Most quotations are a number and a line of description, sent by email, followed by silence. Then the business wonders why the client went elsewhere.
A quotation is often the only thing a decision-maker sees. If three suppliers quote and only one explains what the client actually gets, that one is not competing on price any more.
Lead with their problem, not your price
Open by restating what the client told you they need. Two lines is enough. It proves you listened, and it frames everything after it as a solution rather than a cost.
Break the price down
A single lump sum invites one question: can you reduce it? A breakdown invites a better one: what does each part involve?
Itemising also protects you later. When scope changes, you have a line item to point at instead of an argument.
Say what is not included
Counter-intuitive, but it prevents most disputes. A short "not included" list sets expectations before the work starts, and signals that you have done this before.
Give a validity date
"Valid for 15 days" does two things: it protects you from being held to an old price, and it creates a natural reason to follow up.
Make the next step obvious
End with exactly what happens if they say yes, what you need from them and when work would start. A quotation that ends with a number leaves the client to work out what to do next, and quite often they do nothing.
Follow up, twice
Most quotations are never followed up even once. Send it, then check in two days later that it arrived and made sense. If there is no reply after a second attempt, ask a direct question that is easy to answer honestly: is this something you still want to go ahead with?
A clear no is more useful than indefinite silence, it frees your attention for deals that are real.
Track what happens to them
Record every quotation, its value, and its outcome. Over a few months this tells you your real conversion rate and which kinds of work you win most often. That is the information that improves pricing, and almost nobody collects it.
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