One of the dirty little secrets of local advertising & commerce is that businesses spend all kinds of money on getting their phones to ring… then they don’t answer the phone. This is an issue that’s come up a lot in the past few weeks as AI has been positioned as a backstop for missed business.
This isn’t always SMBs’ fault, as they’re too busy being chefs, roofers, and nail artists to also be inside sales agents. This especially goes for “deskless” SMBs, such as home services pros. As Scorpion CRO Jamie Adams told us, SMBs don’t have a marketing problem… they have an operational problem.
Adams’ comment at the time – made on stage at the recent Street Fight Live event – makes even more sense this week. That’s because Scorpion has launched a new product to combat the missed call problem. Known as Convert, it’s an AI-powered agent that’s a first line of defense for inbound leads.
“There’s a huge gap in the local business market between generating leads and converting them into paying customers,” Scorpion SVP of Growth, Sophia Murphy told Localogy Insider. “Even the best-run businesses lose opportunities simply because they can’t respond fast enough. Convert closes that gap.”
Under the Hood
So what does Convert do, and what’s under the hood? The AI-powered agent responds to incoming calls, texts, chats, and form submissions. Not only does this cover gaps in calls that SMBs can’t answer, but it can outperform human operators by doing things like working 24/7 and not taking vacations.
Beyond answering calls, Convert can take action such as qualifying leads and scheduling appointments on behalf of a given business. The particulars can be customized for any business, as Convert is trained on a business’s data and integrates with its software. For example, it can be trained on past intake calls.
It can also ingest other key business details, such as products and CRM systems. Out of the box, it integrates with CRM and practice management systems such as ServiceTitan (home services) and Clio (legal services). This gives it the tools it needs to automate things like scheduling appointments.
In total, key features for Convert include:
- AI Voice and Messaging Assistants: Two AI-powered assistants work together to ensure every inquiry is handled, from Facebook messages to phone calls, and every channel in between, promptly and professionally.
- Built for Your Business: Convert is customized to match a business’s unique needs, including how inquiries are handled, scripts are delivered, and leads are qualified, ensuring every interaction aligns with the brand and workflow.
- 24/7 Coverage: Convert works around the clock, including nights, weekends, and any time a business’s team is unavailable.
- Automated Scheduling: Convert can book appointments directly into a business’s supported scheduler, simplifying the intake process.
- Seamless Integration: Convert integrates quickly and easily into your Scorpion website and marketing solutions.
Silent Killer
To show rather than tell, Scorpion ran some trials to show that Convert has legs. Across its trial, it helped SMBs recover $1 million in lost revenue. That includes a 26 percent average increase in booking rates, $28,000 in new sales for one plumbing business, and a 60% jump in conversions for an HVAC company
These numbers aren’t surprising when you consider how significant the missed-call problem is for SMBs. Scorpion shows from the data across its platform that 30-50 percent of SMB incoming calls go unanswered. As noted earlier, this is the dirty little secret of the local marketing and commerce sector.
The reason that it’s a “dirty little secret” and not a pronounced one, is that it’s a silent killer. SMBs don’t see the magnitude of the business they’re not getting. As a result, it floats to the back of their busy SMB minds. But it’s a solvable problem to claim the revenue that’s tied to inbound leads they already paid for.
“Convert gives local businesses a way to stay responsive around the clock,” said Murphy, “and capture the revenue they’re already earning but too often lose.”
