A missed call is not automatically a lost sale. It may be an existing customer, a supplier or an unwanted call. The useful question is: how many unanswered calls were genuine enquiries, and what happened next?
Run a two-week check
- Count calls that were not answered by a person.
- Call back where appropriate and mark the genuine new enquiries.
- Record how many became paying work.
- Use the contribution from that work, not just the headline invoice value.
- Note how much staff time the follow-up took.
Use your own calculation
genuine unanswered enquiries × your conversion rate × average contribution per job
Example only: if a business records 12 genuine unanswered enquiries in a month, normally wins one in four, and keeps £120 contribution from an average job, the estimated opportunity is 12 × 0.25 × £120 = £360. Those assumptions are not a SimplyAnswered performance claim; replace every figure with your own data.
Then choose the smallest fix
- Ring longer or ring another phone when someone can answer but the current route is too short.
- Use separate opening hours when closed calls are disturbing personal time.
- Add voicemail when a basic message is enough.
- Add the AI receptionist after no answer when you need structured details, approved answers or appointment requests.
- Use the assistant first only when that is genuinely better than letting your team answer directly.
Compare against the real price
Paid AI plans start at £89.99 a month for 100 minutes and include one UK 01 or 02 number. Extra assistant minutes on a paid plan cost 49p each. A standalone number is £5 a month, with optional pay-as-you-go AI answering at 99p per connected assistant minute. Additional numbers are £5 a month, and all prices include VAT.
Calls and other optional services use the rate shown in your portal. Compare the likely monthly cost with the opportunity you measured, then keep checking whether the setup is useful.
Check the outcome, not just the answer rate
After changing the call plan, review whether messages contain enough detail, urgent callers reach the right person, closed calls follow the expected path and staff actually complete the callbacks. A simple route that the team trusts is more valuable than a complicated one nobody maintains.