The Hook
You cannot improve what you do not measure, and most contractors are busier tracking jobs than tracking the numbers that actually drive the business. Close rate, average ticket, and repeat customer percentage often live only in someone's memory.
The right numbers, reviewed regularly, turn guesswork into clear decisions about pricing, staffing, and marketing. Without them, you are steering the business by feel instead of by facts.
The Problem
Important information gets buried in daily job activity because there is no simple, repeatable way to pull it together. Owners end up making decisions based on gut feeling instead of what the numbers actually show.
By the time a problem shows up in the bank account, it has usually been building quietly for months. A five-minute weekly check could have caught it long before it became a crisis.
The AI Fix
AI can take scattered numbers from a spreadsheet or a quick summary and turn them into plain-language insights, even if spreadsheets are not your strength. It can spot a slipping close rate or a shrinking repeat-customer percentage before it becomes obvious.
You do not need to be a numbers person to use it, just willing to paste in what you already have. The goal is simple: turn raw numbers into a short list of clear next steps.
In The Trades
HVAC:
Review close rates by technician each month to see who may need coaching and who deserves recognition.
Plumbing:
Track the percentage of repeat customers to see how well past jobs are turning into future ones.
Electrical:
Review profitability by project type to see which jobs are actually worth chasing more of.
The AI Prompt
Copy this into Claude:
"Review these business numbers [paste your numbers] and identify three specific opportunities to improve revenue or efficiency. Keep the tone direct and practical, limit the response to 150 words, and rank the opportunities by potential impact."
The Duct Tape Fix
Pick three numbers that matter most, like close rate, average ticket, and repeat customer rate.
Review them for five minutes every week, not just once a year at tax time.
What gets measured weekly gets managed. What gets measured yearly gets forgotten.
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Good luck!
Ansel
Founder, Duct Tape & AI
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