how fast to send a quote
How Fast Should You Send a Quote? Why Speed Wins Jobs
Here's something I learned the hard way over fifteen years on the tools: the best quote in the world is no good if it turns up last. Customers don't sit around comparing spreadsheets. They ring two or three trades, and more often than not they go with whoever gets back to them first and seems on the ball.
So how fast should you send a quote? The honest answer is faster than you probably are now. Let me explain why speed wins, and how you can be quick without turning out sloppy work.
Speed-to-lead: the first mover usually wins
There's a thing the sales world calls 'speed-to-lead', basically how quickly you respond after someone gets in touch. The pattern is the same in our trade. A customer with a tripping consumer unit or a dodgy socket is a bit anxious and wants it sorted. The trade who replies within the hour feels reliable. The one who takes three days feels like a gamble, even if their price is better.
Think about it from their side. They've sent the same enquiry to three sparkies. The first one back gets to set the tone, answer the worries, and often book the survey before the others have even opened the email. Fair play, by the time number three replies the job's frequently gone.
Why customers go with whoever replies first
It isn't that people are impatient for the sake of it. A fast reply quietly tells them a lot of good things: that you're organised, that you actually want the work, that you'll probably turn up on time, and that you'll answer the phone if something goes wrong down the line. Slowness says the opposite, whether it's true or not.
- A quick reply signals you're reliable and professional
- It lets you shape the conversation before any competitor
- It reassures a customer who's often a bit worried about the work
- It shows you respect their time, which they remember
Quoting on the doorstep
For a lot of smaller jobs, the fastest quote of all is the one you hand over before you leave the drive. If you've measured up, counted the points and you know your rates, there's no reason a straightforward job can't be priced there and then. Quote on the doorstep and you've often won it before anyone else has even rung back.
Now, I'd not rush a big rewire or anything with awkward unknowns, you still want to price that properly. But for a fault-find, a few extra sockets, or an EICR, a confident on-the-spot figure lands brilliantly. It shows you know your trade well enough not to need three days with a calculator.
Simple systems to quote faster without cutting corners
Being quick isn't about scribbling a number on the back of your hand. It's about having a system so the quote almost writes itself. To my mind that's the real trick, get your groundwork sorted once and every quote after is faster and tidier.
- Keep a price list of your common jobs and standard rates so you're not starting from scratch
- Use templates with your terms, VAT line and validity period already built in
- Take photos and measurements on site so you can finish the quote properly later, even from the van
- Save your standard wording for scope and exclusions and just tweak it per job
- Set yourself a rule: every quote goes out same day or first thing next morning, no excuses
Fast and proper, not fast and sloppy
None of this means rushing the actual pricing. A quick quote that's wrong is worse than a slow one, you'll either lose money or have an awkward chat down the line. The goal is to remove the faff, the blank-page bit, the digging out of your terms, the working out of VAT every single time, so the only thing left to think about is the job in front of you.
That's honestly why I started quoting from my phone with Quotato, it lets me fire off a tidy, professional quote before I've even pulled off the drive. Get your system right and speed stops being a trade-off. You'll be both the fastest and the most thorough, and that's the trade that wins the work.