The 2026 Missed-Call Report
You paid for the lead. Then you missed the call.
Home-service businesses spend as much as ~$200 to generate a single lead, then miss 62% of the calls those campaigns produce — even though phone leads are the highest-converting leads they buy.
The finding
62%
of paid phone leads go unanswered — and they convert 6× better than any other channel.
Sources: 62% missed-call rate — ServiceTitan. 46% phone conversion vs. 7.8% digital average — Invoca, 2024 Buyer Experience Benchmarks.
Wasted acquisition spend
Formula: wasted_spend = leads/mo × %-that-call × missed-call-rate × cost-per-lead. Baseline: 50 paid leads/month, 60% arrive by phone (CallRail), 62% missed-call rate (ServiceTitan), CPL by trade (LocaliQ, 3,211 U.S. campaigns).
| Trade | CPL range | Wasted / month at 62% miss | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | $45–$93 | $837–$1,730 | LocaliQ |
| Plumbing | $40–$64 | $744–$1,190 | LocaliQ / CallRail |
| Electrical | $46–$70 | $856–$1,302 | LocaliQ |
| Roofing | $79–$187 | $1,469–$3,478 | LocaliQ |
Why it happens
Owners and lead techs are on the job, not near a phone. Roughly 35–40% of inbound calls arrive after normal business hours. Voicemail is not a fallback — about 85% of callers who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message (Dialzara), and roughly 62% of missed callers dial the next competitor on the list (411 Locals).
What it costs beyond the ad spend
Wasted spend is only the direct loss. Every unanswered call is also a lost first job, the repeat customer it would have become, and the neighbor referral that follows a good install.
Methodology
wasted_spend = leads/mo × %-that-call × missed-call-rate × CPL. phone_conversion_lift = 46% ÷ 7.8% ≈ 5.9× (rounded to 6×).
Sources
- ServiceTitan — 62% of inbound calls to home-service businesses go unanswered. Used for: Missed-call rate benchmark.
- Invoca — 2024 Buyer Experience Benchmarks — Phone leads convert at ~46% vs. ~7.8% for the average digital channel — a 6× lift. Used for: Phone-vs-digital conversion benchmark.
- LocaliQ — 2024 Search Advertising Benchmarks — Home-services CPL ranges from ~$45 (HVAC) to ~$187 (roofing), aggregated from 3,211 U.S. campaigns. Used for: Cost-per-lead ranges by trade.
- CallRail — Home Services Marketing Report — The majority of qualified inbound home-service leads still arrive as phone calls, not form fills. Used for: Phone share of paid-lead volume.
- 411 Locals — 62% of callers who reach voicemail or a busy line dial a competitor next. Used for: Competitor-capture rate on a missed call.
- Dialzara — ≈85% of callers who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message. Used for: Voicemail abandonment rate.
See what missed calls cost your shop — the Missed-Call Revenue Index