For trades and service businessesYou got my postcard. Here's the rest.You got my email. Here's the rest.The page I mentioned in my text.Someone you know sent you here.
Stop losing customers to voicemail.
Your business gets a text number that answers while you're on a job.Your shop gets a text number that answers while you're under a house.Your shop gets a text number that answers while you're up in an attic.Your company gets a text number that answers while you're on site.Your office gets a text number that answers while the crew is across town.
What do you run?
Try it now. That's my own line, and it usually answers in a minute or two.Your text opens with what you tapped. See the price
- Basement drain's backing up again. Can somebody come look this week?AC's running but the house keeps getting warmer. Anyone free today or tomorrow?We want to open up this kitchen wall. Can you come take a look and quote it?There's a water stain spreading on my bathroom ceiling. Can maintenance come by today?
- Got your photo, thanks. I can get someone out Thursday morning or Friday after lunch. Which works?Got your photo, thanks. I can have a tech there today after three or tomorrow morning. Which works?Got your photo, thanks. I can come walk it Tuesday afternoon or Saturday morning. Which works?Got your photo, thanks. Maintenance can be there today between two and four. Does that work?
What slips
Where a customer slips
The call that went to voicemail while you were under a house.The emergency call that went to voicemail while you were under a house.The no-heat call that went to voicemail while you were in an attic.The remodel inquiry that went to voicemail while you were on site.The maintenance call that went to voicemail after hours.
They text the number instead. The line sends the first reply, and the thread is waiting when you climb out.They text the number instead. The line sends the first reply, and the thread is waiting when you come down.They text the number instead. The line sends the first reply, and the thread is waiting when you're back in the truck.Tenants text the number instead. The line sends the first reply, and the thread is waiting for the morning crew.
The estimate nobody followed up on.The camera inspection quote nobody followed up on.The replacement quote nobody followed up on.The bid nobody followed up on.The work order that lived in one person's phone.
The line can text first, so the follow-up goes to the customer who asked for the estimate.The line can text first, so the follow-up goes to the customer who asked for the quote.The line can text first, so the follow-up goes to the customer who asked for the quote.The line can text first, so the follow-up goes to the homeowner who asked for the bid.Every request comes in on one number, where the whole office can see it.
The photo a customer had nowhere to send.The photo of the backed-up drain a customer had nowhere to send.The tune-up reminder that never went out.The photos and measurements a homeowner had nowhere to send.The photo of the leak a tenant had nowhere to send.
They text the photo to the same number, and it shows up where your office already works.The line can text first, so the customers you served last season hear from you before the next one starts.They text them to the same number, and they show up where your office already works.
The detail the office heard and the crew never got.
It's in the customer's thread, with their photos, so nobody has to ask them twice.
Why a text
Most unknown calls ring out. Most texts get checked.
86%of unknown calls go unanswered.
To a new customer, your call-back is an unknown number.
Hiya, State of the Call 2026. 12,000+ consumers in six countries. Vendor survey.
71%of U.S. consumers want the ability to text a business back.
SimpleTexting, 2025 texting and SMS marketing statistics. 1,000 U.S. consumers, surveyed December 2024. Vendor survey.
82%of consumers say they check a text within five minutes of getting it.
That's checking it, not answering it.
The same SimpleTexting survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers.
Nearly every homeowner says speed influences who they hire. And 68% of homeowners say they would hire the same company again.
Housecall Pro, Home Service Customer Service report. 1,040 U.S. homeowners, October 2025. Vendor survey.
These are other people's surveys, each credited under its number. None of them is a result from a line I run.
What you get
A text number, and an engineer who comes with it
The line
- iPhone customers see blue bubbles. Everyone else gets regular texts from the same number.
- Photos go both ways.
- Texts come in where your office already works. The line gets wired into the tools you already use: your job system, your intake form, your calendar.
- Every customer has one thread, so the office and the field read the same thing.
The engineer
A Forward Deployed Engineer is an engineer who works inside your business's own tools. The hours go to building the things that stop customers slipping.
In setup nowTrenchless Mainea trenchless sewer-repair contractor in Maine
- Replies to booking requests
- Price ranges
- Photos of the problem, by text
- Answers to the questions customers always ask
All four are built and in testing.
Who sets it up
I'm Paul. My firm sets up the line and runs it.
I build software for a living. I'm CTO of Vers1ons, and Yungsten Tech is my own firm. It's a partner of the iMessage provider it builds on.
- Avocado (now vers1oneer)A Vers1ons product: an AI partner for artists, on its own iMessage number. Live since October 2026.About Avocado →
- CardCannerPlain texting, with no app. Text it a photo of a business card and it texts back the contact. Phone carriers approved its texts by day five.About CardCanner →
- Trenchless MaineA trenchless sewer-repair contractor in Maine is getting its own iMessage line. In setup now.
The price
A $1,000 line for $700, and the engineer comes with it.
A business iMessage line that can text first lists at $1,000 a month direct. Through my firm, the same kind of line is $700 a month, with engineer hours included.
Yungsten TechBoston
One business iMessage lineper month
- Bought directa line that can text first, list price
- $1,000
- Your lineblue bubbles, regular texts, photos both ways, wired into your tools
- $700
- You save
- $300
- Five engineer hours, includedwhat they're worth each month
- $425
- Value every month
- $725
- You pay
- $700
Up to 10 engineer hours a month while we set you up, and then 5 hours a month, always on us.
$725 a month of valueon a $700 plan
Text first and decide later. There's no form, and you decide if there's a next step.
Your line can text first. It can start a conversation with your own customers: a follow-up on an estimate they asked for, a reminder before an appointment.
Where they reach you
Where do customers reach you today?Where do tenants reach you today?
Tap every way a customer gets to you. It starts your list.Tap every way a tenant gets to you. It starts your list.
The engineer hours go to pointing each one at your text number: the button on your website, the Google listing, the voicemail greeting.
This part needs JavaScript. Or skip it and text me: (617) 599-0775
Rather skip the typing? Text it to me messy at (617) 599-0775. Your text opens with what you tapped.
Questions
Before you text
- What do my customers see?
- A normal text thread with your business. iPhone customers see blue bubbles. Everyone else gets regular texts from the same number. Photos go both ways.
- Do they need an app?
- No. They text your number from the texting app that's already on their phone.
- What about Android?
- Android customers get regular texts from the same number, and photos still go both ways.
- Can customers call the number too?
- Yes. Calls to it can forward to the phone you already answer.
- Is a person or an AI answering?
- On my number, an AI answers first, in my voice, and every conversation comes straight to me. On your line, the first replies are automatic too, and they cover what the engineer built them for, like booking requests and price ranges. Every text comes in where your office already works, so your people can pick up any thread.
- What does the engineer do with the hours?
- The work that stops customers slipping. On the line in setup now for Trenchless Maine, that's replies to booking requests, price ranges, taking in photos of a problem, and answers to the questions customers always ask. The engineer works inside the tools your office already uses.
- Can the line text my customers first?
- Yes, your own customers: a follow-up on an estimate they asked for, a reminder before an appointment.
- What if I stop?
- You keep your customer conversations and your contact list.
Be the shop that got back to them.
$725 a month of value on a $700 plan
Your own business text line, with an engineer who keeps building on it. Text mine and see how it answers.
It's my own line. It usually answers in a minute or two, in my voice, and every conversation comes straight to me.