A pergola dealer in the UK used to send quotes within “two or three working days, sometimes a week if it was busy.” Their close rate, after they switched to a configurator that emits the quote in under 90 seconds, more than doubled. The change wasn’t the configurator. The change was the wait.
The wait is the leak#
Every quote that takes more than a day leaks money in three places.
- The buyer’s intent decays. The peak moment is the night they sit down with their partner and decide to “actually look into it.” Wait three days, and that moment is gone.
- The next competitor closes them. Outdoor living buyers shop 3–5 vendors. The first quote in the inbox sets the anchor. Be third, and the buyer is comparing your number to one they already half-trust.
- The conversation never starts. Without a price, the buyer has nothing to push back on, nothing to ask about. They sit on the email. The seller chases. Both sides feel bad.
When the quote arrives in 90 seconds, none of that happens. The buyer has the number while their intent is still hot. The conversation starts at “should we book the site visit” instead of “can you send me a number?”
What 90 seconds really means#
Three things have to be true for “instant quote” to be a real thing and not marketing.
- The 3D model is the source of truth. Whatever the buyer picks in the configurator drives the price. Not a salesperson’s interpretation, not a back-office translation.
- The pricing rules are real. Materials, dimensions, options, regional uplifts, dealer discounts. If a rule lives in someone’s head, it can’t live in the quote.
- The PDF lands in the right inboxes. The buyer’s, the seller’s CRM, the manufacturer if there’s a B2B leg. Three places, one event.
When all three are real, the quote experience is faster than any salesperson can match. It’s also consistent in a way no salesperson can match.
The first follow-up changes#
The biggest shift isn’t the speed. It’s what happens on the call afterward.
A salesperson calling a buyer who configured online doesn’t have to introduce the product. They don’t have to ask what size, what colour, what budget. The configuration was the discovery. The call is for objections.
“By the time you actually meet them, everything’s already different. They’re not asking what the product is. They’re asking why ours costs 3x the kit they saw on Instagram. And that’s a real conversation.”
— Caribbean Blinds (UK)
The “race to the bottom” worry (that posting prices online turns the product into a commodity) gets the framing wrong. The price isn’t the problem. The wait is. The price, with the configuration, is the buying experience. Without it, you’re just a contact form.
The seven-day claim#
We tell every prospect their configurator can be live in 7 days. It can. The reason isn’t speed for its own sake. It’s the same logic as the 90-second quote. The longer the build takes, the more chances the seller has to second-guess the decision, hire a separate agency, or talk themselves out of it. Seven days from contract to live is the only timeline that holds.
You either have the product configured and the price visible, or you’re still selling on a phone call. Pick one.