How to Use Smith.ai’s Virtual Receptionists Calculator

One-by-one, missed calls may seem inconsequential. But even just a few unanswered calls every month can have a disastrous impact on the potential revenue of your business. 

That’s why Smith.ai created a free virtual receptionists calculator. 

Businesses can see exactly how many opportunities they’ve overlooked and — by closing the gap and properly answering and handling all calls — see how much more revenue they can generate.

How our calculator estimates potential revenue 

A missed call is a missed customer. Your lost revenue would amount to however many calls you miss — multiplied by your average sales close rate and the value of a new client. At Smith.ai, we know every business is different, so a one-size-fits-all equation isn’t 100% realistic. To deliver results that more closely reflect a more true estimate of revenue potential, our calculator asks you a series of business-related questions

1. What industry are you in? 

Answering calls is essential for every industry, but in some industries, like lawyers and home services, the likelihood is very high that customers will immediately move on if they experience long wait times or get sent to voicemail.

2. How many calls do you miss each day? 

Understanding how many calls go unanswered gives us a good idea of how many revenue-generating opportunities you might be missing.

3. How much does a typical customer pay you?

If you know how much a new customer is worth, it’s possible to estimate how much revenue you’re leaving on the table when you miss a call.

4. Out of your sales opportunities, how many turn into paying customers? 

With a healthy close rate, missing a call is like throwing money out the window.

After submitting your answer, our calculator computes your results, estimating how much revenue you’re losing by not answering all your calls. And in turn, it demonstrates how much more you could be earning if you do pick up the phone each time.

The real cost of missed calls

If you’re missing calls, it disrupts the customer experience and affects how many customers you’re able to take on. Here are just a few ways missed calls impact businesses:

• Missed sales opportunities

Sending a caller to voicemail can be detrimental. The likelihood of them calling you back is slim to none. In fact, missing their call just sends them to your competitor, costing you a new client and net new revenue.

• Tarnished reputation

Your reputation is what keeps clients coming back. Slow or inconsistent responses send the message that your business lacks accessibility, customer service, and valuable communication. This can isolate and discourage new and existing clients from doing business with you, ultimately hurting not only your wallet, but your brand’s image and customer loyalty too.

• Poor customer service

A large part of delivering quality customer service is fast and effective communication. Your customers, new and old, expect an immediate answer when they call your business, and if they don’t get it, you can bet they’ll take their business elsewhere. 89% of consumers will switch to a competitor after a poor customer experience and your reviews will likely take a hit too.

• Limited growth trajectory

If your business earns $2,000 for every new client, and you regularly miss even just one call a day, you could be losing out on $30,000 every month. That means your marketing efforts are being wasted and ROI isn’t as healthy as you might expect — strongly limiting your growth potential and ability to scale.

Three tips to improve responsiveness

From 9-to-5 limitations to call coverage gaps, there are plenty of understandable reasons why businesses might not be able to pick up the phone every time it rings. But that doesn’t stop callers from expecting immediate answers. Consistent responsiveness is crucial to the long-term success of any business. To minimize missed calls, here are some call answering recommendations.

1. Explore your call data & volume

To answer more calls, you need to understand your business communication ins and outs. A good place to start is to learn more about your call volume, frequency, and caller type. Knowing the who, why, when, and how often can help you and your team identify any blindspots, set expectations, and implement a course of action to better manage your call volume. You should also implement a call tracking tool so you know where calls are coming from and what marketing or advertising efforts are generating the most inbound leads.

2. Invest in a dedicated business number

If you don’t already have one, consider setting up a business phone number as soon as possible. A dedicated business number will give your customers a direct line to your company, granting you more control over when and how you choose to answer a call. Not only that, but dedicated business numbers protect your privacy, keep your personal phone from getting clogged, and legitimize your business. You can promote this number among customers to call or text. Having an SMS strategy allows more potential customers to get in touch with you in the method that’s most convenient to them. 

3. Outsource your call handling

Stop calls from slipping through the cracks by outsourcing to Smith.ai. Our team of live, virtual receptionists answer the phone 24/7 or whenever makes the most sense for your business. Among other duties, our North America-based agents set up call notifications, establish call forwarding rules, and perform warm transfers, so your business never misses any important leads.

Beyond call answering

If you’re hoping to answer more calls and increase your speed-to-lead without overwhelming your existing staff or hiring new team members, consider handing off your calls to Smith.ai. 

We convert missed calls into opportunities.

Our virtual receptionists pick up the phone, day or night, so you never have to miss a sales opportunity. With Smith.ai fielding your calls, your business will see noticeable improvements in your responsiveness, productivity, lead engagement, conversions, and revenue growth.

That’s because Smith.ai does so much more than just answer calls 24/7. Our capabilities stretch beyond a typical answering service to add efficiency and improve your bottom line. 

Our virtual receptionists can:

• Book appointments
• Screen & intake leads 
• Send follow-up SMS and emails
• Perform callbacks
• Collect payment
• Handle chats & texts
• Much more

Some of the benefits of outsourcing your call answering include:

• Flexibility

Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can scale with your needs and grow alongside you. 

• Expertise

You gain an entire team of highly experienced and knowledgeable receptionists who can implement best practices to connect with callers and convert leads.

• Leverage

From valuable call reports and analytics to the expansion of labor, your business gains an all-around competitive advantage. 

• Cost efficiency

Reduce overhead that’s typically spent on recruitment, staffing, and training and redirect those investments toward other areas of your business.

• A more focused sales pipeline

Let an outsourced team of virtual receptionists dedicate their focus entirely to your admin work so you can reserve your in-house team’s energy for more specialized projects or work.

Get started today!

Smith.ai has hundreds of highly skilled virtual receptionists across North America —  ready to not only answer your calls, but also book appointments on your calendar, screen and intake your leads, make outbound calls, collect payments, and so much more. 

Book a 30-minute consultation to explore the options best suited for your business needs.