Resource · print it, tape it to the dash

Count your own missed calls for one week.

Every statistic about missed calls is somebody else's business. This gets you yours in seven days, and it decides whether the phone is a leak or a busy week.

  1. 1

    Pick one normal week

    Monday to Sunday. Include the weekend; the weekend is the point.

  2. 2

    Pull the list, don't remember it

    iPhone: Recents, missed calls in red. Android: call history, Missed filter. Business line: the carrier's online log catches the ones that never rang your handset.

  3. 3

    Three piles

    Missed during working hours. Missed after hours or at the weekend. Missed but called back within 30 minutes. Take the third pile out; those weren't lost.

  4. 4

    Cross off the ones that were never customers

    Sales calls, wrong numbers, the supplier, last week's customer asking about the invoice.

  5. 5

    What's left is your number

    Put it in the calculator with your real average job value. Then decide: forward smarter, hire, an answering service, or a build. Or nothing, if the number is small.

The tally, if you want paper

DayWorking hoursAfter hoursCalled back in 30 min
Mon____________
Tue____________
Wed____________
Thu____________
Fri____________
Sat____________
Sun____________

Then put the after-hours number into the calculator, or read how the quarter rule prices it. If the number is small, keep your money.