The call is where the job gets described
The size of the job, the access problem, the date they need it by, the thing they are worried about. Most of it comes out in the first phone call, and none of it is written anywhere unless you write it.
Four lines after every call
- Who. Name, number and the address or account the work is for.
- What. The job in their words, including anything unusual.
- When. Any date they mentioned, even a loose one.
- Next. What you said you would do, and by when.
That is enough. Notes fail when they try to be complete. Four lines you actually write beat a full form you skip.
Write it where it will be found
A note on the back of an invoice helps nobody on Thursday. Put every call in the same place, next to the customer's name, so anyone who picks up the phone can see what was said last time.
Do it before the next thing
The minute after the call is the cheapest minute you will get. By the end of the day you are rebuilding the conversation from memory, and the details you lose are the ones that make a follow-up sound like you were listening.
How Venture IQ helps
Venture IQ keeps a log of each customer conversation in one place and drafts the follow-up from it in your voice. You read it and approve it before anything goes out. See also what to do when you miss a call in the middle of a job.
After your last customer call, what did you write down?