Pricing and quoting, 29 October 2026
Quote win rate: what's normal for trades and how to raise it
There is no official benchmark for quote win rates in UK trades. Among firms we spoke to, a sole trader won about one quote in four and a building firm about 20% of domestic quotes. A good win rate is one that pays for the time and leads behind every lost quote. Measure yours, cost it, then raise it by quoting faster, qualifying leads and following up.
What's a normal quote win rate for trades?
Nobody publishes a reliable one for UK trades, and figures quoted online rarely say where they came from. What we can share is what firms told us on sales and onboarding calls, which is a small sample from Nexley's own conversations, not a survey.
Source: what firms told Nexley on sales and onboarding calls, July to October 2026. Individual firms, not averages.
One in 20 is a very different business: a price-shopping market where buyers collect several quotes. Your normal depends on your trade, how leads reach you and how many other firms quote against you.
How do you measure your win rate?
Log every quote you send for three months with its value and outcome, then divide accepted by sent. Count by value too: winning one big job and losing ten small ones reads very differently by number and by value.
Quote number | Date sent | Customer | Job | Value excl. VAT | Lead source | Days from enquiry to quote | Follow-ups sent | Outcome (won / lost / no reply) | Reason if lost
Lead source and days to quote are the two columns most firms skip, and they explain most of the difference. After three months, sort by each: you'll usually see that some sources almost never convert, and that quotes sent within a day or two win more than those sent after a week.
What does a lost quote cost you?
Your time pricing it, the site visit, and whatever you paid for the lead. Divide all of it by the jobs you win and you get the true cost of each job won. That number tells you whether to raise your win rate, cut your lead spend or both.
Cost per job won at 20% and 30% win rate
A firm getting 40 leads a month, quoting every one, average job £2,800.
| Lead spend: ads, lead sites, agencya month | £1,200 |
| Quoting time: 40 quotes × 1.5 hours × £4560 hours a month | £2,700 |
| Total cost of winning worka month | £3,900 |
| Jobs won at 20%40 × 20% | 8 |
| Cost per job won at 20%£3,900 ÷ 8 | £487.50 |
| Jobs won at 30%40 × 30% | 12 |
| Cost per job won at 30%£3,900 ÷ 12 | £325.00 |
For example, a firm taking 50 enquiries a month that each need a quote and a supplier email is doing 50 of each. At that volume, quoting time is a bigger cost than the leads.
Your numbers, not a promise. Change any figure to match your firm.
The calculator shows the lead cost alone. Add your own quoting hours to see the full picture, as in the example.
How do you raise your win rate?
Quote faster, quote fewer of the wrong jobs, and follow up the ones you send. Each is cheaper than buying more leads.
- Quote within a day or two.
The customer who's ready to book will often go with the first sound quote. A plumbing and heating firm we spoke to cut air conditioning quotes from four or five hours to about 20 to 25 minutes, which is what made same-day quoting possible.
- Qualify before you visit.
Ask budget, timing and whether they've had other quotes before you drive out. Qualifying leads has the questions.
- Follow up three times.
Day 2, day 7, day 30. Many quotes that go quiet are forgotten, not refused. Following up quotes has the messages.
- Make acceptance one step.
An accept link with a deposit request beats a form. See one-click acceptance.
- Send a quote, not an estimate.
A clear fixed price with scope and exclusions reads as more trustworthy than a range. See quote vs estimate.
- Ask why you lost.
One line after a no. Patterns in the answers tell you whether it's price, speed or fit.
Should you cut your price to win more?
Rarely. A lower price raises the win rate and lowers the profit on every job you win, including the ones you'd have won anyway. Before you discount, check whether you're losing on price at all: if the lost-quote reasons say "went with someone quicker" or "never heard back", the fix is speed and follow-up. Big domestic jobs shows how thin the margin already is on larger work.
Where Nexley fits
Nexley is the AI back office for UK trade firms: five AI assistants run your tenders, quotes, buying, scheduling and invoicing. It connects to the tools you already work in, you run it all from WhatsApp, and you approve everything. £799 a month.
For win rate, Nexley drafts quotes from a voice note or photos on WhatsApp so they go out the same day, chases them at the intervals you set and records each outcome. You approve every quote and message before it's sent, and can ask Nexley for your win rate by lead source at any time.
Common questions
What's a good quote conversion rate for a builder?
There's no official UK figure. Track yours for three months and judge it against the cost per job won: if winning work costs a small share of what you win and your margins hold, your rate is fine.
Why do I lose quotes when my price is fair?
Usually speed, follow-up or clarity. A quote sent a week later, never chased, or hard to accept often loses to a similar price sent the same day. Ask lost customers why.
Should I stop quoting jobs I'm unlikely to win?
Yes, for leads that don't fit: wrong area, wrong job size, or no budget. Qualifying on the phone first saves the site visit and the pricing time, which is most of the cost of a lost quote.
Does a higher win rate always mean more profit?
No. Winning more by cutting prices can leave you busier and poorer. Watch profit per job alongside win rate.
Sources
- Citizens Advice: Problems with the cost of building work
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 51
- ICO: How do we comply with the PECR electronic mail marketing rules?
Every rule, rate and date above was checked against these sources on the date shown at the top.
Topic: Pricing and quoting
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