Ask most solar, EV or heat pump installers how many calls they miss in a week and you'll get a shrug. But a missed call isn't a neutral event — it's a job walking straight to your competitor. Let's put a real number on it.
A missed call doesn't wait
When a homeowner is ready to spend thousands on a heat pump or solar system, they don't leave a voicemail and wait patiently. They hang up and dial the next installer on Google. Whoever answers first is in pole position to win the job. If that's not you, the enquiry — and the money you spent getting it — is gone.
The maths on missed calls
Here's a simple way to size the problem for your business. Take four numbers:
- How many calls you get in a typical week.
- Roughly what percentage you miss (on a roof, driving, after hours).
- Your average job value.
- How many missed callers would realistically have booked — a fair estimate is around a third.
Run those numbers and the total is almost always bigger than installers expect. Even missing a handful of calls a week at a few thousand pounds a job adds up to tens of thousands a year in work you never even knew you lost.
Most installers don't have a lead problem. They have a missed-call problem.
We built a quick calculator so you can see your own number in seconds — work out what missed calls are costing you here.
Why installers miss so many calls
It's not carelessness — it's the nature of the job. You're up a ladder, under a consumer unit, or driving between sites. You can't answer, and by the time you call back the customer has booked someone else. Evenings and weekends are worse: that's often when homeowners actually have time to ring, and it's exactly when you're off the clock.
How to catch every call
You don't need to sit by the phone. You need a system that answers when you can't:
- An AnswerHQ that answers from your own website at any hour and offers them a callback straight back to you.
- A checker on your own site, so the question that made them ring is answered even when nobody picks up.
- A page that captures the enquiry rather than relying on them ringing back, because most of them will not.
Put those in place and every call becomes a chance at a job — even the ones you physically can't pick up. That's exactly what InstallerHQ runs for installers.
Related guides
How installers get more leads
Build a pipeline of enquiries generated for you.
Read →Why 24/7 booking wins more jobs
Homeowners research at 9pm. Nobody answers.
Read →Grant figures on this page were checked against gov.uk on 22 September 2026 and are indicative — the binding figure is the one from the official application. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.