What to say
“I can put a price together. The problem is I'd be guessing right now, and a guess helps neither of us. Give me 20 minutes and I'll know what this is really about. Does that work, or would you rather I send a range and you see if it's in the right ballpark?”
Why it works
A number before you understand the problem is free consulting. It puts you in a comparison you can only lose on price, against competitors who also guessed.
The reply above takes it off the table. You offer the buyer two options, and the second one is easier for them. That lowers the pressure, and their choice tells you something real:
- They take the 20 minutes. They have a problem and want it solved. Now you can find out what it costs them.
- They take the range. They are most likely collecting quotes to compare. Send a wide, honest range, and spend your time elsewhere until they come back.
What the average advice says
Ask a general AI assistant and you will usually hear: give a range so you don't look like you're hiding something, then ask how many users they need. That answer is common because it is written everywhere. It also turns your service into a line in a spreadsheet before the buyer knows why you are different. The answer above comes from deals that actually closed, not from what is written most often.
If they push
“Fair enough. Somewhere between X and Y. Where it lands depends on how many projects are affected and who needs to be involved. If you tell me those two things, I can narrow it down today.”
You gave them the number they asked for, and you are still asking about the problem.