Notes for owners · Sales management
Following up a chemical enquiry that asked only for the price
How to reply to a chemical enquiry that says only 'rate?': when to quote at once, when to ask the application first, and what to send when the buyer insists on a number.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
On this page
A bare "rate for fatliquor?" tells you nothing about who sent it, so the first reply has to do the work of finding out. For a named commodity with a grade and a quantity, quote at once. For anything formulated, answer the same day with one line on why you are asking, and ask what the product is for and how much is used. Then the real follow-up begins, because what the buyer sends back decides everything. Below is a way to read each kind of reply, with the message to send next.
Why the second message matters more
Many chemical desks have a first reply. They send a rate, or a question. What they lack is a plan for the answer, so a reply that says "for tanning, 200 kg a month" gets the same handling as one that says "just send the rate". Each deserves a different next step, and the wrong one costs either a sample or a customer.
Our post on IndiaMART leads that ask only for the lowest price scores such enquiries across trades. This one is about chemicals, where the same product name hides grades that are not interchangeable.
The case we will follow
Imagine, as an invented example, a maker of leather auxiliaries in Jajmau, Kanpur. A message arrives from a number in Unnao: "fatliquor rate per kg". The sales assistant has a habit of attaching the full price list as a PDF and writing "call for discounts". That was the mistake. Three weeks later a tannery that buys from the maker mentions that a competitor has been quoting just below the Jajmau list, with the list in hand. The Unnao number was a trader collecting rates, and the PDF went straight to a rival. The maker later cut its rate on two products by about 3 per cent to hold that tannery.
The maker now sorts every reply into one of four kinds before sending anything more.
Four kinds of reply, four next moves
| What comes back | What it tells you | Send next |
|---|---|---|
| Names the leather or process and a quantity per month | A user who knows the need | A call from your technical person, then a sample sized for one trial |
| Names a competitor's product and asks for yours | A buyer with a spec in mind, not necessarily a need | A question on what that product does in the process, before you name an equivalent |
| "Just send the rate" | A rate collector or a trader | One rate, with its assumptions written out, and no list |
| Nothing | Unknown | One message with something new in it, then a closing line |
Take each in turn.
The buyer answers properly
Treat this as the order starting. Do not send a quotation yet. Ring the buyer, hear how the product will be used, and decide with your technical person whether your grade fits. A sample goes with a note on what to test and what you would expect to see. Quote after the buyer has seen it work, and the number matters less because the product has already earned its place. In the Jajmau case, a tannery in Banthar named its leather and quantity per month, got a call from the technical person and a trial-size sample, and the desk put its effort there, while a bare "just rate" the same week got one line, one rate and no sample.
The buyer names a competitor's product
The risk is that you reply "ours is equivalent" and then quote. Two products sold for the same purpose can differ in active content, carrier and dilution, and the buyer is measuring by price per kilo while using a different quantity per batch. Ask what it is used for and at what dose, and offer a sample to test beside the current one. If the buyer will not run a side-by-side trial, the buyer is comparing numbers, not products, and your reply stays a short rate.
The buyer insists on a number
Send one figure and write the assumptions under it, so it cannot be set beside a premium grade by mistake. For example:
General grade, 50 kg drum, ex-works Jajmau, plus GST and freight, valid until [date]. It suits [the common process]. If yours differs, a sample first would be wiser.
Do not send the list. A rate collector forwards it, and a trader wants your lowest figure to resell. Quote a trader your trade rate and leave it there; traders belong to a separate channel. Handling "your rate is higher" afterwards is what objection handling training practises.
The buyer goes quiet
Follow up twice, and make each message carry something new: first a question about the process, then an offer of a sample. After that, send a closing line with your name and number. Then stop. A chemical buyer who needs you later will search the chat for the last useful message, not the most recent one. Our guide to following up a quotation covers the longer sequence once a quotation has gone out.
Keep a log, not a memory
Four columns are enough: date, who and where, which of the four replies came back, and what you sent. After a month you can see how many "just send the rate" enquiries turned into orders, which tells you how much time they deserve. A lead response and follow-up routine puts the log in one place so the person who is out sick does not take the history along.
When not to ask questions
Do not run this on a tender. A tender runs on price against a published specification, so the application is fixed and a question wastes both sides' time. Follow the tender process.
Do not run it on a commodity sold at the day's rate either. "IPA 99%, two drums, Pune" can be priced as it stands.
Rules on supplying and describing chemicals differ by product, state and body, and they change. Check any line on safety or use with your own adviser or the regulator before it goes into a reply template.
Settle what happens after the first reply
Open your chat history and find the last three price-only enquiries. For each, write down which of the four replies came back and what your desk sent. If any got the full list, change that first. Then decide who owns the quiet ones. The chemicals hub shows how these buyers decide, and lead qualification is the service that turns their answers into a short score for your technical person. If you want help setting up the routine, tell us what you need.
