How to write a quotation that wins the order
When a buyer puts three quotations side by side, the one that wins is usually not the cheapest. It is the one they can actually compare — because the others left them guessing.
That is a solvable problem, and it costs nothing to fix.
The eleven lines
A quotation that a buyer can act on carries all of these. Leave one out and you invite a follow-up email, which costs you a day.
- Your legal name, address and GSTIN. Buyers need this for their records and to verify you.
- A quotation number and date. Everything afterwards refers back to it.
- The item, described in the buyer's specification — not your catalogue name. If they asked for 32 ECT, say 32 ECT.
- HSN code. It fixes the GST rate and saves a round of questions.
- Quantity and unit, and your minimum order if there is one.
- Unit price, and the total.
- Tax, stated separately. Rate and amount. Never a blended figure.
- Freight basis — ex-works or delivered, and to where. This is the single largest hidden difference between two quotes.
- Lead time, as a number of days from order confirmation, not "soon".
- Payment terms.
- Validity — how long the price holds. Steel and polymer move; say so rather than absorbing it later.
The four omissions that cost orders
No validity date. Without one you either honour a stale price or go back on it. Both are bad. Thirty days is normal, seven is fine in a volatile input market.
Ex-works quoted as if delivered. Your ₹42 against a competitor's ₹45 looks better until freight is added and you are the expensive one — except the buyer may never tell you that. Say the basis plainly.
Tax hidden inside the price. Buyers compare taxable value. If you quote GST-inclusive and your competitor does not, you look 18% worse at a glance.
Nothing about what happens if it is wrong. A line on inspection and replacement — "subject to inspection on arrival; rejected material replaced within 7 days at our cost" — removes the biggest unspoken worry a buyer has about an unfamiliar supplier. It costs you nothing if your quality is good.
Answer the question they asked
If an enquiry gives a specification, quote that specification. If you cannot meet it exactly, quote the nearest thing you can make and say so in one line. A supplier who quotes SS-201 against a request for SS-304 without mentioning it is not cheaper; they are disqualified, and usually permanently.
If the enquiry is vague, ask before you quote. Two questions — quantity and delivery location — cost ten minutes and prevent a price that is either unwinnable or unprofitable.
Speed is part of the offer
A buyer comparing three suppliers is usually deciding within a few days. A complete quotation today beats a perfect one next week, and most enquiries are lost to silence rather than to price.
If you cannot price it immediately, reply the same day with when you will: "We can make this. Full quote by Thursday morning." That keeps you in the comparison.
What this looks like from the buyer's side
Buyers are normalising your quote into a like-for-like comparison — landed cost per unit, with freight and tax added. You can see the tool they use to do it. It is worth looking at, because it shows exactly which fields decide the outcome, and what a missing one does to how your price reads.
Quote so that your number survives that comparison, and you will win orders you are currently losing on paperwork.