You’re a pro. Maybe you're a plumber, an electrician, a cleaner, or an HVAC tech. You’re fantastic at what you do. But you’re not an octopus. That phone rings. You’re on a ladder. Or under a sink. Or driving between jobs. You can’t answer. And you hear that faint poof sound as a potential customer, and their money, vanishes into the ether.
It's a familiar, gut-wrenching feeling for any home service business owner. That silent knowledge that a high-value job just slipped through your fingers because you were, well, doing your job. And here’s the kicker: the stats say 85% of those people will not call you back. They're just going to move down the Google search results to the next name on the list. Ouch.
For years, the solution was either hiring a full-time receptionist (expensive!) or just accepting the lost revenue as a cost of doing business. But what if there was a third option? I’ve been digging into a tool called Conju lately, and it's built to tackle this exact problem head-on. It’s not just another chatbot; it’s a bit more clever than that.
So, What is Conju Anyway?
At its core, Conju is an AI-powered safety net. It’s designed to automatically catch your missed calls and turn them from a lost opportunity into a warm, qualified lead. When you miss a call, Conju instantly sends a text message to that number, starting a conversation to figure out what the caller needs. Think of it as a digital receptionist who's always on, never calls in sick, and runs on pure caffeine and code.
But here’s what I found particularly interesting. While its main sales pitch is aimed squarely at home service businesses, the tech underneath is a bit more robust. Conju is actually a platform for building LLM-powered (Large Language Model) apps and workflows. The missed-call-catcher is just their flagship, ready-to-go product. This tells me there's more potential under the hood than meets the eye, which always piques my interest.
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The Agony of the Missed Call: Why This Matters So Much
I mentioned that 85% statistic before, and it’s worth repeating. In today's world of instant gratification, a potential customer's patience is incredibly thin. If you don't answer, your competitor who does will likely get the business. It’s a brutal reality.
Every missed call isn't just a missed conversation; it's a potential revenue hole in your business. Let's do some quick back-of-the-napkin math. If you miss just 5 calls a day, and your average job is worth $400, that’s potentially $2,000 in opportunities you didn't even get a chance to quote. A week? That's $10,000. It adds up frighteningly fast. This is the exact pain point Conju is built to soothe.
How Conju Turns Voicemails into Won Deals
Alright, let's get into the nuts and bolts. How does this thing actually work? It’s a pretty slick, three-step dance.
The Instant Text-Back: Your 24/7 Front Desk
The moment a call goes unanswered, Conju springs into action. It sends a customizable text like, "Hi, this is Ben's Smith from Ben's Best Plumbing. So sorry I missed your call, I'm currently on a job. How can I help you?" This immediate engagement is huge. It stops the caller in their tracks. It shows you're responsive, even when you're busy. It buys you time and keeps them from immediately calling the next person on their list.
More Than Just a Ping: Smart Lead Qualification
This is where the AI magic really happens. Conju doesn’t just say "hi." It starts a conversation. It can ask qualifying questions, gather details, and even provide rough estimates. You can see it in their examples—the AI asks for the job type, the square footage for a cleaning job, or even asks the customer to send pictures of the issue. It's a smart filter, gathering all the essential info so when you do have a moment to look at it, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re looking at a pre-qualified lead with all the initial details neatly packaged up. No more time-wasting tire-kickers.
Playing Nice with Your CRM: The Seamless Handoff
For me, this is a make-or-break feature for any business tool. If it doesn't integrate with my existing systems, it’s just creating more work. Conju gets this. It’s designed to integrate directly with major home service CRMs like Jobber and ServiceTitan. This means when Conju captures a new lead and their details, it doesn’t just sit in an inbox. It can automatically create a new client or job file in your CRM, complete with the conversation history. The automation here is a massive time-saver and seriously cuts down on manual data entry errors. And who couldn't use less data entry in their life?
The Good, The Bad, and The AI-Powered
No tool is perfect, right? After looking it over, here's my honest take. The upside is pretty clear: you're plugging a major revenue leak in your business. You capture leads that would otherwise be lost, you improve your customer's first impression, and you automate a ton of the initial grunt work. In my book, any tool that buys me back time is worth its weight in gold.
However, let's be realistic. The system relies on AI and text, and that comes with a few things to keep in mind. First, you'll need to configure it carefully to make sure the estimates it gives are in the right ballpark. You dont want it quoting $50 for a $500 job. Second, some customers are just old-school. They want to talk to a person, and a text-based system might not be their cup of tea. Finally, there's always the risk of the auto-replies feeling a bit...robotic. The key is to craft those initial messages to sound as human and authentic as possible.
What's the Damage? A Look at Conju's Pricing
This is the million-dollar question, isn't it? As of writing this, Conju doesn't list its pricing publicly on the website. This is a pretty common strategy for B2B SaaS companies that tailor their packages to the client's size and needs (like how many calls you miss per month).
So, you won't find a simple three-tiered pricing chart. Instead, you'll need to reach out to them and likely get a demo and a custom quote. While I always prefer transparent pricing, this approach does make some sense. The value for a one-man-band is going to be very different from a company with 20 trucks on the road.
Frequently Asked Questions about Conju
I saw a few common questions on their site and had a few of my own. Here are the quick answers.
Do I have to change my phone number?
Nope. Conju works with your existing business phone number. There's no need to change all your marketing materials or confuse your existing customers.
What kind of businesses is this best for?
It's clearly optimized for home service businesses—plumbers, electricians, cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, you name it. If you're out in the field and frequently miss calls, you're the target audience.
How can I see the conversations it's having?
You get a dashboard where you can see all the text conversations in real-time. You can jump in and take over the chat manually at any point if you need to.
Can I test it out first?
Yes, their site mentions you can test it on yourself to see exactly how it works from a customer's perspective before you fully commit. I'd highly recommend doing this.
What if the AI can't answer a question?
This is where a good setup is key. The AI can be programmed to handle common queries. For anything outside its scope, it can be set to respond with something like, "That's a great question, let me have a human specialist look at this and get right back to you," and then notify you.
Is Conju the Answer to Your Missed Calls?
Look, the game has changed. Being great at your trade isn't always enough anymore. You also have to be hyper-responsive. Tools like Conju are stepping in to bridge that gap for small to medium-sized businesses that can't afford a 24/7 call center.
Is it for everyone? Maybe not. If you rarely miss a call or if your clientele hates texting, it might not be the right fit. But if you're a busy home service professional who looks at your call log at the end of the day with a sense of dread, then Conju is absolutly worth investigating. It could be the most productive employee you ever hire.
Reference and Sources
- Conju Official Website: https://www.conju.ai/
- Jobber CRM: https://getjobber.com/
- ServiceTitan CRM: https://www.servicetitan.com/