An enquiry that goes cold
A new coffee shop fills in the contact form on your website on Monday. It needs general waste and dry mixed recycling, and it wants to start before its opening day in two weeks. The enquiry lands in the sales inbox. Your sales manager, who does all the pricing, is out visiting a large account and then off for two days.
On Thursday he works out the price. Which round is nearby, what size bins the shop needs, what the tipping cost is for each stream, what he charged the café next door. He types a quote into a Word template and emails it. The shop owner replies that she signed with someone else on Tuesday, because they sent a price the same afternoon.
Why pricing lives in one head
Commercial waste pricing is a combination of several things that change, and in many firms the combination is not written down anywhere except in the sales manager's experience.
- Price depends on container size, waste stream, lift frequency and contract length.
- Location matters: whether the address is on an existing round, and how far off it.
- Disposal costs differ by stream and change during the year.
- Discounts and minimum charges are applied inconsistently because they are not set rules.
- Quotes are typed from scratch, so each one takes time and they differ in wording and terms.
The knowledge is real and valuable. The problem is that it cannot be used by anyone else, or at the speed a small business expects.
The price of a slow quote
Small businesses shopping for waste collection usually ask more than one provider, and many sign with the first credible price. A quote that arrives days later often arrives after the decision. Across a year, that is a steady flow of accounts you had the chance to win.
Inconsistent pricing is the second cost. Two similar shops on the same street paying very different prices will find out eventually, and the conversation that follows is uncomfortable. Quotes typed by hand also carry typos in container sizes and terms that later cause disputes.
How we build a quote builder around your pricing
What we build puts your pricing logic into a tool that anyone on your team can use, and connects acceptance to the rest of your operation.
- We sit down with whoever prices today and write out the rules: base rates by container and stream, frequency adjustments, area and round distance, minimums, contract length terms and allowed discounts.
- The quote builder asks a short set of questions: address, streams, estimated volume or bin size, frequency and start date. It suggests a container size where the customer is not sure.
- The address is checked against your rounds, so the tool knows whether the customer is on an existing route or needs a manager's approval for an off-route price.
- A quote is produced from your template, with consistent wording and terms, and can be sent by email in minutes, including from a phone on a site visit.
- Quotes outside your rules, such as a discount beyond the allowed level, go to a manager for approval before sending.
- Accepted quotes, signed online, create the customer account, book the container delivery and queue the new stop for the round planner, so nothing is retyped.
| Question | Why it matters to the price |
|---|---|
| Address | On-round or off-round, area rate |
| Waste streams | Different disposal costs |
| Container size | Base rate and lift weight |
| Frequency | Vehicle time per week |
| Contract length | Term discounts under your rules |
How Monday's enquiry would go now
The coffee shop's enquiry arrives on Monday morning. Your office assistant opens the quote builder, enters the address and the owner's rough idea of volume, and sees that the street is on the Tuesday round. The tool suggests a 660 litre general waste bin weekly and a 1100 litre recycling bin fortnightly, and prices them from your rules.
The quote goes out before lunch. The owner accepts it online that evening. The next morning the account exists, the container delivery is booked for the week before opening, and the new stop is waiting in the round planner's queue. Your sales manager, back on Wednesday, spends his time on the large accounts where his judgement actually matters.
Is quoting holding back your sales?
- Only one person can price a new commercial account.
- Web enquiries wait days for a quote.
- Similar customers on the same street pay very different prices.
- Quotes are typed in Word or email, each slightly different.
- Accepted quotes are retyped into the billing system and round sheets.