Free #quotes are expensive...
It doesn’t take more than a few clicks on the keyboard these days to request a quote. As a customer, it’s free and requires little effort. On the other end of that request is a business, and in that business is a person. Spoiler alert, a real person.
In consulting as well as in almost every kind of business out there, customers ask for quotes at no cost to them. In reality, a quote has a cost and it’s the business that will spend the time and resources on it.
For a small business owner, quotes can be quite costly. In big business, there are processes in place to even refuse to respond to a quote or proposal request if it will cost too much.
The level of care that goes into responding to a request for a quote can be above and beyond, especially when it comes to quoting tenders. When something seems so innocently free it’s easy to forget the true cost of it. When a business owner puts in the time and energy to provide a quote, this is unpaid. It’s all part of doing business, right? Time is money, when a business owner is busy quoting, they aren’t billing any time.
It’s an interesting part of doing business. Quotes are free for those requesting them but not for those doing them.
Free quotes are part of doing business, but if you are requesting them, be sure to provide feedback to the business providing them. Even if you choose not to proceed with the engagement. It provides a lot of opportunities for learning and becomes time not wasted.
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