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Why Most Tradies Lose Jobs Before They Even Send a Quote

Slow quoting costs jobs. Here's why customers pick the fastest responder, what it's really costing you, and how to fix it.

31 December 20254 min read
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Customers don't "shop around" the way they used to. They short-list fast, pick quickly, and move on.

If you're sending quotes days later, you're not being rejected — you're arriving after the decision is already made.

The real reason you're losing jobs

Most customers aren't comparing 10 quotes.

They're comparing 2–3.

And the first tradie who:

  • responds clearly
  • sounds professional
  • gives a confident price range or quote

often wins the work.

What slow quoting actually costs

Slow quoting costs you:

  • jobs you should've won
  • referrals you never receive
  • reputation ("hard to get hold of")
  • time spent chasing work that's already gone

Why quoting feels so hard

Because most quoting systems rely on:

  • memory
  • spreadsheets
  • old templates
  • best guesses

That's not scalable.

How to fix it (without working nights)

A faster quoting system usually includes:

  1. A pricing library you trust
  2. A repeatable quote structure
  3. A way to turn job descriptions into line items quickly

That's the difference between "I'll get back to you" and "Here's your quote."

The simple takeaway

If quoting is slow, you lose jobs — even if your work is better.

If you want quoting to feel easy again, start by simplifying the workflow.

Next step

See how QuoteOS turns job descriptions into quotes using your pricing.

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