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The one-minute reply to a quote request

⏱ 25 min6 steps

Someone asks for a quote while you're up a ladder or behind the counter, and by the time you write back they've booked someone else. In this lesson you'll build a reply you can send in a minute: it thanks them, asks the two or three questions you need answered, and says what happens next. You'll also decide where each kind of request goes. Have a recent handy. If Claude goes off track, each step has a fix.

quote request A message from someone asking what a job or an order would cost. It's often the first time they get in touch. All words
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Steps

Step 1 of 60 done · about 25 min left

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  1. Start a new chat and tell Claude about your business

    This sets the rule for the whole lesson before Claude writes a word, then has Claude learn how your business works.

    drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. In this lesson, Claude drafts. You send.

    1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
    2. Copy the prompt below.
    I own a small business, and I want a reply I can send within a minute when someone asks me for a quote. You'll help me build it in this chat. The rule for everything we write: you draft, and I check and send. Never put in a price, a date, a time or a promise I haven't given you. Write FILL IN and say what goes there. First, ask me about my business one question at a time: what I do, who for, where I work, and how new customers usually reach me. My business: [what you do and where]
    1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the part in square brackets with what you do and where, like bathroom remodels in Springfield or bookkeeping for small stores, mostly online.
    2. Send it, then answer Claude's questions one at a time.
    prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words

    You should see:

    Claude says it understands the rule, then asks you its first question about your business.

    That's not what I see
    Claude asked me everything at once.
    Type this and send it: One at a time, please. Then answer the first one.

  2. Pick the two or three questions that matter

    A good first reply asks only what you need to know before you can quote. A plumber might ask whether water is leaking right now and for a photo. A cake shop needs the date and how many people. A bookkeeper wants to know what kind of business it is and how far behind the books are. This prompt helps you find yours.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Now help me pick the questions I need answered before I can quote or book a job. Suggest the usual ones for a business like mine. Then ask me which ones really decide whether I can take the job and what it would cost. Keep it to three at most, and word each one so a customer can answer it from a phone in a few seconds.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Answer Claude's question with the ones you'd pick, in your own words.

    You should see:

    A list of questions businesses like yours often ask, then Claude asks you which ones matter most to you.

    That's not what I see
    I need more than three answers before I can quote.
    Pick the three that decide whether you can take the job at all. The rest can wait for the phone call or the visit, once you know it's worth your time.

  3. Have Claude draft your reply

    This prompt turns your questions into a reply you can send again and again, with blanks for the customer's name and your facts.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Write a short reply I can send to a new quote request. Thank them by name, say I got their message, ask my questions as a short numbered list, and say what happens next. Use [Name] where their name goes. Keep it under 100 words, in plain words, the way I'd talk. Don't put in any price, date or time: write FILL IN where those go. Then write a text-message version in two or three lines.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Read the reply out loud. Change any word you wouldn't say.

    You should see:

    A short email-length reply with your questions as a numbered list and FILL IN where your facts go, then a shorter text version.

    That's not what I see
    Claude put in a price or a time I never gave it.
    Delete it, and reply: Don't guess any prices, dates or times. Mark them FILL IN. A made-up time in a reply is a promise you never made.
    It sounds stiff, like a big company wrote it.
    Paste in a message you wrote to a customer yourself, and send: Make the reply sound like this. Claude picks up how you talk from your own words.

  4. Decide where each request goes

    Some requests need you today, some can wait for the office, and some aren't work you take. Deciding once saves you deciding every time. This prompt asks about your business and writes the routing down.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Help me decide what happens to a quote request after the first reply goes out. Ask me one question at a time: the kinds of requests I get, who in my business handles each kind, what counts as urgent, and what work I don't take. Use roles like "me" or "the office" instead of names. Then write a short routing list: each kind of request, who handles it, and how fast. Add a short, kind reply for a job I don't take that points them somewhere else if I tell you where.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Answer Claude's questions one at a time.

    You should see:

    Claude asks about your requests one at a time, then gives a short list of each kind, who handles it and how fast, and a polite reply for work you don't take.

    That's not what I see
    It's only me, so everything goes to me.
    The list still helps. Sort by how fast each kind needs you: today, this week, or a polite no. That's the routing for a business of one.

  5. Try it on a real request

    A only proves itself on a real message. This prompt fills in your reply for a request you got recently, and lists what you need to check before it goes out.

    Take out the customer's name, phone number and address before you paste. Claude uses [Name] instead.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Here's a real quote request I got. Say which kind it is from my routing list, then fill in my reply for it. Use only what's in the request and what I've told you. Under the reply, list everything I need to check or fill in before I send it. Use [Name] where the customer's name goes. The request: [paste a recent request, with the customer's name, phone number and address taken out]
    1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with the request.
    2. Send it.
    3. Fill in every FILL IN yourself, and check each fact against your calendar and your prices.
    template A starting point with blanks to fill in, so you don't start from nothing every time. All words

    You should see:

    Which kind of request it is and who handles it, your reply filled in for this customer, and a short list of things to check before you send it.

    That's not what I see
    The request came in as a voicemail or a phone call.
    Type out what they said, as close to their words as you can remember, and paste that in place of the request.
    Claude answered one of my questions for the customer.
    Reply: Don't guess the customer's answers. Leave my questions in for them to answer. Then check the reply again.

  6. Put it on one page and save it

    This prompt gathers everything into one page you'll use every day.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Put everything on one page I can save, with a heading for each part: my reply template, the text version, my questions, my routing list and the polite no. Keep the FILL INs and [Name] as blanks. At the top, write this rule: AI drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Copy the page into a note or a document called Quote reply.
    3. Save the email version where you can reach it fast, like a saved reply in your email or a note pinned on your phone.

    Next time a request comes in, copy the reply, fill in the blanks and send it. You don't need Claude open for that part.

    You should see:

    One page with a heading for each part and the rule at the top.

    That's not what I see
    The page looks messy when I paste it.
    Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between parts. Then copy it again.
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Your challenge

Use your template on the next three quote requests that come in. Note how long each one took from seeing the message to sending your reply, and change one line of the template after each if it didn't fit.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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