Antonella De Lazzari · CEO and co-founder
Updated October 9, 2026
The short answer
Before quoting, check current costs, customer terms, proposal history and the margin after discounts. Confirm what needs approval. If availability or payment status affects the sale, verify those details with the team responsible.
When memory is enough
A salesperson with years in the company and thirty accounts remembers almost everything: who pays on 45-day terms, who isn't charged freight, who fights for every peso and who closes if you hold the allowance. As long as the book fits in one head, memory works, and it's faster than any system.
The problem doesn't show up when the price list grows. It shows up when the number of accounts per salesperson grows, or when someone new joins: that's when the knowledge of the person who knows stops being an advantage and becomes the only place the data lives.
What should be in view
- The price
- What it costs today, from the supplier's current list and not last month's. Stock, where it applies.
- The customer
- What they agreed to, their payment terms, whether they owe anything, what they bought last time, and why they turned down the previous quote.
- The deal
- What margin is left after the discount you're about to give, and how far the person quoting can decide without asking you.
What happens when one is missing
- Today's cost is missing
- You quote on the old cost. The quote looks right, the deal closes, and the real margin shows up two months later, thinner than you thought.
- The customer agreement is missing
- You send list price to someone with an 8% agreement from three years ago. They flag it, and you end up correcting downward, which is the worst position to negotiate from.
- The overdue balance is missing
- You close with someone who is 90 days out. The sale adds revenue and drains cash, and whoever closed it finds out when finance calls.
- The history is missing
- You offer the same thing they turned down in March, for the same reason. The customer doesn't tell you: they just don't reply.
- The margin is missing
- The discount gets decided on the feeling that it fits. Sometimes it fits.
Signs you're quoting from memory
- The price depends on who picks up
- The same customer gets different numbers depending on who they write to. They notice before you do.
- Quotes get corrected after they're sent
- If sending a price and adjusting it afterwards is part of the process, the data wasn't there when it was decided.
- Someone can't take a holiday
- Not because of their customer relationships, but because they're the only one who knows what price applies.