Get More Electrical Work

Why electrical quotes get turned down

Two different reasons depending on job size.

On small work, you are competing with people who are not registered and do not carry the overheads. They are cheaper because they are not doing the same thing: no scheme membership, no certification, no notification. The customer often cannot tell.

On larger work, such as rewires, consumer units and extensions, you lose on scope. Your quote covers the electrical work; theirs appears to cover more because it does not mention making good. The customer compares two figures and picks the lower, then discovers the chased walls are their problem.

What the customer is actually weighing

Whether it is safe, and whether they will get the certificate.

Most do not know what Part P is. But they do know, increasingly, that uncertified work causes problems when they sell, and that concern is growing as more people encounter it at conveyancing.

Where the work comes from

Builders and kitchen and bathroom fitters needing a registered electrician on call. The most reliable source of planned work in this trade.

EV charger installations, which are growing and bring a customer with a house that may need more.

Solar and battery installers needing electrical work alongside.

Landlords and agents, for EICRs. Recurring, predictable, and a route into remedial work.

Search, mostly for rewires and consumer units.

What separates you from the quote below yours

Sell the certificate. Not the scheme logo, but what it means: that the work is notified, that they will receive documentation, and that a buyer's solicitor will ask for it. Most customers have never had this explained and it reframes the price difference entirely.

Quote making good explicitly, whether included or excluded. Being the quote that mentions it makes you the quote they trust.

Offer an EICR before a rewire. Age is not the test, condition is. An electrician who says "let me test it first, you may not need a full rewire" wins the customer whether or not the rewire follows.

Explain the consumer unit properly. It is a commonly oversold item and customers half-know it. Showing them what the existing one lacks separates you from the assumption.

Making the money conversation easy

Materials are a smaller share here than most trades, roughly a fifth to a quarter, so large deposits are hard to justify and customers notice. Around 10% is reasonable, none on small work.

Then stage against first fix, plastering, second fix, and testing and certification. Putting certification as the final stage is worth doing deliberately: it tells the customer the paperwork is part of the job rather than an afterthought, which is exactly the anxiety they have heard about.

Getting started

Free to register, and if you hold scheme registration the vetting is straightforward.

For electricians the useful bit is that the final payment is tied to the certificate being issued. That is a commitment your unregistered competition cannot make.