The Quotation Cycle
February 1, 2004

I am often struck by the responses I receive from salespeople about the status of their quotations. A typical conversation goes like this:

"What is happening with your proposal for ABC Company?"

"Well, I feel pretty good about it. They're going to let me know in a week or so."

"That's great. What, specifically, do you know about their response? Why do you 'feel' optimistic?"

"I just know that my price is right, and the purchasing agent really wants to do business with us."

OK, I realize this may seem like an insult to the professionalism of most salespeople. After all, why would any sales pro take the time to develop a proposal, or even a simple quotation, without having some method of determining the result? Surely, no professional would invest time based on a "feeling", right?

The answer is, yes. Why? One answer to this question is, "blind optimism". Another answer is, "hope".

Another rationale to quoting "blind" is that reps should quote as many people as possible, and eventually, something will stick. After all, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn.

I think this is dangerous thinking. Quoting for the sake of quoting is like a baseball player swinging at every pitch. Eventually, he may get a hit. However, what are the chances of repeating this result?

My advice:

Be selective about whom you quote

Be sure to qualify the prospect before quoting. This includes being sure you understand their business, the application, what is currently being used, why it is being used, how much it costs (both materials, as well as labor and other factors), why they are willing to change to your company, among other questions

Be wary of feeling good when the prospect says, "Provide me a quote". Most likely, he is doing this to compare your price with his current source, or worse, to give himself a reason to tell you that "your price is high", or even, "you're competitive". Either way, the optimism around the quotation dissolves as the prospect has effectively blown you off, possibly for good

Be in control of the quotation/proposal process. Ask the customer to commit to purchasing from you, based upon meeting agreed upon expectations. If the customer balks, this may tell you something before investing a great deal of time in the proposal.

If the customer doesn't have a way of measuring savings, then per haps you need to educate him as to how to do so, or if this doesn't work, go on to the next customer. An educated customer is much better to work with, than one who doesn't understand and acknowledge value.

For more information and ideas, contact Jeff Grover at "The Grover Group".