EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION
DAVE
SALES · FRONT DESK
THE ONLY EMPLOYEE WHO MEETS EVERY CUSTOMER FIRST
Every business has one salesman who talks to every single customer before anyone else does. He works nights, weekends, holidays. You've never reviewed him. You've never even met him.
His name is Dave, and he is your website. Let's watch him work.
In a shop, six seconds of silence is uncomfortable. Online it's fatal — most people leave before three. Dave doesn't know that. Dave has never been told.
Dave has your phone number. It's in his back pocket, in a footer, in grey text. He'd rather take a survey first.
The job was $2,400. It went to whoever answered at 9:06. In my measurements, 90 of 100 contractor sites had no way at all to catch a lead after hours.
You paid for a click on "AC repair in Round Rock." Dave answered with the whole catalogue. He says the same thing to everyone — that's the only script he was given.
Dave's annual review
Here's the thing about Dave: he isn't lazy. He's never been trained. Nobody sat him down and said what to lead with, what to hide, what to do when someone shows up at 9 PM with a flooded basement.
What Dave looks like after two weeks of coaching
Dave, today
- Six seconds before he says a word
- Phone number in grey, at the bottom
- Gone at 5, back Monday
- Same speech for every customer
- "A representative will reach out shortly"
Dave, retrained
- On screen in about one second
- Tap-to-call button, always visible
- Texts back in 30 seconds at 9 PM
- Repeats the ad the customer clicked
- "Tuesday 1 PM — booked. See you then."
Same Dave. Same salary. He just finally knows what his job is.
How to check on your own Dave tonight
- Open your site on your phone, off wifi. Count the seconds out loud.
- Try to call yourself without scrolling. Can you?
- Send yourself a message at 9 PM. See what comes back, and how fast.
Three minutes, no tools, no consultant. Whatever you find — that's what every customer got today, and yesterday, and the day before.
Dave's been doing his best. Somebody just needs to show him how the job works.