How to handle quote requests faster than your competitors

In trades and hardware, speed wins. The first business to respond with a reasonable quote gets the job 60-70% of the time. Not the cheapest quote. The first one.

Most trade businesses take 2-3 days to quote. Some take a week. By then, the customer has already booked someone else.

Why quotes are slow

• The quote request arrives by email or phone
• It sits in the inbox until someone has time to look at it
• Someone needs to assess the scope — sometimes with a site visit
• Pricing gets calculated manually or from memory
• The quote gets typed up and sent

Total elapsed time: 2-5 business days. During which 3 competitors have already responded.

How to cut quote time to under 4 hours

Standardise your pricing. For 80% of jobs, you know the price range. A standard bathroom panel install is $X. A 6kW solar system is $Y-Z depending on roof type. Build a pricing matrix so you don't have to calculate from scratch every time.

Use a quote template. One document. Your logo, terms, pricing table, timeline, warranty. Fill in the specifics. Don't design a new PDF every time.

Respond with a range first. You don't need to be exact upfront. "Based on what you've described, this typically runs $3,000-$4,500. I can give you an exact quote after a quick site visit — when works for you?" That response can go out in 30 minutes.

Batch site visits. If you're driving around doing one site visit at a time, you're burning half your week in the car. Group visits by area and day.

Where AI fits

AI can now handle the initial quote response automatically:

• Customer enquiry comes in by email
• AI reads the description, matches it to your pricing matrix
• Sends a preliminary range with a booking link for a site visit
• You review and refine later

Response time: under 5 minutes. That's the competitive advantage.

See how AI affects trade businesses →

Further reading

• InboxAgents: AI for trades and service businesses