Sunhub Portal tutorial: When to use send offer vs send sales quote

The Sunhub Sales Portal is a powerful B2B platform that helps solar suppliers, including manufacturers, distributors, and brokers, promote products, reach clients, and manage deals all in one place. In this guide, we’ll explain two key features of the Sunhub Portal from a seller’s perspective: Send Offer and Send Sales Quote. Both tools are designed to streamline your sales process, yet they serve different purposes. Understanding when and how to use each will help you engage more buyers and close deals with confidence.

Introduction to the Sunhub Sales Portal

Sunhub’s Sales Portal serves as a combined customer relationship and order management platform for the solar industry. It enables suppliers to conduct business with existing customers as well as new leads in a professional B2B environment. The portal provides built-in workflows for negotiating deals, communicating with buyers via chat, and even auto-generating contracts when a deal is finalized. Two of the most frequently used features in this portal are Send Offer and Send Sales Quote, which together give sellers the flexibility to both broadcast inventory offers and send personalized quotes. Let’s dive into each feature and see how they work.

Sunhub’s Sales Portal gives solar suppliers a private, digital space to manage deals, from initial offers to finalized quotes.

To see how this works in practice, watch the short walkthrough below. This video demonstrates how solar suppliers can use the Sunhub Sales Portal to send offers, generate sales quotes, and manage negotiations with buyers directly inside the platform. It follows the same process explained in this guide and gives a clear visual view of how each step works inside the portal.

Send Offer: Sharing inventory deals at scale

“Send Offer” is the Sunhub Portal feature that lets you share available inventory with multiple clients at once. Think of it as sending out a bulk offer email to selected customers about products you have available. This is ideal for promoting new products, excess or overstock inventory, or even informing clients about upcoming stock (future production availability) that they might be interested in.

How to use send offer

Using Send Offer is straightforward and efficient for sellers:

1. Navigate to the Send Offers page: After logging in to your Sunhub Portal account, click on “Send Offers” in the left-side panel. Here you’ll see all the deals (listings) your company has privately created.
   
   • If you are a sales rep, you will see the deals you have listed.
     
   • If you are a sales manager or admin, you will see deals listed by all team members (depending on role permissions).
     
2. Select one or more deals: Choose the product deals you want to offer. You can select multiple deals at once (as long as they were created by the same sales rep) and click Next.
   
3. Select recipients (clients): Pick one or more client companies or contacts to send the offer to. This multi-select allows you to broadcast the same deal(s) to many customers simultaneously.
   
4. Compose the message: Enter a concise subject line and a customizable message body that will be common in the email sent to all selected clients. This message should highlight the key details – for example, product type, price per unit (e.g. price per watt for solar panels), available quantity, and any special terms or urgency.
   
5. Preview and send: Before sending, you have the option to preview the email as the clients will see it. Double-check that all details (deals selected, client list, subject, message) are correct. Once satisfied, hit Send.
   

After you send an offer, it will appear in the “View Offers” section of your portal. Each offer email lets the clients know what inventory is available along with pricing and general terms. No chat is initiated at this stage, an offer is a one-way notification to the client’s inbox. The communication remains passive until a client responds by either placing a bid or sending an inquiry on that offer. Only when the client responds does a direct chat thread start between you and the client regarding that deal. In short, Send Offer is a proactive outreach tool: you’re reaching out to multiple customers to spark interest in your inventory, but it’s up to the client to initiate the next step if they’re interested.

When to use Send Offer

Send Offer is best used in scenarios where you want to broadcast information to generate interest:

• Announcing new products: Let your client base know you have a new product line or model available.
  
• Promoting excess or overstock inventory: Quickly reach multiple buyers to move stock that’s in surplus or nearing end-of-line.
  
• Upcoming availability: Inform customers about products that will be available in the near future (e.g. next month’s production) so they can plan ahead.
  
• General promotions or deals: Share limited-time offers, bulk discounts, or special terms broadly to see who might bite.
  

By using Send Offer, you ensure that all potential buyers who might be interested are kept in the loop about your inventory. It’s an efficient way to maximize the visibility of your products among your client network without having to contact each buyer individually. Essentially, it’s a B2B email blast built into the Sunhub Portal, tailored for private deal listings. This tool helps suppliers scale their outreach and potentially generate multiple leads or inquiries from a single action.

Send Sales Quote: Custom quotes for interested clients

“Send Sales Quote” is the feature you use when you have a specific client interested in a specific product and quantity, and you want to send them a tailored quote. Unlike Send Offer, which is more of a broad announcement, a Sales Quote is a personalized proposal with a price and terms targeted to one client (or a small handful of selected clients) based on their interest. This is typically the step that moves the deal closer to an actual sale.

How to use send sales quote

Here’s a step-by-step look at sending a sales quote through the Sunhub Portal:

1. Go to the Send Sales Quote page: In the left-side menu of the portal, click “Send Sales Quote.” This section will display all your company’s active deals (similar to the offers page).
   
2. Select a deal to quote: Choose the specific deal (product listing) that the client is interested in. Note: you send one quote per deal at a time. (You can still select multiple clients for that one deal if you want to quote the same product to more than one client, but you will be quoting identical terms unless you create separate quotes.)
   
3. Select the client(s): Pick the interested client from your list. If multiple clients coincidentally wanted quotes on the same item, you could select them all here; however, generally this feature is used one-on-one.
   
4. Auto-fetch and review deal details: The system will automatically pull in key information from your selected deal, such as:
   
   • Original listed price per unit (e.g. price per watt).
     
   • Available quantity in stock.
     
   • Deal ID and product title (so both you and the client know exactly which listing this is for).
     
5. Customize the quote: Now you can adjust the quote details to fit the negotiation or the client’s request:
   
   • Price per unit: Modify the price if you are offering a special rate or if negotiations led to a different price than originally listed.
     
   • Quantity: Set the specific quantity the client is interested in (which might be less than or equal to your available stock).
     
   • Units: Confirm the unit of measure (e.g. watts, pieces, pallets, etc.) if applicable.
     
   • Expiry date: Set an expiration date for the quote. Sales quotes on Sunhub are time-bound; giving a deadline creates urgency and clarifies how long the offer is valid. For example, you might set the quote to expire in 7 days, after which the pricing or availability isn’t guaranteed.
     
6. Add a subject and message: Just like with Send Offer, you’ll include a subject line and a message body. Here you can be more specific to the client – for example: “Quote for 500 SolarPanel X units at $0.45/Watt” and a message that might say “As discussed, here is the quote for 500 units. This pricing is valid until Dec 31 and includes standard shipping. Let me know if you have any questions.”
   
7. Preview and send the quote: Double-check all the customized details and preview the email that will be sent to the client. Once everything looks good, click Send.
   

After sending, the sales quote will appear in your “View Sales Quotes” section of the portal. At this point, the ball is in the client’s court to respond. However, unlike a general offer, a quote is often expected to lead to more immediate action. To facilitate this, Sunhub Portal does something handy: if you open a sent quote and click “View Quotation,” a chat with the client is automatically initiated. This means you and the buyer can start messaging each other in real-time about that quote right away, without waiting for a separate inquiry. The platform brings your negotiation into a focused chat thread attached to the quote.

Within the chat, both parties can discuss and refine the terms:

• If you or the client update any terms (for example, if you extend the expiry date or adjust the price), those changes will instantly reflect for both sides. The client can always click “View Quotation” or “View Terms” to see the latest quote PDF or terms sheet with all updates.
  
• The client can also send counter-bids through the chat if they want to negotiate price or quantity further. For instance, the buyer might propose a different price per watt or request a different quantity. This counteroffer will show up in the chat thread.
  
• All messages and updates stay in one clean, organized thread, so there’s no confusion over email chains or missing attachments. The portal keeps everything, product details, pricing, terms, and conversation, in one place for transparency.
  

Most importantly, once the client is satisfied and accepts the quote, the Sunhub system will automatically convert that quote into a purchase order (PO). At the same time, a formal sales agreement (contract) is generated by the platform. This automation saves you time on paperwork and ensures that both parties have a record of the agreed terms. The finalized contract can be viewed and downloaded from the portal, making the whole process from quote to order seamless.

When to use Send Sales Quote

Send Sales Quote should be used whenever you are dealing with a specific sales opportunity that requires custom pricing or terms, such as:

• Client inquiry on a specific product: If a buyer has reached out about a product and wants a formal quote for a certain quantity, you’d use Send Sales Quote to give them the details.
  
• Negotiation stage of a deal: Perhaps you sent out an Offer earlier and one of the clients responded showing interest in a portion of that inventory. The discussion might lead to you offering a slightly lower price or specific terms for that client – that’s when you transition to a formal Sales Quote.
  
• Unique pricing for different clients: You might have the same product listed, but you want to offer different prices or terms to different clients (for example, giving a loyal customer a better rate). By sending individual quotes, you can personalize each deal.
  
• Time-sensitive deals: If you need to put a deadline on a deal (e.g., end-of-quarter pricing, limited-time discount), the quote feature lets you enforce that with an expiry date clearly shown to the buyer.
  

In summary, the Sales Quote is your precision tool, it’s about one-on-one, client-specific negotiation. It moves the conversation toward closing, with built-in support for real-time communication and agreement formalization. This feature is crucial in B2B sales because it provides clarity and commitment: the buyer knows exactly what they’re getting and at what price, and there’s a clear path to convert that quote into an order.

Key Differences: Send Offer vs Send Sales Quote

Both Send Offer and Send Sales Quote are essential for managing deals on Sunhub, but they serve different stages of the sales cycle. Here’s a quick comparison to illustrate when to use each:

• Purpose: Send Offer is for broadcasting availability, it’s a marketing outreach to multiple clients to spark interest. Send Sales Quote is for formal quoting, a response to a specific client’s interest, aiming to finalize a deal.
  
• Audience: Offers can go to many clients at once (one-to-many). Quotes are typically one-to-one (or one-to-few) and tailored to individual client needs.
  
• Content: Offer emails contain general product info, list pricing, and terms that apply generally (since you can’t customize per recipient in one bulk send). Quotes contain custom pricing, quantity, and terms specific to the client and deal.
  
• Interactivity: With an Offer, the communication is one-way until a client responds. No immediate chat opens; clients must reply by bidding or messaging to start a conversation. With a Sales Quote, a two-way chat is immediately available. As soon as the quote is sent (and especially when the client views the quotation), the negotiation can happen in real-time through the portal’s chat.
  
• Time Sensitivity: Offers usually don’t carry an explicit expiration (they are simply notifying availability, though you might say “for a limited time” in your message if applicable). Quotes explicitly include an expiry date, after which the quote may no longer be valid. This adds urgency for the buyer to make a decision.
  
• Deal Progression: An Offer is an early-stage action – it’s meant to generate leads or inquiries. It doesn’t directly create an order; it requires the buyer to take the next step. A Sales Quote is a late-stage action – it’s a step closer to closing. If the buyer accepts, the quote directly converts into an order and contract in the system.
  
• Use Cases: Use Send Offer for mass outreach – e.g. “We have 100kW of panels available at $0.50/W – first come, first served!” sent to 20 clients. Use Send Sales Quote for individual deals – e.g. “Quote for 20kW of panels for Client A at $0.48/W, valid until end of month.”
  

By understanding these differences, you can decide which feature to use based on your goal. If you’re casting a wide net to drum up interest, Send Offer is the way to go. If you’re honing in on closing a sale with a specific customer, Send Sales Quote is the appropriate choice.

Conclusion: Leveraging both tools for B2B sales success

In today’s fast-paced B2B sales environment, having both reach and precision is crucial. Sunhub’s Sales Portal empowers suppliers to do both. With Send Offer, you gain reach, the ability to put your inventory in front of many eyes quickly and efficiently. With Send Sales Quote, you gain precision, the ability to zero in on a deal with tailored terms and guide it to completion.

Together, these features streamline the sales workflow:

• You can first generate interest by sending out offers on new or available stock.
  
• As inquiries come in, you can respond rapidly with formal quotes, all on the same platform.
  
• The built-in chat and automated contract generation mean you spend less time juggling emails and documents, and more time closing deals.
  

Sunhub’s portal was built for professional B2B interactions, ensuring that whether you are promoting inventory or negotiating a contract, you have the right tools at your fingertips. By using Send Offer and Send Sales Quote effectively, suppliers can reach more clients, respond faster to inquiries, and close deals with confidence and clarity.

Log in to the Sunhub Portal to try out these features, or visit Sunhub.com to learn more about how the platform can support your solar equipment business.