How To Write A Quotation Request That Saves You Money

Published on 30th January, 2009 by Stephen Lewis

I’ve been working on the web for over a decade, and I’m struggling to recall a single well-considered, informative quotation request that I’ve received during that time. And I know I’m not alone; ask any experienced web professional, and they’ll have a similar story to tell.

This is a problem, not just for us, but also for the prospective client. Without a clear idea of the problems the client is trying to solve, it’s simply not possible for us to suggest a decent solution. It also makes the client less desirable, meaning that we will be less likely to actively pursue (and compete for) their business.

This article details the most common quotation request blunders, and provides guidance on writing a well-considered and informative initial enquiry that will get you on the right side of any prospective web agency, and ultimately save you money.

The two types of quotation request

Initial enquiries typically belong to one of the following two types:

1. A single sentence, along the lines of “I need a website, how much do you charge?”
2. A detailed, prescriptive list of exactly what the website must contain, that studiously avoids any mention of budget, and instead requests a quote for producing the work described.

At most, a type 1 enquiry will result in us requesting further information. If we’re lucky, this will lead to a type 2 enquiry. So let’s take a look at a typical type 2 enquiry, and explore what’s wrong with it.

Example of a poorly-written quotation request

Enquiry details: “Coolsulting Inc.” provides HR consulting services to mid-sized businesses in the UK. We have a requirement for a new website with the following features:

• Detailed information about the services we provide.
• An interactive forum area where customers and prospective customers can discuss industry news.
• A “latest news” section, which we can manage and update ourselves.
• An interactive Flash map, showing our location, which visitors can use to get directions to our premises.
• A “contact information” page, with a form which, when submitted, will send an email to members of our staff.

Timescale: Within 4 weeks.

Budget: Please advise.

It’s worth mentioning that I’ve deliberately omitted the obligatory “must rank well in the search engines” requirement, as that could easily consume a blog post in its own right.

Where it goes wrong

In truth, the above quotation request is better than most that we receive. However, it still makes a number of fundamental mistakes.

1. It tells us nothing about the business

What makes this business special? What is the USP that the website will need to convey? Come to that, who is the target market (“mid-sized businesses” doesn’t really qualify)?

Without answers to these questions, it’s impossible for us to make any informed recommendations regarding the best way to structure the site, which features to include, or how to attract targeted visitors.

2. It’s prescriptive, not descriptive

Speaking of recommendations, the quotation request in no way seeks our advice on the best way to meet the client’s online goals. In fact, it doesn’t even mention what those goals are.

Instead of talking in terms of the problems to be solved, the request details exactly what the client believes to be the most appropriate solution to those (unspecified) problems. This is akin to visiting your doctor and telling him how he should be treating you, without ever once mentioning your symptoms.

3. It wants everything done yesterday

An incredible proportion of enquiries specify a timeline of 4 weeks of less, and it begs the question why a client would want to hire an agency that is sufficiently idle that it can fulfill such a demand.

It’s also worth remembering that every project requires up-front discussion, signing of contracts, and the payment of a deposit before a single pixel is designed or a line of code written. Given this fact, such a condensed timescale is unreasonable for all but the simplest of sites.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly from the client’s perspective, it creates the impression of someone who leaves everything until the last minute, and then expects others to pick up his slack. This is a far from desirable trait, and would certainly be a consideration for any experienced agency when preparing a quote.

4. It refuses to specify a budget

This is the worst sin of all. The reluctance to specify a budget is understandable to an extent, but makes life very difficult for both us, and the client.

The implicit fear is that by specifying a budget, the client will only receive quotes which miraculously use all the available money. By not specifying a budget, the thinking goes, there’s a strong possibility that some of the quotes will be considerably less than the allocated budget, thereby saving the client a big chunk of cash.

Allow me to proffer a reality check: the client whose budget exceeds his expectations is rare indeed. Far more typical is a request for the moon on a stick, and a budget better suited to a trip to the local tuck shop.

In such circumstances, it is our job to advise the client on how to make the most of his money. Without a budget – or any idea of the problems that need to be solved – this is clearly impossible, and leaves us with two choices:

1. Spend time putting together a speculative quote, based on the client’s prescriptive specification of their (usually wholly inappropriate) “dream website”.
2. Refuse to prepare a quotation request unless a budget is specified.

The first option will typically result in a quotation that greatly exceeds the available budget. The prospective client will dismiss any agency submitting such as proposal as far too expensive (perhaps even unreasonable for suggesting such a price), without ever questioning their original expectations.

The net result is that the client ends up buying on price – never a good way to get the best long-term solution to a problem – and the web agency is left questioning why the hell they bother wasting time on these ridiculous quotation requests.

As a result of this, over time most web agencies that don’t compete solely on price (ourselves included) end up gravitating towards the second option.

Example of a well-written quotation request

So what does a well-written quotation request look like? Behold:

Enquiry details: “Consulting Inc.” provides HR consulting services to mid-sized businesses in the UK financial sector. Our founders have been working in this field for over a decade, and are well-known through industry publications and conferences. Most of our business currently comes through personal recommendation, or from following-up contacts made at live speaking engagements.

We have two reasons for wanting a website.

Firstly, we currently spend a lot of time responding to requests for general information about our business, and the services we provide. It would be useful if we could direct these prospective clients to an online version of this information.

Secondly, we would like to attract more direct enquiries that do not involve the time overhead of live speaking engagements.

Timescale: We have a marketing campaign planned to start in June of this year (5 months’ time), and would like to include the URL of our new website in the marketing material.

Budget: Up to £3,500.

Where it goes right

Here are the reasons why submitting a quotation request similar to the above will mark you out as a potential dream client.

1. It does a good job of describing what makes the client’s business unique. This gives us a great starting point for suggesting features and content that the website should include, and the ways in which we can attract targeted visitors and enquiries.
2. It describes the problem, not the solution. Again, this affords us the opportunity to advise the client on the best way to achieve his objectives – you know, by utilising the expertise and experience he’s paying us for.
3. It describes the desired outcome, so we have goals to work towards (and against which to measure our success).
4. It has a reasonable timescale. Better yet, the deadline is tied to an external event to which we can actively contribute.
5. It specifies a (maximum) budget, so we can tailor our recommendations accordingly.

Conclusion

Any client that follows the above recommendations when preparing their quotation request will stand out as a business worth pursuing. This will typically result in more competitive quotations, from more reputable web design agencies.

Best of all, such a quotation request affords an agency the opportunity to do what they are being paid to do; recommend and implement the best possible solution to the client’s problems.