I quoted against 68 other electricians | 89

I got an email this week that looked like a golden ticket... but I’ve seen this game before. What feels like opportunity is often just builders fishing for numbers, burning sparkies’ time and money. This episode is a reality check on where your quotes are really going.

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Transcript

I would love nothing more than to be one of 68 quotes for that construction build, Mr. Builder. Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

I received an amusing email in my inbox today in regards to a quotation. The quotation is as follows – and some of you Sydney-siders have probably received this too:

It was for Rooty Hill Childcare Centre. Such-and-such construction is currently procuring subcontractor and supplier packages for the project, blah blah blah. We invite your company to provide a quotation for your trade package. Please submit your pricing by Thursday, the 4th of the 9th, 2025 – in bold.

Get that shit in quick, or you might not get the job. This “timeline” will give them sufficient time to “review your quote” and “adjust any items if required before finalisation.”

Oh my god, I can’t believe I’ve been selected for this.

And this is what I’m going to get into. I remember getting the first few of these back in 2016–2017. I’d just started the business, two or three months in, and one of these projects came into my inbox. I nearly had to get a pin to pop my head, it had swollen so much. I thought I was a big dog now – a big company had reached out to me to tender for this enormous job that I had no fucking chance of quoting… not to mind actually doing.

It’s funny because back then I presumed maybe it was just me and one other bloke quoting, going head-to-head for this “prestigious” job. Reality check – it was going out to 50, 60 people. And the reason? Builders fishing for ballparks.

And this is what I don’t like about builders: loyalty goes out the window. I don’t work for builders now – can’t stand it – but I used to, and the pattern was always the same. Builders are either salt of the earth, or horrible bastards. I seemed to attract the horrible ones.

So you get in with a builder, you do a few jobs, and the second another sparky comes in a few bucks cheaper, you’re gone. That guy busts his ass, does the first job dirt cheap, and then the cycle repeats – next builder, next undercut.

That’s the harsh reality. These “leads” can go out to 20, 30 sparkies at a time. I don’t even know how I landed on this one’s radar, considering my website basically says I don’t do construction. But here I am, CC’d in with their whole team.

This time? I’m ignoring it. Hitting delete.

Back in the day I would’ve been fooled into thinking it was a great lead. That’s what I want to warn you about – especially if you’re new to business. These cold invites to quote? 90% of the time you’re being price-checked.

The danger is you underquote, you win it, and you’re locked into a contract where you bleed. Sparkies do it all the time – start the job, pulling cables, and then realise they’ve missed items, underestimated, and it’s too late. Or they walk away having lost more than they made.

Another red flag – if a builder is reaching out blind, what happened to their last electrician? Did he walk away? Did he get burnt? That should tell you something.

And here’s the kicker: these quotes aren’t free. I remember spending days on one for a big garage job a mate dragged me into. I obsessed over material costs, conduit runs, hours… everything. It took me three full days to quote.

And guess what? Never heard back.

That’s the danger. You burn days quoting something that’s never going to pay off.

Meanwhile, in those same two or three days, you could’ve picked up a handful of A-grade service jobs that actually pay.

That’s my point today – big fish will usually drown you. Don’t waste your time. Focus on the clients who actually value you, pay you, and stick around.