Tooth Comb Qualification

When I make business-related purchases, I secretly hope to pick up a selling tip from the hopeful vendor.  One such case occured in Cape Town, not a place exactly brimming with dynamic business vibes.  It’d had been a touch too long between discussions between me and vendor Peter.  When I re-ignited the process, the potential supplier was keen to see what I thought of his initial quote.

I sensed he was thinking maybe I wasn’t the whale of his needs.  As I was saying how the spec remained 95% the same as when discussions began, he then stopped me with what I instantly thought was a terrific qualification routine.  This was basically:

“Go over the quote with a fine tooth comb, and write down all the variations, send them me and we can go ahead after”

I was reeled in.  I had to admit that such detail and I had not yet got acquainted re: his quote, and I promised to get my “tooth comb” out and report back asap.