How to Get More Service RFQs: Directories, Platforms, Partnerships and Content

BOTrento Team27 October 20268 min read

Know where your RFQs come from today

Before adding channels, look at the quote requests you have received recently. Open your inbox, Pipedrive or HubSpot and write down, for each one, how the buyer found you: referral, search, LinkedIn, a directory, a past client, a tender portal.

Most small service firms find that two or three sources produce most of the good enquiries, and that one source produces many poor ones. Put your effort into the strong sources first. If you can't tell where requests come from, that is your first fix: add a single required field to your enquiry form, "How did you hear about us?", and note the answer in your CRM.

Directories and bidding platforms: use a few, judge them honestly

Directories and bidding platforms can bring RFQs quickly, but quality varies a lot by sector and country. Treat each one as a small experiment rather than a commitment.

Types worth considering

• Industry and trade association directories. Buyers trust them, and listings are often cheap. Good for security, cleaning, HR and consulting where certification matters.
• Local and national business directories. Useful if you serve a region, for example facility services or on-site work.
• Public procurement and tender portals. Slow, document-heavy, but open to small suppliers in many EU markets. Only worth it if you can answer in a standard format repeatedly.
• B2B bidding platforms. Several platforms let buyers post a brief and suppliers respond. Check how many suppliers see each brief before you pay for access.

How to judge a platform in four weeks

1. Log every enquiry from it with a source tag.
2. Count how many were a real fit for your service and size.
3. Note how many you quoted and how many got a reply.
4. Compare the time spent against other channels. Drop it if the answer is poor.

Be wary of anything that sells the same lead to many suppliers at once. You will be competing on speed and price, which is a bad place for a service business.

Referral partners: the quiet source of better RFQs

Services are bought on trust, so a recommendation often beats any listing. Your best partners are businesses that serve the same buyer but don't compete with you.

• An accountancy or law firm sends clients to a consultant.
• A web agency recommends a copywriter, a security firm or an HR adviser.
• An office fit-out company recommends a cleaning provider.
• An event agency recommends AV or staffing suppliers.

Make it easy to refer you. Give each partner a one-paragraph description of your ideal client, two example problems you solve and one person to contact. When a referral arrives, reply fast and tell the partner what happened, whether or not it became work. Partners keep referring to people who make them look good.

Content that attracts RFQs, not just visitors

Content works for services when it matches a buying situation, not a general topic. A page called "Services" rarely gets found. A page that answers one specific need often does.

Pages worth building

• One page per service and audience. For example, "office cleaning for multi-tenant buildings" rather than "cleaning".
• A "how we price" page. You don't need exact figures. Explain what drives the price, such as scope, frequency, site size or number of users. Buyers who read it send better briefs.
• A short case description. Problem, what you did, what changed. Only claim results you can document, and get the client's approval.
• A "how it works" page. Show the steps from enquiry to quote to start, so the buyer knows what happens next.

Make the request form do the work

A good form asks for the service needed, site or company size, timing and a rough budget range if the buyer is willing to share it. Short forms give you more enquiries; slightly longer forms give you more quotable ones. If you are unsure, read our guide to turning a vague enquiry into a quotable brief.

LinkedIn: a conversation strategy, not a mass mailing

LinkedIn works for RFQs when you start conversations with the right people and give them a reason to reply. It fails when it is a copy-and-paste pitch to thousands of strangers.

1. Define the buyer. Job title, company type and one trigger, such as a new office, a new regulation, a hiring push or a recent funding round.
2. Fix your profile first. Say who you help and with what, in one line. Add a link to a specific service page.
3. Engage before you message. Comment usefully on a few of their posts for a week or two.
4. Send a short, specific message that mentions the trigger and asks one easy question.
5. Post about real situations you solve, in plain language. Buyers who recognise their problem will message you.

Hi Anna, I saw your team is opening a second office in Lyon. We handle security set-up for new sites, mostly access control and out-of-hours patrols. If it's useful, I can send a one-page checklist of what to settle before opening. Would that help?

If you contact people at companies directly with email or messages, check the rules for B2B outreach in your country, including GDPR and e-privacy requirements. For a specific campaign, ask a lawyer.

A 30-day plan to start

1. Week 1: list your recent enquiries by source, add the source field to your form and CRM.
2. Week 2: choose two directories or platforms to test, and write your partner brief for three potential referrers.
3. Week 3: publish one specific service page and one "how we price" page. Update your LinkedIn profile.
4. Week 4: contact the three partners, start a handful of LinkedIn conversations, and review which sources produced real enquiries.

Don't skip the last step. A channel is only working if enquiries turn into replies and quotes. Use the five qualifying questions to separate quotable RFQs from time-wasters.

More RFQs only help if you handle them well

Every new channel adds enquiries to an inbox that may already be struggling. Slow replies, forgotten follow-ups and vague answers waste the effort you put into generating them. Our article on replying to sales enquiries faster covers the basic routine.

This is where BOTrento Chief of Staff fits. It watches enquiries and quotes in your mailbox and in the data you upload. Each working day it shows a "Today 1+3" overview in the app and by email, so you know what to do first. It prepares draft replies, quotes and follow-ups in four languages, and it picks up promises such as "I'll come back to you by Friday" and reminds you of them.

Nothing is sent without a person approving it, and AI is included in the plan with a monthly usage limit. BOTrento does not replace your CRM or accounting, and it doesn't read attachments, only the email text. Gmail and Microsoft 365 mailboxes are connected by forwarding or import for now, while other mailboxes connect via IMAP. See the process demo or the page for B2B services, and check the pricing if you like.

You can try it for 14 days free on your own data, with no card and no API key of your own. The 14 days start with your first successful data upload, and you have 7 days to prepare. Start the free trial.