The Short Version · 1 min read
You're two hours into an RFQ and you still can't say what the customer actually wants. Before you read it a third time, try running it through a prompt — it might save you the reread, or catch something you missed.
Every estimator knows this one. The RFQ is fifteen pages, the actual ask is buried somewhere around page nine, and by the time you've found the quantities, the tolerances, and the delivery date, you've read the thing twice and you're still not sure you didn't miss something. It's not a knowledge problem — you know how to estimate. It's a needle-in-a-haystack problem, and it happens on nearly every RFQ that lands on your desk.
“It's not a knowledge problem. It's a needle-in-a-haystack problem.”
Paste the RFQ text in and try:
“Pull out the following from this RFQ: quantities, materials, tolerances, delivery date, and any special requirements. List them plainly, and flag anything unclear or missing.”
Run this on an RFQ you already quoted. See if it surfaces everything you already caught by hand — or if it catches something you missed the first time. Either way, you'll know in thirty seconds instead of an hour.
