I am happy to give you information (your rough quote) in exchange for information (learning about your need). That is a fair trade because while I can scale my product or service, I cannot scale my time. If I misallocate my time on customers who are not qualified, I starve. You are uncomfortable with this because you are not serious. When you are serious, when there is a real need and real value, this isn't an issue for you.
He specifically say "I had zero special requirements", so you should be able to give him an answer in less than 2 min. That's a low cost for potentially cultivating a lead.
No, he thinks he has zero special requirements. Outside the geekosphere, there are lots of people who think they have no special requirements, but actually want something that's physically impossible.
(I'm pretty sure there are people who look at (say) a satnav device and think "It should be able to find me the quickest route between all these 50 points in the city" is not a special requirement.)
No. No. No. Successful salespeople get something in return for information they give up. Timeline, budget, application, preferences, payment method, etc. without data a salesperson cannit determine where her time should be spent. Time is her most important commodity.
