Turn Missed Calls into Leads with an Automatic Text Back
With the Respond add-on, LeadCentre gives you a dedicated UK business number and forwards its calls to your phone. When nobody answers, the caller gets an automatic text from that number and the missed call becomes a lead, so you have their number, a push alert and a Call button ready to ring them back.
Built In: Built into LeadCentre, with no other tool needed.
- The caller hears back from your business by text, in your own words, even when you're up a ladder.
- Each missed call becomes a lead with the caller's number, so ringing back doesn't depend on your phone's call log.
- Their reply arrives in the Messages tab, linked to the lead, and you can call back with one tap.
What this does
Respond is a paid add-on that you switch on in the portal, under Settings > Respond. It gives your account a LeadCentre Number: a dedicated UK business number for calls and texts with your customers. Put that number on your website, Google Business Profile, ads, vehicles and quotes, and calls to it ring through to the phone you choose.
When nobody answers, LeadCentre texts the caller with your missed-call message and creates a lead with their number. The lead joins your Leads list with your other enquiries, and anything the caller texts back lands in Messages.
What counts as a missed call
A call that rings out, an engaged line, or a caller who rings off before it's answered. Switch on the answer check and voicemail counts as missed too: whoever picks up hears "Press 1 to take this call" before the caller is put through, which is how LeadCentre tells a person from a voicemail.
What happens when you miss a call?
Step 1
A customer rings your LeadCentre Number
The call is forwarded to your phone and rings like any other.
Step 2
Nobody answers
It rings out, the line is busy, or the caller hangs up first.
Step 3
They get a text
LeadCentre sends your missed-call message from your LeadCentre Number, inviting them to say what they need.
Step 4
The call becomes a lead
A lead is created with the caller's number, and a push notification goes to the people switched on for New lead alerts.
Step 5
You call or text back
Open the lead and tap Call, or answer their text in Messages. Lead Rescue follows up if they haven't replied and the lead is still at New or Contacted.
What you can do with missed-call leads
Missed-call leads come with the Respond add-on. With Respond on, you get:
- An automatic text back. Your missed-call message goes to the caller from your LeadCentre Number. You write the wording, and {business} fills in your company name.
- A pause between texts. Choose how many hours must pass before the same caller is texted again, so someone who rings three times in a row gets one text.
- Two-way texting. Their reply shows in the Messages tab in the app and the portal, and you text back from the same number.
- Lead Rescue. Automated follow-ups to leads still at New or Contacted who haven't replied. It stops as soon as they reply or the lead moves on.
- AI conversations, when you switch them on. Assist drafts a reply for you to send. Autopilot replies by itself from your Knowledge Base and passes anything it can't answer to a person.
- Reports. Respond's reports count your missed calls and the missed-call texts sent.
On every plan, the lead works like any other: a push notification to the people switched on for New lead alerts, Call, Text, WhatsApp and Email buttons, statuses from New to Won or Lost, follow-up reminders and won values.
The push notification is for your team. The missed-call text is what the caller receives.
How to set up missed-call leads
You need the Respond add-on on your account and a LeadCentre login with the Admin role. Respond is switched on in the portal, and its settings live under Settings > Respond, in tabs such as Phone & SMS and Automations.
Have the phone you want calls to ring on with you, because LeadCentre rings it with a code to confirm it's yours.
- 1
Switch on Respond
In the portal at dashboard.leadcentre.com, go to Settings > Respond and switch it on. Your LeadCentre Number shows on the Phone & SMS tab once it has been set up.
- 2
Forward calls to your phone
On the Phone & SMS tab, enter the number calls should ring on. LeadCentre rings it and reads out a code. Type the code in to confirm the number.
- 3
Switch on the answer check
Also on Phone & SMS, switch on the check that asks whoever answers to press 1. It tells a person from voicemail, so a call your voicemail picks up still counts as missed.
- 4
Write your missed-call text
On the Automations tab, check the missed-call text is switched on and write your message. The default reads: "Hi, thanks for calling {business}. Sorry we missed you. What can we help you with? Reply here and we'll get back to you."
- 5
Give out the number
Put your LeadCentre Number on your website, Google Business Profile, ads, vehicles and quotes, so the calls that matter come through it.
- 6
Test it
Ring your LeadCentre Number from another mobile and let it ring out. Check the text arrives on that phone, the lead appears in your Leads list with the caller's number, and the alert reaches the people you expect. Archive the test lead afterwards.
What data comes through?
A missed call carries less than a form, so the lead starts with the caller's number and the time. Their reply to your text and your call back fill in the rest.
Add their name and the job to the lead in the portal as you learn them, and the Text, WhatsApp and Email templates can use them.
| Field sent | Usually matched to |
|---|---|
| Caller's number | Phone (mobile or landline) |
| Time of the call | Date received |
| Missed call, added for you | Lead source |
| Their text replies | The Messages conversation, linked to the lead |
| Their name and the job, once you know them | Full name and Enquiry type, added by you |
Managing missed calls beyond your phone's call log
A recent calls list shows a number and a time. It doesn't say whether anyone rang back, what the caller wanted or whether the job was won, and on a shared phone nobody else can see it.
As a lead in LeadCentre, a missed call:
- Shows to the whole team, in the app and the portal, not just on the phone that rang.
- Has a status, starting at New. Tap a contact button on the lead's own screen in the app and it moves to Contacted by itself.
- Gets a follow-up with a reminder if you can't reach them the first time.
- Ends as Won or Lost, with the job value, so you can see what your calls are worth.
Calls also come from other places. If you use a call tracking service, the phone and call tracking guide covers turning its calls into leads too.
For agencies managing client enquiries
Respond is switched on per client account. An agency pays for each client it switches on, and the client sees no price or bill.
Each client gets its own LeadCentre Number, forwarded to the client's own phone, so their missed calls become leads in their account and their texts come from their number. An Agency Admin can open the client with Manage and set it up under Settings > Respond, then have the client confirm the forwarding code on their phone.
New lead alerts go to the people chosen on the client's Team page, and agency staff see the leads when they open the client. An Agency Admin can reach every client, and an Agency User only those assigned to them. Cross-client reporting shows each client's leads, won jobs, win rate and won value side by side, missed-call leads included. More on agency accounts.
Pricing and requirements
What you need for this connection. Prices for each plan and the Respond add-on are on the pricing page.
- LeadCentre plan
Any plan, with Respond added.
- Respond add-on
Required. Missed-call leads, the automatic text back and call forwarding all come with Respond. See Respond.
- A phone to forward to
The mobile or landline you want calls to ring on. LeadCentre rings it with a code to confirm it's yours.
- Admin role
An Admin on the account, or agency staff for a client account, sets up the number and the missed-call text.
- Messaging usage
Respond includes monthly allowances of outgoing and incoming texts, forwarded call minutes and AI conversations. When one runs out, the account is told and can buy credits for extra usage. Incoming enquiries are still saved.
Common problems
My voicemail answered and no text went
Without the answer check, a long voicemail can look like an answered call. Switch on the check that asks whoever answers to press 1, on the Phone & SMS tab, and calls your voicemail picks up count as missed.
The caller didn't get a text
Texts go to mobile numbers, so a caller on a landline gets a lead but no text: ring them back from the lead. Check the missed-call text is switched on under Automations, and whether the same caller was texted within your pause between texts.
Someone rang twice and got one text
That's the pause between texts, set on the Automations tab. Lower the number of hours if you'd like repeat callers texted again sooner.
Calls aren't ringing my phone
On the Phone & SMS tab, check forwarding is on and your number is confirmed. If you've changed phone, enter the new number and confirm it with the code. Check the Usage tab too: if the month's forwarded call minutes are used up, buy credits for extra minutes to keep forwarding on.
A caller replied STOP
Anyone who replies STOP isn't texted from your LeadCentre Number again. Ring them from the lead with the Call button instead.
Suppliers' calls are showing as leads
A missed call to your LeadCentre Number becomes a lead whoever rang. Archive the ones that aren't enquiries, or mark them Lost with a reason, and your figures stay accurate.
Questions about this connection
What is missed call text back?
An automatic text to someone whose call you didn't answer, so they know you'll get back to them. In LeadCentre it comes with the Respond add-on: the text goes from your LeadCentre Number and the missed call becomes a lead.
Do I need a new phone?
No. Calls to your LeadCentre Number ring the mobile or landline you already use. You keep your phone and put the new number on your website and listings.
Does it work at night and at weekends?
Yes. The missed-call text goes day or night, because the caller has only just tried to reach you. Respond's quiet hours hold Lead Rescue follow-ups overnight, and missed-call texts still go.
Which number does the customer see when I ring back?
The Call button uses your own phone, so the customer sees your own number. Texts you send in Messages come from your LeadCentre Number.
Who gets told about a missed call?
The people switched on for New lead alerts on the Team page get a push for the new lead. Respond also has its own alerts, which each person sets for themselves on the Automations tab.
What happens when they text back?
Their reply shows in Messages, linked to the lead, and you can text back from your LeadCentre Number or call them. With AI switched on, Assist drafts a reply for you, or Autopilot answers from your Knowledge Base.
Related features and guides
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