43% of Tradie Enquiries Go Nowhere (And How to Fix It)
You pick up the phone, spend 15 minutes talking through the job, maybe even drive out for a quote — and then you never hear from them again.
Sound familiar?
Here's the thing: 43% of the enquiries you're getting right now will never turn into paid work. Not because you quoted too high. Not because someone else did a better job. But because those people were never serious to begin with.
That's nearly half your enquiries. Wasted.
The Tyre-Kicker Problem Is Real — and It's Getting Worse
Every tradie knows the type. There are a few different flavours:
The Price Shopper They're not looking for you. They're collecting quotes like footy cards — six from Google, two from Facebook, one from their mate's brother. They'll go with whoever texts back cheapest, regardless of quality, experience, or whether you're even the right trade for the job.
The Wrong Area You service the inner north. They're 45 minutes away. They found you on Google, didn't check your service area, and now you've spent 20 minutes on the phone only to say, "Sorry mate, that's not my patch."
The One With No Intention to Book These are the worst. They've got a problem, they're a bit stressed about it, so they Google someone and make contact — but they're not actually ready to commit. Maybe they're waiting for tax time. Maybe they'll ask their neighbour to do it. Maybe they just wanted to know the ballpark. Either way, you're not getting the job.
How Much Time Are You Actually Losing?
Think about a typical week. How many enquiries do you get? Ten? Fifteen? More if you're running ads.
Now think about what it takes to handle each one — the phone call, the follow-up text, the quote, maybe a site visit. Even if it's just 20 minutes per lead, tradies in Australia waste an average of more than 3 hours every week chasing enquiries that go cold.
Three hours. That's a half-day of billable work, gone.
And that's before you count the mental load — the back-and-forth, the ghosting, the people who say "yeah, sounds good, I'll get back to you" and never do.
If you're running your own business, every hour you spend on dead leads is an hour you're not working, not quoting serious jobs, and not spending time with your family.
Why This Isn't Your Fault
Most tradies get their leads the same way — website, Google Business Profile, maybe a bit of social media or word of mouth. Someone fills out a contact form or calls the number, and off you go.
The problem is that there's nothing between "I found your number" and "let's talk" that filters out the people who aren't a good fit. You only find out they're a time-waster after you've already invested time in them.
It's like leaving your workshop door open and wondering why half the people walking in aren't actual customers.
The Fix: Qualify Leads Before They Hit Your Phone
What if, instead of taking every call and figuring out mid-conversation whether this person is worth your time — you already knew?
That's the idea behind pre-qualification. Before someone can book a call or request a quote, they answer a few simple questions:
- What's the job?
- Where are you located?
- What's your rough timeline?
- Have you got a budget in mind?
Takes them 90 seconds. Gives you everything you need to know.
If they're outside your service area, they find out immediately — and don't take up your time. If they're just price-shopping with no real intention to book, they'll often drop off before they even submit. And the ones who do come through? They're warm, they've already shared details, and they're far more likely to convert.
You're not turning people away. You're just making sure the right people get to you — and that your time is spent on jobs that are actually going to happen.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Imagine you're a plumber in Brisbane. Right now, Monday morning hits and you've got four enquiries in your inbox from the weekend. You don't know which ones are serious.
With pre-qualification in place, two of those four already told you exactly what the job is, when they need it done, and that they're within your service area. One dropped off halfway through the questions — probably price shopping. One is 60km out of your zone and was shown a message saying you don't service their area.
You spend your Monday morning calling two people who are ready to go — not four people you need to screen yourself.
That's what pre-qualification does. It doesn't replace the relationship-building or the expertise that makes you good at your trade. It just means you're spending your time where it matters.
QuoteShield: Pre-Qualification Built for Tradies
QuoteShield is a small widget that sits on your website and does exactly this. When someone wants to get in touch, it walks them through a short set of questions — customised to your trade and your service area — before their enquiry reaches you.
No app to download. No complicated setup. It works with your existing website, whether that's a DIY job on Squarespace or something a web dev built for you.
The enquiries that come through are pre-screened. You know the job type, location, timeline, and budget before you pick up the phone. The ones that were never going to convert? They filter themselves out.
14-day free trial. No credit card needed. Takes about 10 minutes to set up.
If you're spending hours every week chasing leads that go cold, it's worth a look.
Start your free trial at quoteshield.app →
Running a tradie business is hard enough without spending half your week talking to people who were never going to hire you. The enquiries are out there — you just need a better way to make sure the right ones get through.