Your Guide to Sending an Expression of Interest

To assist you in the preparation of your expressions of interest we’ve put together some helpful tips on how to format an expression of interest for builders – with guidance provided directly by many of the best estimators across Australia.

Expression of Interest Basics

When expressing interest to a builder, it helps to follow a few simple guidelines to allow the builder to understand the scope of the services you provide.

Things you need to include:

• Full contact details for your business and the best contact to get in touch with

• Examples of your completed projects, similar in nature to the projects you’re expressing interest for

• Whether you’re Nationally Code Compliant or have an EBA

• What trades you specialise in or services you provide

• How long you’ve been in business for and how many employees you have

Keep your EOI's concise as a builder is only looking for a few key pieces of information. Primarily it's about substantiating your track record and capabilities.

Tips from our Estimators

Below are some tips from the estimators we surveyed that may assist you in preparing quotations and general estimating.

• Be prepared to put in hard work up front if you’ve not worked with a builder before – many subcontractors claim to be interested in pricing projects, only for them to not return a price once sent the documentation

• Builder’s will need a few days to vet the quotes that are received, try and be timely with your submission and not leave it until the last minute

• Big glossy brochures full of photos and marketing material are generally not necessary. Builder’s care about your track record, not how good your marketing department is. Builders can check your website if they want to see more information, so make sure your marketing department focuses on that more

• Don’t pretend to be an Estimator's long-lost friend when you’ve never dealt with them before. Be honest and upfront about your enquiry – keep it simple and to the point

• Make sure you get the contact details for the person you’re dealing with correct, as it indicates attention to detail, which is an important skill in the estimating profession