In short
Phone — first 20 seconds
"Hi — I build automations for [niche] businesses around here. Quick one: how do you handle [quotes / bookings] right now?"
"I built the same thing automated for another [niche] — it cut it from about forty minutes to under one. Can I show you in five minutes?"
Email — three lines that get replies
Subject: quick one about [business]'s missed calls
Line 1 — the observation: "I called your line after hours and it went to voicemail — I counted X missed on your [Google listing / ad]."
Line 2 — the offer: "I install a 24/7 AI receptionist that books those calls and texts a confirmation. It pays for itself with one recovered job."
Line 3 — the ask: "Worth a 5-minute look? I'll send a short recording either way."
The objection answers
- "Too expensive" → reframe against the alternative: a receptionist is $35k a year; this is a few hundred a month.
- "Can't I just use ChatGPT?" → you can't put it on your phone line, your site and your help desk with your branding and data.
- "Let me think" → shrink the ask to the $149 install or a 30-day after-hours trial.
Follow-up cadence
- Day 0Send the recording, no ask.
- Day 2One-line nudge referencing their specific business.
- Day 6Offer the small yes — a paid audit or trial.
- Day 12Polite close-the-loop; leave the door open.
LinkedIn DM scripts
- Opener: "Saw you run [business] in [town] — do you answer the phone after hours?"
- Value: "We install an AI receptionist that answers every call and books the job. Want a 60-second demo?"
- Proof: "[Similar business] recovered 14 bookings last month. Happy to show the numbers."
- Close: "Worth a 10-minute call this week, or should I send the one-pager?"
The voicemail that gets called back
Keep it under 20 seconds and lead with their name and the problem. "Hi [name], it's [you] — I help [trade] businesses stop losing after-hours calls. I'll send a one-page example; if it's useful, reply and I'll show you the live demo."
Do not pitch the technology. Name the lost revenue, promise one concrete asset, and make the next step tiny.
Qualifying questions
- Who answers the phone today, and what happens when they are busy?
- How many calls a week do you think go unanswered?
- What is your average job worth?
- What happens to a missed call — voicemail, callback, or nothing?
- Who decides on tools like this, and what would make it a yes?
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