24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Construction and building design answering service

It can be hard to handle calls on a job site. Let Smith.ai's construction answering service do it for you. We answer calls 24/7, screen new leads & more.

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Two female archetects look at a building design.

Incoming calls are unpredictable

Calls come in, but you're not always available to answer them. With our phone answering service, you won't have to worry about missing any incoming calls from a potential client, or any important calls from a current customer. Build better relationships with your clients and increase customer satisfaction with our construction answering service. We qualify leads, schedule appointments, and log details in your systems.

Get work done while we handle the calls

Your team only has so much time. And projects can't get completed when you're distracted by calls. While you’re busy at a job site or meeting with potential clients, you can hand off other tasks to our receptionists. Our virtual receptionist service handles incoming calls, appointment scheduling, taking payments, and more! Make sure you never miss a potential customer by having a live person pick-up inbound calls outside of your business hours with our 24/7 answering service.

We provide 360-degree coverage to manage both your inbound and outbound customer engagement.

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Make better business decisions with real-time call data, visualized in every Smith.ai client dashboard. Every call summary is enriched with metadata including actions completed, caller disposition, priority, relevance, call recording and transcription, and more. See the big picture with historical tables and charts to predict business growth, costs, and ROI with superior accuracy.

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Smith.ai receptionists make calls on your behalf, improving your speed-to-lead and unburdening staff who need to reach out to clients. We'll call-back online leads who complete web forms, contact donors for donation renewals, chase down payments on unpaid invoices, and more. We'll even send follow-up emails and texts after every call to ensure a connection is made. Learn more.

82%

of consumers expect an immediate response to a sales inquiry

50%

of lead generation budgets are wasted on leads who are never contacted

79%

of marketing leads never convert into sales

67%

of customers who receive excellent service spend up to 14% more

Screen clients faster with live chat & texts

Leads come to your website with questions. With Smith.ai 24/7 Live Chat, we respond in seconds to turn website visitors into clients. Plus, we answer texts, too.

Get the most out of Smith.ai

Outreach Campaigns

Where we reach, engage & qualify leads to build your book of business.

More about Outreach Campaigns

Web Chat

The best channel for sales, service & support by utilizing bots, humans, or both.

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Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

5.0 stars

4.9 stars

5.0 stars

4.7 stars

“We're so happy with Smith.ai. Their customer obsession matches how we strive to deliver for our window-treatment and awning customers.”

Thomas Aquilino

Breslow Home Design Center

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TALK TO OUR TEAM of experts

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Improve customer experiences with 24/7 engagement. We offer features and pricing for organizations of all sizes.

North America-based agents
Best-in-class AI technology
Live-staffed website chat
Bilingual services
Sales development & outreach
Rich call intelligence

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END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

Calls, chats & appointments are automatically logged in your systems. Real-time syncing with over 7,000 integrations.

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end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

All activities — from calls and chats to appointments and payments — logged in your firm's preferred software.

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Frequently asked questions

The best construction and building design answering services do much more than pick up phone calls and take messages for architects. At Smith.ai, we provide virtual receptionists capable of a wide range of services from calling handling, to scheduling, to lead intake, to website chat, and more. Whether you need a virtual receptionist for full-time call handling, overflow support only, after-hours, or triage, here are the answers to the most common questions we receive from construction managers, building designers, and architects.

Construction managers are generally too preoccupied overseeing building projects to answer each and every phone call that comes in, however, providing quality customer service through a truthworthy construction and building design answering service has been shown to improve businesses. Here are a couple of the benefits construction and design businesses experience with us:

Expanded availability

With a phone answering service that’s available every hour of the day, each day of the week, your clients will always have a real person to talk to, whether your office is busy, closed, or on holiday. Your clients’ questions always receive a thoughtful response.

Increased leads captured

Missed calls mean missed opportunities. Don’t miss out on leads just because you’re not always able to pick up the phone. Answering services provide nighttime, weekend, and after-hours availability so your staff will never miss another call.

Boost work productivity

Through outsourcing call handling to an answering service, your schedule will be freed so you can spend time where you need it most and focus on more important work to grow your construction business.

Enhanced client satisfaction and business reputation

At Smith.ai, we know great customer service and how to deliver it for a range of business types and industries. Our virtual receptionists are professionals in customer service and hospitality, so let us put best practices to work for you and deliver an exceptional and professional response that represents your construction and design team well every time.

Save money and time

No need to allocate limited time and money towards hiring an in-house receptionist when you can assistance and then some with an answering service for a fraction of the cost. Customers who use Smith.ai can save upwards of $30,000/year.

Stay up-to-date with leads and clients

Phone answering services can send your construction and design business with detailed call summaries after each call and even provide your clients with chat and text messaging so you can keep in contact with your most valued clients.

A construction and design answering service can provide your business with much needed relief, whether your construction and design is on a budget, overwhelmed by overflow calls, or just looking to enrich your company’s customer service. With Smith.ai’s answering service, your construction business can obtain even more benefits to help your company accomplish its goals, whatever they may be.

Smith.ai’s answering service can provide construction and building design businesses with…

24/7 availability

After-hours & overflow answering

Bilingual answering

Outbound call-backs

Spam blocking

Appointment scheduling

Sales development

Payment collection

CRM Integration

Lead development

And much more…‍

With nearly endless features, Smith.ai’s answering service is guaranteed to build your company’s productivity, revenue, and outreach. Smith.ai has provided quality service to construction and design businesses for years and our clients trust Smith.ai to offer their business premium support. Read our 5-star reviews to learn why construction and design managers prefer Smith.ai.

The cost of a receptionist is one of the most significant factors to consider when deciding on whether to hire an answering service or a traditional, in-house receptionist. Let’s look at the average price for an in-house receptionist.

The average salary nation-wide for an in-house receptionist is about $37,000 and they often come with hefty, hidden fees, like:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, costing about $11,000/year
Life and disability insurance, costing about $2,000/year
401K’s, retirement and pension plans, costing about $2,000/year
Paid sick leave, holidays, and vacations, costing about $5,500/year
Commuting reimbursement, costing about $5,000/year
Child care subsidy and parental leave, costing about $3,000/year
Health and wellness programs, costing about $1,000/year
Bonus pay, costing about $2,000/year
Company retreats, team bonding events, and employee outings, costing about $4,000/year
Free lunch, snacks, and drinks, costing about $3,500/year

Total Cost, Including Salary: $77,000/year

If your business is located in a highly populated area, that price may be even higher. In-house receptionists can add to that cost when they inevitably come in late, call in sick, request time off, take personal leaves of absence, go on vacation, and so on. On the other hand, Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can complete the same tasks as an in-house receptionist and then some, barring coffee runs and supply restocks, of course, and are much less expensive since your construction and design team won’t have to pay for any time off, benefits, or salaries.

Smith.ai’s answering service costs as little as $292.50/month, with no hidden fees. Ever. By hiring an answering service instead of an in-house receptionist, your business could save over $33,000/year on salary alone, and possibly up to $40,000/year in benefits beyond salary payments. Not only will your construction team save money, but your business will also be able to optimize productivity and revenue like never before. Unlike in-house receptionists, virtual receptionists can answer calls outside of regular business hours, which is far more important than you might recognize, as 27% of leads call after hours. Smith.ai’s live agents can answer live chats and texts. SMS answering can be overlooked, but over 46% of customers prefer communicating with businesses through text.

Virtual receptionists can even provide sales assistance by performing outbound calls to convert more leads, which has been proven to be helpful. It’s crucial for businesses to respond promptly, as over 67% of clients base their decision to hire a business on the initial responsiveness to their call or email. Long waiting times encourage leads to take their business elsewhere and you may not have the chance to explain why you’re the right construction and design business to hire. With Smith.ai’s construction and design answering service, your business can receive all the benefits of an in-house worker and forget about the unnecessary cost. Read our article to learn more about the differences between an in-house vs. a virtual receptionist.

Keeping a construction and design business functioning can get hectic, from managing projects and tasks to overseeing company development and growth. Businesses like these regularly face issues that impede their ability to succeed. The most common scenarios that construction and design businesses use virtual receptionist services for are:

My budget won't allow for hire staff, but I still need administrative support

“Front desk” support is an invaluable way for construction and design businesses to offset regular administrative pressures and keep operations running smoothly. With a restricting budget, however, many construction and design companies may not be able to afford expensive in-house receptionists, especially when they already have to pay for office rent and supplies, marketing, and advertising.

I need time to focus without constant interruptions from calls

Calls come in whether your construction and design business is available to answer them or not. When construction workers have to answer phone calls in addition to their everyday duties, they may struggle to stay focused on more important work. On average, it takes about 23 minutes to get back to a task after being interrupted by a phone call.

My business is growing and my team can’t handle it all

Businesses grow and it can be difficult to keep up. With calls that need to be answered, appointments that need to be scheduled, and invoices that need to be sent, it’s can be easy for design and construction teams to fall behind.

I can’t offer 24/7 availability to answer calls

When the work day ends, construction workers, builders, and designers want to go home and enjoy their free time away from clients, but calls don’t stop coming in and leads can often be missed, as over 27% of leads call outside of normal business hours. Construction and design teams may not be available after-hours, but may still want to offer around-the-clock customer service.

If your construction and building design business has experienced one or any of these scenarios, an answering service can help by enabling you to outsource these tasks directly to a professional agent. An answering service will take on some of the more time-consuming responsibilities, fixing even the most tedious issues your business faces. Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can accomplish the same, whether your construction company needs a little extra assistance handling phone calls, blocking spam, or qualifying leads. By eliminating the need to dedicate time to screening calls and answering clients’ questions, your construction and design company can get back to focusing on real work without neglecting your client relationships.

Construction and design businesses, like any business, often find themselves in compromising situations that require outsourced assistance to resolve. Some of the most common problems are:

I can’t seem to keep up with incoming calls and messages from clients

With a limited in-person staff and a laundry list of assignments, construction and design businesses frequently struggle to answer phones and respond to messages from clients in addition to their regular duties. Running a business and providing quality customer service at the same time can prove to be difficult and lead to poor performance in both.

My whole day is spent on administrative tasks and can’t get productive, real work done

With the price of in-house receptionists being as high as it is, construction and design businesses are usually left to delegate daily tasks themselves. Despite spending a large portion of their day performing administrative duties, construction teams still struggle to work on their important projects when they're busy completing regular office tasks.

I’m missing calls from new business leads and it's costing me money

Picking up each phone call can feel impossible for construction and design businesses when they have higher priority assignments to work on. Construction and design companies may fail to respond to new inquiries in time so potential leads can be easily and frequently missed. Leads don't wait for call-backs. They call the next construction and design business in the search results. If businesses fail to pick up, they not only lose a lead, they lose ROI, money on marketing campaigns and ad spend, as well as conversion rates from ads.

I can’t reply to leads fast enough to beat my competition to new clients

With the crowded marketplace for construction and design businesses being what it is, it can be a major obstacle for businesses to distinguish themselves and stand out amongst other similar businesses. Providing quality customer service through quick and thoughtful responses can place businesses well above their competitors, but many businesses often lack the time to do so.

I’m struggling to find and keep new clients

One of the most crucial, yet challenging, aspects of growing a successful business is obtaining and keeping new clients. With so much time and effort being spent towards existing clients, construction and design businesses may not have the free time to go and seek out new clients. Construction managers who spread their workload too thin may not be able to deliver quality customer service. Slow response times may frustrate customers and hurt client loyalty and retention, as well.

I'm having trouble keeping track of my clients’ data

Maintaining detailed phone records and call summaries can be overwhelming for businesses who disperse client data across a multitude of software platforms. Knowing how, when, and why clients call is significant for any business hoping to successfully navigate client relationships, but unfortunately, is not always easy to accomplish.

If your construction and building design business is facing any of these challenges, a virtual receptionist service may be useful. One of the many amazing things about Smith.ai is that our services fit your business needs, not the other way around. Our virtual receptionists can dedicate time where you need it most and address the specific issues your business face, whether your team needs additional help qualifying and intaking new clients or sending invoices and collecting payments. Sign up risk-free with our 30-day money-back guarantee and see how Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can alleviate the problems your construction and design business faces.

Determining which services are important to your construction and design business is a good place to start. To figure out which services would be best for your business, ask yourself what problems or opportunities you face that a virtual receptionist service can address:

Does your construction and design business need a little extra help gaining new clients?
Does your construction and design business need to answer more website and text messages?
Does your construction and design business lack the ability to block spam calls?

Whatever it may be, Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can adjust their service to better suit your business needs.

After that, think about what services would best fit your company’s activity level:

Does your business receive hundreds of calls a day or just a few?
Do you receive more online messages than calls?
Would your business benefit from 24/7 phone answering or would you prefer a particular time frame, such as 9-to-5, for answering calls?

Whether you get twenty calls a month or 2,000, Smith.ai can customize your virtual receptionist service to fit your business activity so you only pay for what you need.

All you have to do next is sign up. Getting started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service is simple and fast. No annual contracts, no setup fees, and no need to supply scripts.

Follow three simple steps:

Customize your instructions – Just answer a few, quick questions about your firm and the preferences you have and we’ll get you started. We’ll use your answers to customize the way our virtual receptionists answer your calls and your clients’ questions.
Send your calls to us – We work with every phone system and can set up customized rules for when we answer your calls. Or we can answer every call, 24/7!
Try risk-free with our 30-day money-back guarantee – Fully experience our call answering, scheduling, payments, and other phone services completely risk free for 30 days. If we're not the right fit for you, get your money back up to $1000 within the first 30 days.

Whether your business is looking for a full-time virtual receptionist or an overflow or occasional phone answering service, Smith.ai can offer customized assistance to your team with quality customer service, lead screening, and sales development. When you sign up with Smith.ai, you won’t just be gaining a virtual receptionist service, you’ll be gaining a professional, reliable, and friendly team who are guaranteed to transform your business by capturing leads and delighting current clients.

‍Learn how to get started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service.

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24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Construction and building design answering service

Incoming calls are unpredictable

Get work done while we handle the calls

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Screen clients faster with live chat & texts

Get the most out of Smith.ai

Outreach Campaigns

Web Chat

Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

Thomas Aquilino

TALK TO OUR TEAM of experts

Book a consultation

END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

Frequently asked questions

What are the benefits of a construction and building design answering service?

How much money will I save by hiring an answering service for my construction and design business compared to an in-house receptionist?

What common scenarios do construction and design businesses use virtual receptionist services for?

What are the common problems that indicate my construction and design company needs a virtual receptionist service?

What do I need to prepare to get started with a construction and design virtual receptionist service?

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