"Cash is King" is a lie. It is killing your close rate. The Belief Shift Many contractors love cash because "Uncle Sam doesn't see it." That’s small thinking. When you only accept cash or checks, you limit your customer to the money they have in their checking account right now. You aren't losing jobs because your price is too high. You are losing jobs because your customer has a Liquidity Problem, not a Budget Problem. 2. The Mechanism Real businesses make it easy to pay. - The Terminal: Pulling out a Square/Stripe reader on the job site creates instant trust. It says "I am a pro," not "I need gas money." - The Financing Unlock: If you quote a $15,000 roof, the client panics. If you quote "$250/month," they sign. - The Math: You pay ~3% in fees to accept cards. But you close 30% more deals because you removed the friction. Would you pay 3% to grow 30%? Yes. 3. The System (How to set it up) 1. The Reader: Get a mobile card reader (Stripe Terminal or Square). Keep it in the truck. 2. The Policy: "We accept all major cards." Put this on your estimate. It stops the "Let me check my bank balance" excuse. 3. The Partner: Sign up with a contractor financing platform (like Hearth, Wisestack, or Enhancify). Your Turn Be honest: How many times last month did a customer say, "I need to wait until I get paid"? Drop the number below. 👇

The Nightmare: You spend weeks building a perfect system. You buy iPads for everyone. You launch it... and nobody uses it. The guys say "it's too hard" or "my fingers are too fat." You end up back on paper, frustrated, having wasted $2,000. The Dream: Your crew loves the app. They use it because it makes their job easier (no more lost paperwork, no more driving back to the office). Data flows in from the field instantly. The "Change Management" Secret: You can't force field crews to adopt tech. You have to sell it to them. 1. The "Why" (WIIFM): Don't say "It helps me track you." Say "It means you get paid faster because you don't have to drive paperwork to the office on Fridays.". 2. The Champion: Pick the most influential guy on the crew (not necessarily the foreman). Get him to use it first. If he says it's cool, the rest will follow. 3. The "Bribe" (Incentive): "First crew to log 100% of their photos this week gets a $100 lunch tab." Gamify it. What breaks without it: Everything. The best software in the world is useless if the guys in the truck won't open it. Your Turn: What is the #1 excuse your team gives for not doing paperwork? 👇

The Nightmare: You treat every call like a one-off transaction. You argue with a client over a $50 fee. You "win" the argument, but they never call you again. You spend all your energy hunting for new customers because you keep losing the old ones. The Dream: You view a client not as a "$200 repair" but as a "$50,000 relationship." You happily fix a small issue for free because you know they will buy a new kitchen from you in 3 years. The Concept: LTV (Lifetime Value) is the total cash a customer gives you over 10 years. - Bad Math: "I lost $50 on this service call." - Good Math: "I paid $50 to secure a client who will pay me $5,000/year for the next decade.". The Strategy: The most expensive thing in business is getting a new customer (CAC). The cheapest thing is keeping an existing one. What breaks without it: Growth. You are filling a bucket with holes in the bottom. Your Turn: Who is your best client? How long have they been with you? Estimate how much they have paid you in total since day 1. 👇

The Nightmare: You aim for a 20% profit. You buy materials for $100. You "mark it up" 20% and sell it for $120. At the end of the year, you look at your bank account and the money isn't there. Why? Because you confused Markup with Margin. The Dream: You price your jobs with confidence. You know exactly how much stays in your pocket after every job. You stop "buying work" and start making money. The Lesson: - Markup is what you add to the cost. ($100 cost + 20% markup = $120 price). - Margin is what you keep from the price. (If you sell for $120, your profit is $20. $20 divided by $120 is only 16.6% margin). The "Oh Sh*t" Math: If you want a 20% Margin on a $100 cost, you must charge $125, not $120. Formula: Price = Cost / (1 - Desired Margin). Example: $100 / (1 - 0.20) = $100 / 0.80 = $125. What breaks without it: Your bank account. You are literally underpricing every single job by 4-5% without knowing it. Your Turn: Take your last estimate. Did you use Markup or Margin? Be honest. 👇

The Nightmare: You copy-paste data from a Facebook Lead -> to a Spreadsheet -> to your Phone -> to an Invoice. It’s boring, you make typos, and you hate it. The Dream: A lead comes in from Facebook. Instantly, your phone dings with a text, the client gets a "Welcome" email, and they are added to your CRM. You didn't touch a button. The Concept: Automation is simply Connecting Dots. Most apps (Gmail, Calendar, CRM) don't talk to each other. Automation tools (like Make or Zapier) act as the "translator" that passes messages between them. Examples for Contractors: - Lead Response: Lead form submitted -> SMS sent instantly (Speed to lead wins). - Onboarding: Contract signed -> Deposit Invoice created + Welcome Email sent. - Reviews: Job marked "Complete" -> Review request SMS sent. What breaks without it: Speed. You can't type faster than a robot. If you want to read more you can visit my blog https://iflow.bot/101-what-is-automation/ Your Turn: If you could snap your fingers and have ONE boring computer task disappear forever, what would it be? 👇