cheap business number is worth it.
Step 3: Paste in the message
Copy this and change the parts in brackets:
Keep it short and sound like a person. The "URGENT" line matters: emergencies are your best jobs, and this sorts them to the top.
Step 4: Test it (5 minutes)
Call your business number from another phone and let it ring out. You should get the text within a minute. Tap the booking link and make sure it works on a phone. Then cancel the test booking.
How to tell it's working
For one month, count two things: how many missed calls got the text, and how many of those people booked or texted back. That's your own Hours Back receipt. If even one extra job a month comes from it, it has paid for itself many times over.
Want it done for you?
This is one of the tasks in Automate It or It's Free: fixed price, done in 7 days, or you don't pay. We're a Tulsa company. Call or text (918) 809-3836.