The cheapest marketing fix for any tradie: answer the phone (what 1,361 tracked calls showed)
Short answer. Of 1,361 tracked inbound calls to LeadHive trade partners in 2026, 1,115 were answered and 222 weren't. That's roughly one in six calls going to voicemail. Emergency callers almost never leave a message; they ring the next business. For a plumber whose average job is $325, a month with ten missed calls is a few thousand dollars walking down the page.
The numbers
Between February and October 2026, LeadHive call tracking logged 1,361 inbound calls to partner tradies across New Zealand.
- Answered: 1,115 (82%).
- Not answered: 222 (16%).
- Blocked or spam: 24 (2%).
The unanswered rate varies a lot by partner. The best answer more than 95% of calls. The worst answer under 60%, and their lead counts look bad even when the campaign is producing.
Why missed calls hurt more for tradies than for anyone else
A homeowner with no hot water isn't going to wait for a call back. They rang you because you were at the top of Google. If it rings out, they tap the next result, and that business gets the job. Our call recordings show it over and over: a caller tries once, maybe twice, then disappears. Very few leave a voicemail.
When the missed calls happen
- Early evening, 5pm to 8pm, when you're driving home or at dinner.
- Mid-morning on a job, when the phone's in the van.
- Weekends.
None of those are surprising. The fix isn't to answer every call personally. It's to make sure something sensible happens.
Five fixes, cheapest first
- Turn on call notifications and a 60-second callback habit. The job is still there if you ring back inside a minute or two.
- Put a text auto-reply on missed calls: "On a job, calling you back in 10 minutes, Joe." Cheap, and it stops them ringing the next guy.
- Get a second person on the line for the hours you can't: a partner, an office number, a mate's business. The tracking number can forward to two numbers in sequence.
- Only run ads during the hours you'll answer. If 9pm calls go to voicemail, don't pay for 9pm clicks.
- Listen to your missed-call log once a week. Every tracked call has a time and a number. Ring them back; some are still waiting.
Why this matters for your marketing spend
Every lead you miss still cost money to generate. Lifting your answer rate from 80% to 95% does the same for your revenue as a 19% bigger ad budget, for free. It's the first thing we look at when a partner says the leads are slow.
Questions people ask
Do emergency callers leave voicemails?
Rarely. In our call recordings most unanswered callers hang up without a message and don't ring again. A text auto-reply or a fast callback is the only reliable way to keep them.
Can a tracking number forward to more than one phone?
Yes. LeadHive tracking numbers can ring one number first and roll to a second if there's no answer, so an office line or a second tradie can catch the call.
One tradie per trade per area. Check whether yours is still open.
