Each enquiry is worth a great deal
A builder doesn't need many calls a week, but each one can be months of work. Losing a single extension or renovation enquiry costs more than a year of answering the phone properly.
For builders
An AI receptionist for builders.
The enquiry for a £40,000 extension rings your mobile while you're mixing on site. It goes to voicemail, and the customer rings the next builder on the recommendation list. Kallorix answers the calls you miss, takes the job details and texts them to you.
The problem
Why builders lose work to the phone.
Site is no place for a phone
With a mixer running, a delivery arriving and three trades asking questions, a ringing phone is the last thing you can deal with. So it rings out, and so does the next one.
People judge you by the first contact
Someone about to spend their savings wants to feel they're dealing with an organised firm. A proper answer and a prompt call back says that. A full voicemail box says the opposite.
She asks what you'd ask.
You set this up from your own website and change anything you like. For a builder, a typical call covers:
What she finds out
- What they want built or altered: an extension, a conversion, a renovation or a repair
- Whether they have drawings or planning permission yet
- The postcode and the type of property
- Roughly when they want the work to start
- Their name and the best number to ring back
Kallorix: call for your business at 14:32From: 07700 900618 (1m 48s)
Name: Helen Brooks | Call back: 07700 900618 | Where: B14, 1930s semi | Job: Single-storey rear extension for a kitchen, architect's drawings done, planning approved last month | Urgency: Start in the spring, wants a quote this month
Name: Helen Brooks | Call back: 07700 900618 | Where: B14, 1930s semi | Job: Single-storey rear extension for a kitchen, architect's drawings done, planning approved last month | Urgency: Start in the spring, wants a quote this month
An example of the text you get after a call. The names and details are made up.
While you're working
Three calls she takes for a builder.
The extension enquiry
She asks what they want, whether drawings and planning are in place and when they hope to start. That tells you in one text whether it's ready to price or a year away.
The insurance repair
After a leak or a storm, someone needs work an insurer will pay for. She takes what happened and whether a loss adjuster has been out, and passes it on. She doesn't say what will be covered.
The small job you might not want
A fence panel, a bit of pointing. She takes it the same way, and you decide. If there's work you never take, tell her and she'll say so politely.
When the phone is busiest
Enquiries arrive in waves: January, when people plan the year's projects, and spring, when the weather turns and everyone wants to start at once. They ring in the evening and at weekends, after talking it over at home, which is exactly when you've finished for the day.
What she won't do
She won't give a price or even a rough figure for building work, and she won't say how long a job will take or when you could start. She won't comment on planning or building regulations. She takes the details and tells them you'll ring to arrange a visit.
An answering service for builders, without the call centre.
Most builders looking for a telephone answering service or a virtual receptionist want the same thing: every call answered in their name and the job details sent straight over. Kallorix does that with an AI receptionist set up for a builder, so she asks what your trade needs rather than taking a general message. She answers at once, day or night, for a flat monthly price with no charge per call.
Weighing up the options? See how she compares with a staffed answering service, a virtual receptionist and voicemail.
What missed calls cost
Work out what the phone is costing you.
Work you could be losing each month
£0
An estimate from the numbers you enter, not a promise of extra work. The figures shown to start with are examples; put in your own.
How it works
A demo in about two minutes. Live in about ten.
Give us your website
We draft what she should know about your business. You check it and change anything.
Hear your own receptionist
Call the demo line and talk to your own receptionist. No card and nothing to install.
Divert the calls you miss
Dial one code on your mobile. Your phone still rings first; she takes the ones you can't. No divert on your network? Give out your Kallorix number instead.
Setting her up for a builder
Tell her the work you take on and the smallest job you'll consider, so she can be honest with callers. Add the areas you cover. The photo link lets a customer send pictures of the house or their drawings before you ring back. You can change what she knows at any time in your account, and it applies from the next call.
Questions from builders
What she will and won't do.
Will she give a ballpark price?
No. Building work depends on a visit and drawings, so she never guesses. She tells the caller you'll ring back to arrange a look.
Can she sort serious enquiries from time-wasters?
She asks whether they have drawings or planning and when they want to start, and puts the answers in your text. You can see at a glance how far along they are.
Can she book a site visit?
If you switch appointments on and link your calendar, she offers a time you're free and pencils it in for you to confirm.
Can customers send drawings or photos?
Yes. She can text the caller a link to send photos of the property or of their drawings. It's optional for them, and they appear on the job page linked in your text.
Will she deal with my suppliers and subcontractors too?
She answers every call the same way and takes a message. A supplier chasing a delivery or a subbie asking about Monday gets their message to you by text.
What does it cost?
Plans start at £39 a month for 250 minutes, with 7 days free covering 15 calls or 30 minutes. See the pricing page for every plan.