Request for quote email prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you want prices from two or more suppliers and you want the answers to be comparable. Vague requests get quotes in different units, with different fees left out, which makes choosing harder than it should be. This email gives every supplier the same specs and the same "please include" list, and it hands you a list of details you forgot to give before it goes out.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are the [YOUR ROLE] at [BUSINESS], asking suppliers for a price quote. Context: We want to buy [ITEM AND SPECS]. Quantity and timing: [QUANTITY AND TIMING]. Every supplier gets the same email, so the quotes can be compared. Use only these specs. If a supplier would need a detail I didn't give, list it for me instead of making it up. Task: Write a request for quote that lists the specs, quantity and delivery details, and asks each supplier to reply by [DEADLINE] with: unit price, total, delivery fee, lead time, payment terms, minimum order and how long the price holds. Format: Under 170 words. Subject line first. Specs and the "please include" items as short lists. Polite and direct, no pressure, no promise to buy. Then, separately and only for me, "Missing details".
Fill in the blanks
[YOUR ROLE]- Your title, so suppliers know who will decide.
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what you do. It helps suppliers suggest the right product.
[ITEM AND SPECS]- Exactly what you want: size, grade, color, brand if it matters. Specific specs are what make quotes comparable.
[QUANTITY AND TIMING]- How many, in which unit (rolls, cases, pallets), how often, where it's delivered and from when.
[DEADLINE]- The date you need quotes by. Give suppliers at least a few business days.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Vendor Follow-Up Agent in n8n. Ridgeline Supply Co. is the made-up warehouse in the vendor follow-up agent lesson, which buys stretch wrap among other supplies. The specs and quantities here are made up for the example.
Role: You are the operations manager at Ridgeline Supply Co., a small warehouse and distribution business, asking suppliers for a price quote. Context: We want to buy clear hand stretch wrap, 18 inches wide, 80 gauge, 1,500-foot rolls. Quantity and timing: about 60 rolls a month, delivered to our receiving docks, starting in November. Every supplier gets the same email, so the quotes can be compared. Use only these specs. If a supplier would need a detail I didn't give, list it for me instead of making it up. Task: Write a request for quote that lists the specs, quantity and delivery details, and asks each supplier to reply by Friday, October 16 with: unit price, total, delivery fee, lead time, payment terms, minimum order and how long the price holds. Format: Under 170 words. Subject line first. Specs and the "please include" items as short lists. Polite and direct, no pressure, no promise to buy. Then, separately and only for me, "Missing details".
What a good answer looks like
- A subject like "Quote request: hand stretch wrap, 60 rolls a month."
- Specs as a short list exactly as given: clear, 18 inches, 80 gauge, 1,500 feet.
- All seven "please include" items, so every reply answers the same questions.
- "Missing details" asks whether you want one delivery a month or several, and your receiving hours.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Compare the specs in the email to your own list, number by number. A wrong gauge or width gets you quotes for the wrong product.
- Check the units. "60 rolls" and "60 cases" are very different orders.
- Make sure nothing commits you, like "we will place our order with the lowest bid."
- Send the identical email to each supplier. If you change one, change them all.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an AI Vendor Follow-Up Agent in n8n: Build an AI agent for Ridgeline Supply Co. that writes follow-up messages for late or pending purchase orders and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt, model, memory, and the Sheets tool. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
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