How to Write a Quote That Wins Work
Written by James Walker · Last reviewed 16 August 2026
James Walker has 2 degrees in construction (BSc (Hons) Building Surveying · MSc Environmental Design of Buildings) and an extensive background in issue resolution, resolving over £4 billion of consumer issues.
The short answer
- On larger jobs the quote does more selling than the site visit did.
- Exclusions win more work than inclusions. They make yours the quote a customer can use.
- Itemise enough that a cheaper quote becomes explicable rather than attractive.
- Say what you have assumed, and what happens if you are wrong.
- Speed matters. A quote that arrives in two days beats one that arrives in two weeks.
On this page
Why the quote is the sales tool
You are not there when the decision is made. The customer is sitting with three documents, weeks after meeting you, trying to work out why one is £8,000 cheaper.
If your quote is a single figure and a one-line description, it cannot help them. If it is itemised with exclusions stated, it becomes the document they use to interrogate the others, and the trade whose quote they are using tends to be the trade they hire.
What to include
- Itemised scope, specific enough that someone else could check it was done
- Exclusions, explicitly, making good, decoration, disposal, anything they are supplying
- Assumptions, with a rate if you are wrong (foundation depth, timber condition, subfloor)
- Allowances for anything they have not chosen yet
- Payment stages, tied to completed work
- Duration, and what would extend it
- What you need from them, and when
- How variations are priced
Exclusions are the differentiator
Every trade lists what is included. Almost none lists what is not.
A customer holding one quote with exclusions and two without now understands why the cheaper ones are cheaper, and you have changed the comparison without saying a word about your competitors.
Send it fast
Enthusiasm decays. A quote arriving two days after the visit lands while they still remember you; two weeks later they have moved on emotionally, whatever the number says.
If you cannot price it quickly, send a holding message with a date. Silence is what loses these.