I used to own a TV advertising agency that ran a ton of commercials for local businesses such as attorneys, dentists, and car dealers.

The #1 issue we faced was the phone.

We could drive leads via TV commercials, but the local businesses paying for the commercials couldn’t effectively answer the phone. We implemented phone scripts, provided coaching, and placed test calls, which overall helped.

When was the last time you placed test calls into your community?

If it’s been some time, you may be losing leads over the phone. My recommendation would be to look out for the following when placing a few test calls:

• How long does it take for your call to be answered?
• How’s the tonality of agent (excited/boring/so-so)?
• What type of questions do they ask you?
• Do they answer all your questions?
• Do you feel compelled to schedule a tour?

Make sure you grade the overall call. Then you can make necessary improvements based on that grade.

How often should you do this?

That's totally up to you to decide, but my recommendation is to place a few test calls monthly, so you have consistency.

How is the phone experience with your competitors? 

Another good exercise is to call your top three competitors and grade those call based on the checklist above. Also, discover if there are any takeaways you can benefit from.