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For robot suppliers: how to win more quotes (hint: tell buyers the price)

What buyers of robot services actually look for, what the research says about response speed and self-service buying, and a practical checklist for robot companies and operators that want more qualified quote requests.

By The Whirrwork team6 min read
  • robot suppliers
  • sales
  • RFQ
  • pricing transparency
  • lead response
  • B2B buying
  • marketing

The short version

  • Only 78 of the 651 providers in Whirrwork's directory (about 12%) publish any price we can cite. If you publish a range, you stand out immediately.
  • Buyers increasingly want to do their homework without a sales rep: in a 2026 Gartner survey, 67% of B2B buyers said they prefer a rep-free experience.
  • Speed matters a lot. A widely cited Harvard Business Review study found firms that responded to online leads within an hour were nearly 7 times more likely to qualify the lead than those that waited longer.
  • Our view: the suppliers who win more quotes make the buyer's job easier. That means a price range, a clear scope, proof you're licensed and insured, and an honest "you don't need us if…".

This one's for the people on the other side of the quote: robot makers, drone operators, integrators and rental companies. We spend our days reading supplier websites so buyers don't have to. Here's what we see, and what we'd change if we were you.

What buyers are dealing with

Buying a robot job is usually a one-off for the buyer and an everyday thing for you. That gap is the whole game.

  • Buyers spend little time with suppliers. Gartner said in 2020 that buyers typically spend only 17% of their time meeting potential suppliers when considering a purchase, and that 33% of buyers wanted a seller-free experience (Gartner, 2020).
  • They want to self-serve, and they're using AI to do it. In Gartner's survey of 646 B2B buyers, published in March 2026, 67% preferred a rep-free experience and 45% said they'd used AI in a recent purchase (Gartner, 2026). The two surveys asked different questions, so don't read them as a precise trend line, but the direction is hard to miss.

Put those together: most of a buyer's decision happens on your website, someone else's website, or in an AI assistant's summary of both. If the information isn't there, you're not in the conversation.

What our directory shows

We've catalogued 651 providers across 62 headquarters countries. Here's what we can see from the outside.

What we checkedCountShare
Providers with a price we can cite7812%
Providers with a quote or contact form we found52280%
Providers with a public email address we found18028%
Providers with a public phone number we found18629%

Price receipt: Whirrwork provider dataset, October 2026 (price index).

So most suppliers make it easy to ask, and hard to know. Nearly everyone has a form. Almost no one says what the form will lead to.

Seven things that win more quotes (our view)

1. Publish a price range, even a wide one

You don't have to publish a rate card. A range with what changes it is enough. Some suppliers already do this well:

  • Formic publishes palletizer pricing: $5,975/month cancel-anytime or from $3,975/month on an annual deal (Formic).
  • ZMP Robots lists humanoid event rental from $299/day self-service (ZMP Robots).
  • Creative Skies publishes a drone show pricing guide that puts the all-in industry range at $80–$200 per drone, and says where its own shows typically land (Creative Skies).

A published range doesn't lock you in. It filters out buyers who'd never have signed and tells the right buyers they're in the right place. It also lets directories and AI assistants quote you accurately instead of guessing.

2. Say what's included, and what's not

Surprise extras are what our hidden costs guide warns buyers about most. Write down: travel, setup, permits, insurance, operator, consumables, software, minimum term. If it's extra, say so. Robotollern, a German humanoid rental company, quotes ranges that include travel, setup and insurance (Robotollern). That's exactly the kind of clarity that saves a round of emails.

3. Respond fast, with something useful

Research published in Harvard Business Review found firms contacting leads within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify them as those responding later, and over 60 times as likely as firms that waited 24 hours or more (Harvard Business Review, 2011). It's an older study, and not specific to robots, but we haven't seen anything suggesting buyers have become more patient.

A useful first reply includes: a ballpark, the two or three questions you need answered to firm it up, and your earliest available date.

4. Put your paperwork up front

Licences, insurance certificate, safety standards, and the regulator you answer to. Buyers are told (by us, among others) to ask for these in the due diligence checklist. If they're already on your site or attached to the quote, you've answered the question before it's asked.

5. Ask for the details that make a quote accurate

Every job page on Whirrwork lists the details buyers should put in an RFQ. For drone shows, it's: date and location, indoor or outdoor, audience size, duration, theme or branding, budget, and permits or venue restrictions (drone show job page). If your form asks for the same things, you'll spend less time chasing them later.

6. Tell people when they don't need you

It sounds backwards. It works. Our Ladder Test exists because buyers trust suppliers who are honest about when a ladder, a person or a cheaper option would do. A short "you probably don't need us if…" section filters out bad-fit leads and earns credibility with the good ones.

7. Be specific about where you work

"Global" isn't a service area. List countries, regions or cities, and say whether you travel and who pays for it. We match quote requests by use case and country, and so do buyers.

What not to do

  • "Contact us for pricing" and nothing else. It's legitimate for complex projects. It's a red flag for a robot vacuum.
  • Hype words without numbers. Buyers have learned to skip them. Give uptime, response time, acres per hour, shows per year.
  • Stale information. A price page from 2023 or a discontinued product hurts more than no page.
  • Hiding the minimum term. Buyers find out eventually. Better they find out from you. (See RaaS contract red flags.)

Bot or Not? (supplier edition)

You're easy to buy from when…You're making buyers work when…
A price range is on your siteEvery answer starts with "it depends"
Your quote lists what's includedExtras appear on the invoice
Your licence and insurance are one click awayBuyers have to ask twice
You reply the same day with a ballparkThe first reply is a calendar link

What to do this week

  1. Add a "typical price" line to your top three services, with what changes it.
  2. Add an "included / not included" list.
  3. Upload your insurance certificate and licence numbers (or say they're available on request with the quote).
  4. Set a same-day reply target for quote requests.
  5. Check your listing on Whirrwork and send corrections or prices via for suppliers.

Whirrwork is free for buyers, with no pay-to-rank, and suppliers get listed free. If you publish prices, we'll cite them with a link to your source.

Sources

All accessed October 2026.

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