An RFQ audit follows a quote request end to end: the form that captures it, the acknowledgment the buyer gets, who it routes to, how long pricing takes, and what happens after the quote lands. In quote-driven businesses — industrial, wholesale, equipment, services — the RFQ channel is the funnel, and time to quote is its life-or-death metric.
- 01The form. Count required fields and dead-ends. Submit your own form: does anything confirm receipt, set an ETA, or route by product line? Then submit a competitor's and compare.
- 02Acknowledgment. Instant, automated, and specific — "your quote request for X is with [rep], expect pricing by [date]." Silence for a day reads as disinterest.
- 03Routing & assignment. RFQs route by product, territory, or account tier to a named owner with an SLA — not to a shared inbox where everyone's job is nobody's.
- 04The quote itself. Turnaround time against the 48-hour bar, plus quality: priced options, validity date, next step. Time every approval loop — that's usually where the two weeks hide.
- 05Post-quote cadence. A quote without follow-up is a brochure. Audit the sequence: touch within 48 hours of delivery, expiry reminders, and a loss-reason capture when it dies.
Track win rate by quote turnaround for one quarter and the case makes itself: quotes delivered inside 48 hours win at a visibly higher rate than week-two quotes — same products, same pricing. Speed is the differentiator nobody budgets for.
What is an RFQ audit?
An RFQ audit measures how requests for quote are captured, acknowledged, routed, priced, and followed up — from form design through quote delivery to post-quote cadence — because in quote-driven businesses the fastest credible quote usually wins.
How fast should an RFQ be acknowledged and quoted?
Acknowledge instantly (automated, with a realistic quote ETA), have a human touch within the hour, and deliver the quote inside 48 hours for standard requests. Typical teams take days to acknowledge and two-plus weeks to quote.
Why do RFQ forms lose leads?
Every required field costs conversion. Forms that demand full specs, account numbers, or registration before showing a path to pricing push buyers to competitors with lighter forms. Capture the minimum to route and respond; collect the rest in the conversation.
Incentives fix effort. Audits fix the process.
Score your funnel on the four speed metrics before you spend another dollar on motivation.
Take the Free 3-Minute Audit