Prospect to Quote: qualify requests and prepare customer quotes

Use this path when an inquiry needs a commercial response before the business accepts an order. A quote is the reviewed offer, not a fulfillment instruction. The work ends when the customer response and the next sales action are recorded.

Where this workflow fits

This workflow suits B2B sellers, distributors, manufacturers, and professional-service teams that need to qualify requests before quoting. An accepted quote passes to Order to Cash; a sourcing question first uses the RFQ path.

Featured capabilities

• CRM & Prospects: Capture prospect, opportunity, and customer communication.
• RFQ Workbench: Compare supplier responses before quoting.
• Pricing Policies and Price Components: Review the proposed price.
• Orders & Sales: Prepare the quote or order and hand off accepted demand.

People and preparation

Sales and the commercial approver need a known contact, the requested goods or services, expected timing, pricing basis, delivery assumptions, and the company’s approval rules. A supplier response may be needed before a firm price or date can be promised.

Process areas and stages

1. Qualify the request

   Owner: Sales. Input: Customer inquiry and contact details.

   Work and decision: Create or update the prospect, customer, contacts, and opportunity in CRM. Record the request, expected timing, and the information needed to qualify it. Speak with the prospect to distinguish a genuine purchase requirement from a request for information. Confirm who can decide, what is being requested, and what remains unknown; do not treat an unqualified opportunity as an accepted order.

   Evidence and handoff: Prospect, contact, opportunity, and CRM Notes give the quoting owner a usable brief.

2. Work out the offer

   Owner: Sales and sourcing. Input: Qualified requirements.

   Work and decision: Review the customer's needs, available products, pricing, and delivery requirements. Use RFQ Workbench when the request needs supplier sourcing or comparison before it can be quoted. Check product or service fit, quantity, availability, delivery constraints, and pricing inputs. Ask suppliers through the RFQ path where sourcing is required; compare responses before committing to a date or cost.

   Evidence and handoff: Reviewed sourcing and commercial assumptions pass to the quote preparer.

3. Prepare the quote

   Owner: Sales. Input: Customer brief and approved pricing basis.

   Work and decision: Create the quote and add the products, services, quantities, prices, taxes, and terms that apply. Use configured pricing policies where appropriate. Build the offer from the agreed scope. Check that quantities, tax, terms, and any alternatives are clear to the customer, rather than leaving the recipient to infer what is included.

   Evidence and handoff: Quote records the proposed goods or services and terms for review.

4. Approve the commitment

   Owner: Commercial approver. Input: Draft quote.

   Work and decision: Review margin, availability, and commercial terms through your organization's approval process. Correct the quote before sending it to the customer. Decide whether margin, availability, delivery, and exceptions support the proposed commitment. Return an unapproved price or date to sales for correction before it is sent.

   Evidence and handoff: Reviewed quote and approval decision pass to customer communication.

5. Present and follow up

   Owner: Sales. Input: Reviewed quote.

   Work and decision: Send or present the quote and record customer communication in CRM Notes. Send or present the offer, answer questions, and record revisions and customer feedback. A verbal discussion alone does not establish which version the customer accepted.

   Evidence and handoff: Current quote and CRM Notes retain the customer response and next contact.

6. Convert or close the opportunity

   Owner: Sales. Input: Acceptance, decline, or deferral.

   Work and decision: When the customer accepts, create the sales order through the normal order process. If the customer declines or the opportunity is deferred, update the opportunity and retain the quote history. Confirm the accepted scope and timing before creating a sales order. If the request is declined or deferred, record why and who will follow up rather than leaving the offer open indefinitely.

   Evidence and handoff: Accepted quote hands off to Order to Cash; otherwise opportunity and quote history remain traceable.

Variations and exceptions

If supplier pricing changes or the customer changes scope, return to offer preparation and approval. An accepted quote does not prove that stock is allocated or that a shipment has occurred.

Completion and review

The quote identifies the customer, requested goods or services, price and terms, and its current outcome. An accepted quote has a traceable handoff to the sales order; a declined or deferred quote has a recorded next action.

Related workflows

• Order to Cash: from accepted order to payment