I have been coming across a bunch of cases where small ‘request for quote’ businesses have been getting snapped up by larger players this week. Maybe it is like when you buy a volvo, it seems that you notice a lot more volvo’s on the road. Each instance has its own distinct business case – this one is unique.
Homesphere has a network of service providers in the homebuilding and remodeling industry and they use their platform to connect homeowners, builders, manufacturers, distributors and contractors together to obtain good deals on supplies (am probably over-simplifying here).
They recognized that in addition to helping them save money, Homespehere can also help these service providers by delivering leads to them to help them gorw their business (and increase their demand for supplies).
So at the start of January 2009, Homesphere acquired bestcontractors.com a regional RFQ player.
Other players with a large base of service providers can also sell leads to their service provider base and obtain greater share of wallet, and help them grow! Players like intuit, American Express, yellow pages, newspapers … are often looking for relevant offerings that they can sell to their base. RFQ is a great answer!