Before You Switch On Call Cover: A One-Person Pre-Launch Checklist

Call cover, whether it's a person or software answering for you, can only work with what you give it. When the first version sounds generic, the usual cause is that the details were in your head and never got written down.

Spend an hour on this checklist before you speak to anyone. A one-person business has no office manager to fill the gaps, so the notes you make now become the knowledge your cover relies on.

If you want a longer walkthrough, there's a useful guide on what to gather before anyone builds your phone script. The checklist below is a compact version you can work through at the van or the kitchen table.

1. Services: what you do and what you decline

Make two lists.

What you take on. Be specific. A broad word like "electrics" gives a caller little to match against. Name the actual jobs you want, such as fault-finding, socket additions, consumer unit swaps or outdoor lighting.

What you turn away. Note the jobs you don't do, the customers you don't serve and any work you refuse on certain days. Then write the sentence you'd like a caller to hear. A polite "we're not the right firm for that" costs you nothing. A booking you have to cancel costs you time and goodwill.

2. Areas: something a caller's postcode can check

"Within a reasonable distance" can't be tested on a phone call. A caller gives a postcode or a town, so your coverage needs to be written the same way.

• List the postcode districts or towns you're happy to cover.
• Mark edge areas you'll only travel to for certain jobs or at certain times.
• List places you never go, even if they look close on a map.

Then compare your list with your website and online business profiles. If those say something different, callers may be told the wrong thing, so fix the mismatch first.

3. Call-out wording

Decide how you want a first-time caller to hear about the cost of getting you out. Settle three things:

• Whether you mention a call-out charge on the phone at all.
• Whether parts, materials or extra time get a mention up front.
• What to say when someone asks "how much will it be?" and you can't know until you've seen the job.

Write out the exact sentences you're comfortable with. Only include figures you'll stand behind, and tell whoever manages your cover as soon as anything changes.

4. Diary rules

This is the section sole traders skip most often, and it decides whether bookings help or cause headaches. Write down:

• The days and hours you take jobs.
• How much gap you need between appointments for travel and overruns.
• Whether you keep slots free for emergencies or regular customers.
• How far ahead you're happy to book.
• What you need to know before a visit, such as the address, the fault, access arrangements and a contact number.

That last point is worth a few minutes. The better the information captured on the call, the less you need to ring back before turning up.

5. Urgent calls and what happens next

Decide what counts as urgent in your trade. For some that's a burst pipe or a power loss; for others almost nothing is. Write down:

• How you want urgent calls flagged to you (text, call, email).
• What a caller should be told if you can't respond straight away.
• Where you'd rather send a caller, if anywhere, for jobs you can't reach in time. Where there's a safety risk, such as a suspected gas leak, say the caller should contact the relevant emergency or utility service. Your cover shouldn't be improvising that advice.

6. A quick final check

Before you hand the notes over, read them as a stranger would. Could someone with no knowledge of your business tell a good job from a bad one, a covered postcode from an uncovered one, and a bookable slot from a blocked one? If not, add the missing detail.

Put the notes in one document, date it, and keep it where you can find it. When your services, areas or rules change, update that document first and pass the changes on straight away. Call cover that starts with accurate information, and stays current, will sound like your business rather than a template.