Issue No.11

By Chase Gallagher, Founder, CMG Landscaping

Every business owner thinks they answer their phone. I thought that too.

"Oh, I answer my phone. I'm on it." That's what I would've told you a year ago, and every other business owner I know would say the same. Then I actually started reading the email recaps Quo sends me every month, instead of skimming past them.

My company, CMG Landscaping, specializes in design and build landscapes, drainage, hardscaping, and lighting. This is high-ticket work, usually somewhere between $25,000 and $100,000 a job. At that price point, a missed call is real money walking away, and it's usually walking straight to whoever picks up their phone. I figure I've lost $300,000 over the years to potential customers who never got a call back.

Before Quo, I ran the business from two personal iPhones. I carried them both everywhere, and forwarded calls to my office manager's phone whenever I was out. But figuring out what'd already happened in specific conversations was a huge pain. On top of that, I left the other phone behind a few times when staying at hotels.

After switching to Quo, I sat down and went over a monthly report. One stat stopped me cold: we were missing as many as 43% of our calls. The number was sitting right there in my own dashboard, and I couldn't argue my way out of it.

That's when I started treating the data differently. Now, my team and I go over it together, every single month, line by line: here's where we got better, here's where we got worse, here's what we've got to work on next month. "Forget what you say," I tell my team now. "Where's the data?"

That question alone has done more for how we run this business than any pep talk I could give my team. It's not something I bring out to lecture anybody; it's an accountability tool, as much as anything else. I don't care if there were spam calls that day, or if there's a good excuse. Give me the data, and we'll go from there. That 43% figure is down to 7% now.

Every call now also gets recorded, so before a rep heads out for a consultation, they'll pull up the intake call my office took and listen to it first. By the time they're standing in someone's yard, they already know what the homeowner wants and what they're worried about. I used to have to brief teammates myself before every job. Now anyone can just pull up the information and catch themselves up before they ever knock on a door.

We used to fight for a $4,500 job. Now it's closer to a layup: the client already feels like they know us, and half the time they're reaching for their checkbook. We're turning quotes around in 24 to 48 hours now, sometimes the same day.

I used to tell people I answered my phone. I don't have to say that anymore. Now the data does the talking, every month, whether it's good news or not.

Three things to try this week

Chase Gallagher

None of this takes much time, but it's made the biggest difference in how we run things. Here's where I'd start:

1. Pull the numbers before you have the conversation.

Before I sit down with my team, I pull whatever we've got: call logs, missed-call counts, calls that Sona handled. My monthly Quo recap already has this waiting in my inbox. The last two months, side by side, tell me more than any gut check ever will.

2. Have AI read the calls for you.

I've got Quo connected to ChatGPT. Once a week or so, I'll hop in and ask:

"What are the top five most important calls my office made this week?"
"Who answered the phones best this week?"
"What should I be worried about from these calls?"

It goes through my call transcripts faster than I ever could, and it still tells me what I need to know.

3. Let Sona catch the details, then decide what's urgent.

It's 9 PM on a Friday and the phone rings. Sona picks up and gets their information: name, number, and what the caller needs. Nothing gets lost just because it's after hours. From there, my team decides what's worth a same-day follow-up, and what can wait. We'll text a paid lead back that same day, while a routine call will wait until Monday.

Never lose another lead with Sona

Andrew Smondulak, Senior Product Marketer, Quo

Chase isn't the only Quo customer letting Sona catch what happens after hours. Scott Geddis, who runs M&M Skylights, used to deal with the same problem: a lead who texted or called late in the day could wait until the next day to hear back. Now leads that used to wait 10 to 12 hours for a response get a text back immediately, even after hours.

That's Sona for lead capture. It can text a new contact back automatically, answer their questions, gather the details your team needs, and post a summary right in the thread so any team member can follow up.

It's live now, and free to use while still in beta. Join me and Scott live on August 26 at 12 PM PT to see it in action.

RSVP for the webinar

Join our new community

Nico Carmosino, Senior Community & Events Manager, Quo

We've opened applications for Quo's Important People (QIP) a Slack community for the operators who know Quo best and want a real say in where it goes next. Here's what you get when you join:

A direct line to our product team, designers, and leadership with regular AMAs & ways to get engaged
First look at features before anyone else, alphas/betas included
Support tickets routed to the front of the line (VIP support)
A room full of expert SMB operators who are passionate about their business and want to help each other out
Chances to win $100 Quo swag gift cards just by participating

Spots are limited, and we review every application to ensure we're getting the right people in the room. If you've been looking to do more with Quo, this is your chance.

Apply to join QIP